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Ex-Grizz gets ready for Olympic Trials Former Ashland High runner Ian Solof, prepping for the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in early May, got in a nice little training run Saturday in Medford. Solof, 28, also got his first Pear Blossom Run men's title. Solof overpowered the men's field on a sprint home to win the 10-mile race in a time of 50 minutes, 49 seconds. It was his second Pear Blossom race, and he crossed the finish line in front of a large contingent of friends, relatives and well-wishers, including his former high school coach, Bob Julian. "It's fun to see some old friends," said Solof. "It pumped me up for the race to see all of them." It showed. Solof sprinted away from the front pack of runners in the third mile and opened a big lead by the five-mile mark. He posted a time of 25:06 through five miles, 12 seconds in front of second-place Dan Olmstead of Eugene at the time. "I stretched it out from there," said Solof. `After three miles, I picked the pace up and I felt pretty good coming in. "It's very satisfying. It's not a huge win, but it's a good one for me right now." Mike Lynes of Tacoma, Wash., leaned past Bill Raitter to finish second in the men's race in a time of 51:33. Raitter, who stumbled near the finish line, took third place in 51:54. Olmstead placed fourth in 52:08, John Hickey of Blaine, Wash., finished fifth in 52:54 and South Medford High senior Perry Custance took sixth in 55:16. Bob Julian Jr. of Ashland finished seventh in 56:15, Leonard Hill of Klamath secured his 22nd top-10 finish in Pear Blossom history in eighth place in 56:43, and Brandon Forrester of Corvallis was ninth in 56:49. Rounding out the top 10 was Carl Hanson of Billings, Mont., in 56:56. In running to his wide lead after four miles, Solof posted mile splits of 5:09, 5:03, 5:01 and 5:00. "It's a good, flat course for much of the way, and the people were really supportive," said Solof. "In the second half of the race, I was pretty much running by myself. But I felt pretty good, anyway." Solof says the race will help generate momentum for him for the marathon trials May 7 in Pittsburgh, Pa. "It's a confidence builder going into the Trials," said Solof. "If I can run a smart race and compete well, I could get in the top 30. Or, I could be in the top 60. It depends on how I focus and prepare from now on." Lynes, who is recovering from knee surgery last December, said he had a feeling he was running for second place from the start. "Ian looked real strong," he said. "I felt pretty good considering I'm coming off knee surgery." About his sprint and lean to the finish line to best Raitter for second place, Lynes was pleasantly surprised. "I haven't had to sprint for a year," he said. "It felt good to be able to get past him (Raitter) for second." Olmstead, too, figured Solof to be the favorite. "Ian's an awesome marathoner," said the civil engineer, who lived in Medford from 1995 through '97 before moving to Eugene. "He was going to be tough to beat today. "I was up there for a while with him, but he's tough," said Olmstead. "He broke away at the third mile, but I still felt pretty good after that. I'm happy with how I finished. "I was pretty sure Ian (Solof) was going to win. He's a marathoner in training for a big race, and he's in good shape." Custance, 18, a senior for South Medford High's boys track team, ran the second-fastest 800 meters time in the state for high school runners last Thursday with a 1:56.7 time. He showed his distance strength Saturday, coming in as the highest-finishing local runner in the men's race. When the race started, he found himself in line in the men's restroom. "The last two years in this race, it seemed like I had to go to the bathroom the whole race," said Custance. "I wasn't going to let that happen again. "I was waiting in line when the gun went off, but I only got out (on the course) about 20 seconds late. It motivated me to start passing as many people as I could." All things considered, he was pleased with his time and placing. "I have the Crater Classic coming up next Saturday," he said, "and this was good training for it." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA