Deena Kastor to race 2016 Olympic Trials Marathon

Deena Kastor looks to make her fourth U.S. Olympic team the day before she turns 43.

American marathon record holder Deena Kastor will race the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb. 13 in Los Angeles looking to make her fourth Olympic team, race organizers announced

Kastor, 42, was hesitant on declaring to compete for the trials as she focuses on preparing her Mammoth Track Club teammates for their own race. On Monday, she informed the Local Organizing Committee in Los Angeles, of which she is a member, that she planned to compete for one of three spots on next summer’s Olympic team.

After a successful career at Arkansas, Kastor made her first Olympic team for the 10,000-meter run in 2000. Four years later, Kastor won a bronze medal in the marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. She won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, but pulled out of the Olympic marathon in Beijing with a broken foot.

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She finished sixth at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.

Kastor is the fourth-fastest American woman in the marathon over the last two years with her top American performance at October’s Chicago Marathon, which she ran in 2:27:47—her fastest time in six years. The performance also set a new American Masters record for women.

This past weekend, Kastor ran 1:15:42 for 13.1 miles as she participated in the Dallas Marathon’s Duo to Rio relay, where she received the baton from fellow Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and crossed the finish line as the top team among other marathon trials qualifiers.

- Christopher Chavez