The race of Culley’s dreams

A few weeks before the U.S. Olympic trials, Julie Culley woke up in the middle of the night, having another of her recurring dreams. On occasion, she would dream of qualifying for the Olympics. Most of the time, however, she would fall just short.

“One morning I woke up and my heart physically hurt because I finished out of the top three and it was over,” Culley, a former track coach at Loyola and assistant at American University, said via email. “It took me a few seconds to come to realize the race was still to be run.”

Those fear-of-failure dreams are a peek into the drive of Culley, a modestly successful runner at Rutgers who fell into coaching after graduation but never got competing out of her system.

Last month at the trials, Culley ran the race of her dreams, taking the lead on the final lap. She not only made it to the Olympics in the 5,000 meters, she won the race. On Aug. 7, when Culley, 30, lines up for her preliminary heat, she will look to advance to the finals three days later.

How did Culley go from Loyola to London?

Hers is a tale of a driven runner who came to the sport late since she preferred soccer. Culley never won a cross country state championship at North Hunterdon High (N.J.) but blossomed into an All-American at Rutgers. Worn down in college by injuries, however, Culley competed in only two races as a fifth-year senior.

“It was time for me to move on,” Culley said. “I was tired. I was tired of being injured, and I needed a break.”

After graduation, Culley took a job in Arlington. When she was presented with an unexpected opportunity to interview for the coaching position at Loyola, which was establishing a women’s program, Culley took it on a whim and was hired, though she suspected that her running career wasn’t over.

“Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I wasn’t 100 percent done,” Culley said. “But you become so focused and fixated on your team and their development that you push your own needs aside.”

The aha moment for Culley came during an indoor meet at Bucknell.

“I remember standing at the starting line waiting for the relay events to start, thinking, ‘Wow, I wish I was in their shoes,’?” Culley said. “That was it. I was overcome by the insane running desire once again. I had to give it one more shot.”

As she resumed training, Culley dropped down to an assistant job at Loyola, then spent three years as an assistant at AU, coaching and training under Matt Centrowitz. Success on the track came incrementally. In 2008, Culley placed seventh at the Olympic trials. A year later, she was fourth at the U.S. championships. Last year at nationals, Culley won the 5K road race and was runner-up in the 10K.

Culley’s progression accelerated in 2010 when she signed a contract with Asics, allowing her to become a full-time runner, return home to New Jersey and train with the New Jersey-New York Track Club under former Georgetown coach Frank Gagliano.

“Seventh to first [at the trials] is a story of determination and maturity with quite a few bumps along the way,” Culley said. “Once I got a taste of the ’08 trials, I knew I wanted more.”

Even if it caused some heartache and a few restless nights.

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