"I'm at Boston, my first Boston, running along thinking this isn't too bad, but twenty-two miles and six steps later I hit the wall. I was delirious and I wanted to drop out. I tried to drop out but the crowd was thick and pushed me back on the course. I began running the wrong way!" She said this and slapped her thigh, amused.

That's the thing about Maureen. She'd rather tell you about the miscues that occasionally spotted her stellar career, which at its height in 1987, earned her the number one marathon ranking among American women and landed her on the cover of Runners World magazine, than about the time she beat the top Americans at the most prestigious 20k in the country just a few short months after she began running. Her fallibility makes her laugh. It's then that she's comfortable. It's then that I understand what makes her so laudable and in demand among area runners in search of a coach.

Maureen is approachable. Even as we sit here at Starbucks, her son Tyler by her side, we're interrupted by an older woman who asks, "Are you still running?" Maureen, 48, and retired from world class competition, laughs. She's comfortable, yet this nebulous question makes her pause before responding. Running? Competing? At what level? There are a lot of possible answers but she simply chooses the easiest one. "Yes, all the time." Maureen is engaging. She is a natural leader. I'm all too aware of her celebrity status among area runners. Again, it's her smile that comes easily, her approachability. The two say goodbye and we're back to talking about her role as a coach these days, which includes a new venture coaching a few dozen kids which culminated with a fun summer track meet.

"The program kind of found me," she admits. "Coaching adults led me to coaching their kids. It's very rewarding." Maureen talks a lot about the heart-felt rewards inherent in coaching and supporting those that have put their faith in her over the years. She makes no distinction between coaching a top- notch runner or a beginner. "It's all about helping people achieve their individual goals."

Still the holder of the women's Colorado record time in the half marathon (1:14:08 - altitude) she finds that coaching, and other commitments to the sport, is a full time job. In addition to being a mother of two, she heads up the Denver chapter of Leukemia's Team in Training which encompasses over two hundred runners. She also offers individual coaching to dozens of others, meeting them at the track for Tuesday and Wednesday workouts. Throw in the new children's program, the Platte River Trail Half Marathon and Buckhorn Exchange Relay, which she is co-race director, occasional speaking engagements, and her plate is full. She's fortunate to have the help and support of others and credits them with allowing her to be so involved. There are eight other coaches for TNT. Alan Lind, an exceptional runner in his own right, shares responsibilities for the Platte River Trail Half Marathon, and Anna Hettinger is her side-kick for the new children's program. "All of 'this' was born from a little five mile race I did twenty-five years ago." She seems both enamored and a bit surprised by the evolution of her career.

In 1978 she was working at a health club that hosted that race. Maureen was an accomplished swimmer then, but had never run a foot race. "I doubted that I could run five miles," she says unabashed. But half way through the race someone shouted to her that she was running in second place. A friend from the gym was running with her, as was the pre-race plan, and she turned to him and asked, "do you mind if I go on up ahead? I'd like to win this." For her victory she won a pair of running shoes that quickly replaced the court shoes she wore that day. A few months later she found herself on the starting line at Elby's 20k in Wheeling, with the top women distance runners in the country. A victory at Elby's earned her recognition among the country's elite.

"I was pretty nervous going into that race," she recalls. "The airline had overbooked the flight and I was relieved that I wouldn't be able to go." She began to leave the airport when her husband-to-be, Rex, heard her name being called to board. Reluctantly, she toed the line with legends like Patti Lyons, who Maureen points out as an intimidating presence back then.

It's in talking with Maureen and hearing these stories I'm reminded of why she's such a popular coach. Her stories are similar to all of ours. She shares the same fears and concerns that we all share. She reflects on those she enjoyed running with and those she dreaded. She admires the legends that are household names, pointing out the dominance and greatness of Grete Weitz, Ingrid Kristiansen, and Joan Benoit, her contemporaries. And something most of us can relate to, she was never tracked to be a runner, rather starting her career late. Of course, she went on to reach the highest level of the sport, something few of us can relate to, yet something we've all dreamed about. In a sense, she's a rag to riches story, appealing to the masses the way any underdog might. Which isn't always easy, she tells. "Being a top local runner can be brutal. You harbor the hopes of a community. The pressure is high and you end up answering a lot of well-intentioned but negligent questions when you have a poor race. So many people track your performances." That's the price inherent with speed, for better, for worse. She's also first to admit that she was born with the God-given talent to run - fast. Still, it takes personal drive to capitalize on that talent. Maureen had it.

One of few women who have qualified for four Olympic marathon trials, and a 2:32 PR at that distance, she recalls thirty mile runs around Lookout Mountain without any water. "Back then, we didn't know a lot about hydration and nutrition. "Water? Who needs water?" She shrugs her shoulders and laughs, "a lot has changed since then."

What else has changed? "The racing scene has gone very international. The Russians weren't here, neither were the Kenyans. There's a lot more competition at the top - and it's very deep." She stops and looks at her son, Tyler, the youngest of her children. "That and this," she says, reaching out to pat him on the back. Huge, huge smile.

Jeff Recker is a runner, a writer and a new father living in Grand Junction. He recently completed his second ironman distance triathlon.