Heins skips St. Louis to answer Boston's call

Eric Heins will not be defending his title in today's St. Louis Marathon.

He instead is going to set his sights on a much bigger race.

Heins, Southeast Missouri State's second-year cross country and assistant track coach, will compete in the Boston Marathon on April 18.

"I want to compete well in Boston, and running a marathon eight days before Boston wouldn't be too good for my training," Heins said.

Heins, who turned 28 Friday, is a former collegiate standout who specialized in distance events at the University of Cincinnati. He began to dabble in marathons several years ago but took about two years off before competing in St. Louis last year.

Based on his time in St. Louis, Heins qualified for the Boston Marathon. He has been training rigorously since the first of the year, putting in about 100 miles per week, although that hit a snag last week when he was hit with pneumonia.

"My training was going real well, then I came down with pneumonia and took four days off completely from running," Heins said. "But I ran a 20-miler Sunday and felt good. So I think I'll be fine."

Heins expects his recent illness to cut into his projected time just a bit, possibly hampering his goal of placing in the top 50.

"I was hoping to run around 2:24, and I think if everything goes well, I can, but I'll probably lose about a minute or two now," he said. "I want to be in the top 50. That's my realistic goal. I think if everything went perfect, I can do that."

Heins, a native of Zanesville, Ohio, said If all goes well in the Boston Marathon, he will proceed with his plans of attempting to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials in 2008.

"I want to go to Boston, where it's a big marathon, and if I can compete well, I want to train another year, then try to get Olympic trials standard of 2:22," he said. "That's my goal."