Jo Pavey's early running career was a highlight reel of national championships and a British under-15 age-group record at 1500 meters. Then in 1990, at the age of 17, foot surgery was “a bit of a disaster,” she says, and it all came to a halt. For six years, Pavey struggled to recover, lurching from one injury to the next and falling out of the racing scene. In the midst of it, she completed a degree in physiotherapy; soon after, she took matters into her own hands and made a comeback. In 1997 Pavey represented Great Britain at 1500 meters in the IAAF World Championships and was named BBC West Sportswoman of the Year. After sitting out next two seasons due to knee surgery, she came back again and made the 5000-meter final in the 2000 Olympics; she finished fifth at the same distance in 2004. In 2007, she missed a World Championships medal by less than a second when she finished fourth behind Kara Goucher in the 10,000 meters. Pavey made her marathon debut in London last year in 2:28:24, instantly putting her in the hunt for a 2012 Olympic berth at that distance, and followed that up with a ninth-place, 2:28:42 performance at the ING New York City Marathon last fall. Nonetheless, she still considers the 10,000 meters an option for the Games. Pavey and her husband/coach/manager, Gavin, are the parents of a son, Jacob, born in September 2009.

Claire Hallissey of Great Britain is using the NYC Half on March 18 as a test run before she engages in the biggest athletic challenge of her life.

Five weeks later, on April 22, she'll line up for the Virgin London Marathon to take a shot at making the British Olympic team. Two of the three women have already been selected: They are both former winners of the NYC Half, Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi.

Hallissey, who spends much of her time in Arlington, VA, where her husband works as a transport planner, knows that her life after London will take one of two courses: She'll either be going to the Olympics or heading back to the United States to look for a job in medical research.

She's postponed looking for work since completing her studies last summer, choosing instead to focus on her Olympic dream. "I didn't want to look back in a few years and think, "Why didn't I really go for it?'" she says.

As the second-fastest woman seeking the last British Olympic place, Hallissey knows she'll have to be first among her compatriots in London and improve her PR of 2:29:27, set in Chicago last October. (Jo Pavey, who's in competition with Hallissey for that last spot, has run 2:28:24 during the qualifying period.)

Kara Goucher went to London last month to run a marathon. Only four weeks after finishing third in the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston and making the Olympic team for London, shouldn't she have been taking it easy?

Don't worry. Goucher wasn't even running hard. Her first race since Houston will be the NYC Half on March 18. The visit's purpose was to check out the Olympic course with coach Jerry Schumacher and training partner Shalane Flanagan.

"We were only there for 36 hours but we ran the full marathon," Goucher says. "We ran the three loops in three separate runs. The point was just to take it in. The first time, I felt overwhelmed. The second time, when I started to learn it, I started to feel a little bit of excitement. Third time round I thought I can't wait to be back here."

The enthusiasm comes from an athlete who says she's gotten her life back after a year of torment and turmoil: the battle to regain fitness after childbirth, the decision to leave her coach, Alberto Salazar, and a serious injury.