For some of the runners that will compete in the 2007 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, October 7 will be their last chance to dance.

Well run, actually.

The window to qualify for the Men's Olympic Trials will close that day, and Chicago, along with Twin Cities and some other smaller events scattered across the country, will represent the final opportunities for hopefuls to run a qualifying time of 2 hours, 22 minutes.

The beauty of the Trials is also its beast: whoever wants to get there has to race their way in, from Khalid Khannouchi, who has the fastest qualifying time (2:07:04 - London, 2006) to Konrad Knusten, who has the slowest (2:22:02 - Boston, 2007).

There are no free passes, and that's what makes getting in so special. If you are fortunate to be at the start line at Rockefeller Plaza in New York on November 3, it's an honor that was definitely earned.

"The marathon is the purest sport there is," said Trials hopeful Michael Lucchesi. "It is you versus someone else; the gun goes off and the better man wins."

Lucchesi is going to be one of those who will be rolling the dice on race day. The Lisle resident, who ran for legendary coach Joe Newton at York High School, has dreamed about making the Trials-and even beyond-since he was competing as a walk-on in track and cross country at the University of Illinois.

Like many of the runners who will be looking for the same opportunity, it hasn't been easy. Most, if not all, are going to school, working full-time jobs or juggling their intense training around all sorts of family obligations.

It's not surprising, then, that many of them have had several roadblocks and setbacks along the way.

For Lucchesi, that came in the form of a partially torn left Achilles tendon that up until the beginning of this year had sidelined him for most of the previous 20 months. Rather than have surgery, he chose rehab, and the frustration almost took its toll.

He contemplated quitting, but by January he had finally resumed running, albeit for only 10 minutes at a time. While those short runs felt like marathons at times, everything he had been through actually gave him a better outlook on his future.

"It was a huge wake-up call for me," he said. "I wasn't running as much as I should (prior to the injury), I wasn't enjoying it and I was having trouble adjusting to life after college. I wasn't myself. But when I got back to running this year, every day has been great.

"I learned a lot about myself, and will be better in the long run when my career is done (for having gone through it)."

By April he was up to 60 miles per week and finished sixth in 1:11:47 at the Spirit of St. Louis Half Marathon. He passed 100 miles per week in early August and looks to work his way up into the 125-mile range prior to the marathon.

All of that he hopes adds up to a time somewhere between 2:19 and 2:22 on race day. And he also hopes it will be a springboard to better things.

"The Trials are a huge start but I don't want to run 2:21:59 and call it a day," he said. "If I don't hit it this year I'll go for it again (for the 2012 Trials). I've worked way too hard and way too long not to be successful."

Thom Little is hoping that the road back home to New York will lead through Chicago. He lives on the lower east side of Manhattan, so getting to the Trials would be not just the chance of a lifetime, but the opportunity to compete in his own back yard.

A member of the Central Park Track Club, he's more than familiar with the local scene and the roads in the park that will ultimately be used as the Trials' criterium course.

Though Little ran his personal best of 2:25:55 at the ING New York Marathon last fall, he's definitely a fan of the LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, both for the course and huge spectator support. Out of his nine marathons, he's run here five times.

"I'm being very realistic hoping for the 'B' standard at Chicago," Little said. "It's a flat course and I love it. I think Chicago is the best marathon I've run. It's just awesome."

Little, 36, who has been running seriously for seven years and ran his first marathon in 3:17, is a low-mileage runner who trains between 75 to 90 miles per week. He feels like diet, training, experience and the opportunities to train with other runners in his club has put him in the position where he is poised to meet the standard.

"On my team we train together and that's like night and day," Little said. "It's good to have common goals with your friends ... I've learned from it all and I think I've maximized my potential."

Along with its flat course and favorable weather, Chicago has become a place for people to come and race because the event has a long history of helping fast runners who are maybe not quite elite reach their goals.

Executive race director Carey Pinkowski understands because he was once one of them, a 2:20 marathon guy who was out there running for his love of the sport. Even now he can relate as he tries to balance running with work and family.

"These are the athletes that have to work and are a little outside the window for sponsorship, so they are just chasing their passion," Pinkowski said. "They are trying to wedge their passion along with making a living." He adds, "The more people we can keep in the sport the better."

It's with that in mind that the marathon offers a Top 100 program, giving runners a staging area near the start that area includes a gear check and a private tent where they can finish their mental and physical preparation.

Once at the starting line on Columbus Drive, they line up directly behind the invited elites so once the horn sounds they are on their way quickly.

"For us it's just looking after these (runners) and making sure they get the info and get them in an area where they can release from the start line, and in the end maybe give them some developmental money," Pinkowski said. "We are committed to them and always have been, and will continue to be."

He feels it's important to take developing runners and give them something that might help keep them in the sport. The chance to get to experience the Trials and grow as a runner can only help develop distance running in the United States.

Pinkowski points out that when elite marathoner Brian Sell made his marathon debut in Chicago in 2003, he finished the race in 2:19:57.

Sell, who later joined the Michigan-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, is now a 2:10 marathoner and not only has a chance to make the Olympic team but might be a medal contender in Beijing as well.

No one knows what the future holds-that all shakes itself out on race day. But until then for those hoping to get there it's been a fun thing to think about.

"Just to run the trials would be great, but the fact I could do it in front of everyone I know would be awesome," Little said. "To be invited to an exclusive race and toe the line with Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, Khalid (Khannouchi)-just to run a race with those guys would be incredible."

Mike Knapp is a freelance writer and marathon runner based in Aurora. E-mail him at mikek0525@hotmail.com.