For Leer, it's a matter of time

The reality of training for and competing in an Olympic sport hit Minnetonka native Will Leer pretty hard over the weekend. Leer, a former NCAA Division III standout at Ponoma (Calif.) College, has positioned himself among the elite 1,500-meter runners in the United States since graduating in 2007.

At the U.S. Track & Field Championships in Oregon on Saturday, Leer was hoping countless hours of grueling training would culminate with a celebration. Instead, he found himself in the middle of a typically slow pack in the 1,500 final, ultimately finishing fifth -- less than four-hundredths of a second behind the fourth- and third-place finishers -- with a time of 3 minutes, 48.20 seconds.

The top three finishers put themselves in prime position to compete in the upcoming World Championships starting in late August in Daegu, South Korea. Explaining the exact process for which runners make the team and why is about as easy as it is for Ron Gardenhire to piece together a nightly lineup in the 2011 abyss of injuries, but know this: Leer would have been in much better shape had he run a few hundredths of a second faster.

"It's very emotional," Leer said. "We are participants in a sport to compete. We're not in it for money. We're out there to make the team, so obviously when you're that close, it's disappointing."

Regardless, he's already moving on to what he can control. On Tuesday, Leer departed for Ireland, where he will run a "rust-buster" race Saturday while adjusting to a new body clock and gearing up for a huge race in Belgium in mid-July. Leer is hunting for a very specific time: 3 minutes, 35 seconds. That is the "A" qualifying standard for the World Championships. If he goes under that number, even by a few hundredths of a second, he still could land a spot at the world meet depending on whether other U.S. runners are able to hit the same standard.

That would be quite an accomplishment for a runner who only started competing in high school as a way to stay in shape for soccer. Leer eventually made running his No. 1 sport and settled into the mile in college (and now 1,500 meters) as his go-to distance.

In the past year, hernia surgery set him back in training. He is working his way back from that, and Leer is hoping to say the same about the disappointment from the U.S. championships. He ran a shade over 3:37 earlier this season, his personal best. Leer is hoping for a fast field in Belgium in a few weeks and a mind filled with optimism to hit the 3:35 mark.

"There's no flexibility in that [time standard]. I at least give myself a chance to go to the worlds," Leer said. "I'm ready to let it rip."

MICHAEL RAND