No longer an Olympic hopeful but an Olympic participant, Gabriela Trana of Costa Rica is going to Beijing this summer. With Costa Ricas shortage of long distance road races, Gabriela has had to travel abroad in order to prepare for her Olympic marathon debut. Race after race, she has consistently improved and revealed her vigor for world-class competition.

As her home country has limited races beyond the 10,000-meter distance, Gabriela has discovered her talent while coming to the United States and other countries. At the age of 12 the young girl began running and has continued to excel, as she has become an unstoppable competitor. She has yet to lose a race over the 10,000-meters distance since 2003 in her home country. After Gabrielas debut marathon in 2007 at Disney race, she realized that she could go the distance and that she had a chance to compete in the Olympics. Her first place finish ignited her passion to compete in the most esteemed event for all athletes. The vast richness of the Olympic spirit is incomparable and a opportunity to participate is an honor for the best of the best.

Gabriela has developed a strong running history in a variety of distances both in sprinting and long distance. Her marathon success is extraordinary as she has been able to evolve from the 400-meter sprint to 26.2 miles. These two extremes in racing both require different skills with the fast and slow twitch muscles. Although she has only raced three marathons, she has placed well in all, with her first place win at Disney and then seventh in the Venice, Italy Marathon for 2007. In her third marathon she placed fifth in the 2008 Jacksonville, Florida Breast Cancer Marathon. Among these, she has raced in many half marathons and most recently broke the Fargo Half Marathon record in 1:20:04.

As marathoners simply do better with age and experience, the young 28 year old is ready to make her mark in the international playing field for her country.