Keflezighi's come a long way quickly

Once the silver medal was around his neck at Olympus, Mebrahtom Keflezighi reckoned it was time to set new goals. ''I wanted to run fast," says the man they call Meb. ''And I wanted to win a major marathon like New York."

His first serious shot at the clock, penciled in for London a year ago this month, was erased after Keflezighi was chased by a bulldog while training and ended up with Achilles' and hip flexor problems that forced him to withdraw before the race.

But the chance for his first marathon victory comes around again Monday, when the 30-year-old Keflezighi (pronounced Kef-lez-ghee) makes his Boston debut alongside Alan Culpepper, his fellow Olympian and friendly rival. ''I want to do something great there," says America's best distance runner, who's bidding to be the first US victor in 23 years. ''I'm definitely excited."

Keflezighi certainly has a top challenger's pedigree. He has a personal best of 2 hours 9 minutes 53 seconds, which would have won the last three Bostons. He finished third and second in the last two New York City marathons. He's far more fit than he was last autumn, when he was slowed by a tear in his right quadriceps muscle.

Keflezighi also has the 10,000-meter speed (an American-record 27:13:98) and the up-and-down cross-country skills (a couple of US titles) to hang with the Africans, who've won all but once since 1990. ''Meb has the potential to win Boston," says Greg Meyer, who was the last domestic victor in 1983. ''I think he's built for the course."

Why can't he win? That's what Keflezighi asked himself two summers ago in Athens, when he still was in 24th place midway through the Olympic marathon during a hellishly hot day on the hilly, ancient course that's eerily similar to Boston's. So he kept upping the ante, clicking off a series of 5K splits that kept getting faster and ended up passing everybody but Italy's Stefano Baldini.

''The silver medal meant a lot, especially after 28 years," says Keflezighi, who was the first US medalist since Frank Shorter won silver in 1976 at Montreal. ''In Athens, the last event, the original course -- you couldn't get any better story."

It was a stunning road breakthrough for a track man who four years earlier had run the 10,000 meters in Sydney, where he placed 12th despite the flu, and hadn't run a 26-miler since the fall of 2002, when he took the line at New York. ''I really thought I was going to win that race," says Keflezighi, who finished ninth in a creditable 2:12:35. ''It was lack of experience. But I felt like a winner that day."

The following autumn in Chicago, he finished seventh, setting a personal best by more than 2 1/2 minutes. Then, just 70 days after the Olympics, Keflezighi returned to New York and finished second (in 2:09:53) to South Africa's Hendrik Ramaala, the best showing by an American in 11 years. ''I'm always looking for that No.1 spot, don't get me wrong," he says. ''But I was very satisfied."

Last year could have been his time for the elusive laurel wreath, if he hadn't injured his quad at the world outdoor championships in Helsinki, where he dropped out of the 10,000 rather than risk ripping apart the muscle. ''The first time I didn't finish a race," says Keflezighi, who says he ran 2 1/2 miles in pain. ''I asked myself, am I going to sacrifice my whole running career by rupturing it completely? So I decided to step off the track with dignity."

Keflezighi doesn't DNF; perseverance is in the genes. He was born in Eritrea, where he lived in a village without electricity. During the endless war with Ethiopia, his father walked 300 miles to the Sudan en route to Italy, from where the family eventually went to San Diego where Meb, who has 10 brothers and sisters, began a new life at 12.

''Eritreans are very driven," says Keflezighi, who became a US citizen in 1998 and whose wife Yordanis gave birth to a daughter last month. ''They're hard working and disciplined. I took the best out of that culture."

Three months after Helsinki, Keflezighi returned to New York and finished third behind Kenyan world record-holder Paul Tergat and Ramaala in a time (2:09:56) that was just three seconds off his best. ''It showed me what I'm capable of doing without a lot of training," he muses.

Now, Keflezighi comes to Boston where he and Culpepper could give the United States its best 1-2 punch since Meyer and Ron Tabb finished that way in 1983. They've been chasing each other since their college days a decade ago, most notably in the 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympic trials, where Keflezighi beat Culpepper by three-100ths of a second.

''We are more than friends," says Keflezighi, who went on a long day-after run with Culpepper after Keflezighi beat him at last month's US 15K championships in Jacksonville, Fla. ''When it comes to racing against each other, it's not like: 'You beat me today, I'm mad at you.' "

In Athens, Keflezighi and Culpepper (who finished 12th) encouraged each other to hang in and hit the water stops together. ''That's what the Kenyans do," says Keflezighi. ''They help each other, pace each other, even sacrifice themselves for each other. It's nice to have teammates."

It's been more than two decades since Boston has seen two Americans with the stamina, speed, and savvy to go the distance with the lead pack. If one of them breaks the tape in Copley Square Monday, ''it would be a big breakthrough," Keflezighi says. ''To have an American pull it off, it would transform the sport huge."