Van Hulst, McColgan Duel in Women’s Carlsbad 5,000

Her health is tops, she’s trained hard and her kick is in full working order.

What else does defending champion Elly van Hulst of Holland need to go for a world record Sunday in the sixth Carlsbad 5,000-meter race?

“First, I must like the weather,” said van Hulst, the indoor world champion at 3,000 meters. “If it’s too windy, I don’t go. Second, if Liz (McColgan) is going very fast, I go with her.”

The women’s race is shaping up to be a showdown between van Hulst and Scotland’s McColgan, who set a world best here in 1988. It would be their first duel since 1989, when van Hulst out-kicked McColgan, 26, at the World Championships.

But van Hulst, 31, is confident her powerful kick will ensure her a top finish.

“I know I have the kick,” she said. “When you stay with (McColgan), you know you can beat her because she has no kick.”

An abundance of international talent flavors the women’s field. The men have a strong local showing, as well as worldwide representation.

Leucadia’s Steve Scott, Coronado’s Thom Hunt and Imperial Beach’s Matt Clayton are will challenge favored Frank O’Mara of Ireland.

O’Mara, 11th here in 1989, has the fastest 5,000 time of the bunch, a 13:13.02 indoor personal best. He has been a finalist in the outdoor 5,000 World Championships and is ranked in the top five in the world.

“O’Mara has to be the favorite,” race director Tim Murphy said.

The edge may belong to O’Mara, but the chances look good for the San Diego contingent:

- Scott, the winner here the first three years, is looking to avenge losses the last two, where he faded and finished far back.

“The first three years I didn’t even train for this,” Scott said. “I had my sights set on the summer track season. I ran it off as training and was able to win. The last two times, I had trained for it and I blew up.”

Scott, 34, is training for the World Championships in Tokyo in August and the 1992 Olympics. He is approaching this race the way he did in the early years.

“I can’t change my training and philosophy for one race,” he said.

- Hunt, 33, is attempting a minor comeback. Nagging health problems have kept him out of his top racing form since the 1986-87 season. His victory at the Tom Sullivan 10K two weeks ago signaled his return.

“In a comeback, if that’s what you want to call it,” Hunt said, “I had to look at this sport and see it if was still something I wanted to participate in, and if it was a sport I could still compete in. My answer was, yes, I can. I don’t have any idea how I’ll do. I’ve only raced seven or eight competitive 5Ks, so I don’t have a specific strategy.”

- Clayton, 25, is a long-distance specialist. His only appearance at Carlsbad was in 1986, when he ran the people’s race. Last month, he finished third in the Tom Sullivan 10K and beat Scott.

“I was happy because I beat him,” Clayton said, “but I realize he’d kill me at his distance. I’ve never raced him at his distance.”

Clayton, running an average of 90 miles a week, hasn’t varied his training much, but has “included shorter stuff to get used to the faster pace,” he said.

Said Hunt: “Matt won’t win it, but he’s at his top form and should have his best time here.”

A pair of Mexicans, Ignacio Fragoso and Marcos Barreto, and Kenyans, Michael Musyocki and William Musyoki, stack the field. Another top prospect, Mauricio Gonzalez of Mexico, scratched Friday because of illness.

Fragoso finished second to defending champion Doug Padilla last year and was third in 1989. Barreto is coming off a strong road racing season, where he won the Great Race in Pittsburgh in September. Musyocki, 34, was a silver medalist in the 10,000 at the 1984 Olympics and Musyoki, 24, won the Grand Bahamas 5,000 and the Diet Pepsi 5-mile last year.

“With that field, it’s hard not to run fast,” Clayton said. “It’s such a deep field. I bet there are 20 to 25 guys capable of running (under 14 minutes.)”

Padilla set an American record (13:29.5) on the course in 1990, but he is sick and won’t return to defend his title, agent Bob Wood said.

Three world bests in both the men’s and women’s races have been set at Carlsbad since 1986. Yobes Ondieki set the current world standard (13:26.0) two years ago and ex-San Diego State All-American Lynn Williams ran a record 15:19.3 the same year. Neither is entered in Sunday’s race.

Van Hulst has trained in North County for three weeks. The absence of a strong local presence has thrust her into the local limelight.

“I like California, so why not stay here and train?” said van Hulst, who divides her time between Portugal and the Netherlands. “But I do feel like it’s my hometown and a bit of pressure.’

Race Notes

Total purse of this year’s race is $38,100: $25,600 for the invitational, $1,500 for the masters, $3,000 for the wheelchair invitational and $8,000 in bonuses for elite runners. The top elite male and female runner will receive $5,000 each with the scale sliding down to $100 for 10th-place finishers. The fastest masters man and woman will receive $500 each and wheelchair winners will get $1,000 . . . Proceeds from the race benefit the Health Awareness Foundation and the Carlsbad High School Athletic Department.