The coach jots down the numbers, and then makes his point: "The focus is to get as many into the Olympic Trials as we can."

That's why nine young men and women are running hard on a crisp fall Wednesday, dodging the occasional cyclist while the local ducks work on take-offs and landings.

That's why coach John Goodridge founded Athletics America and brought it to Ann Arbor. And that's why nine post-collegians put their careers and graduate studies on hold for the chance to work together.

Three of them have already made the Trials entry standards: Mark Andrews, a 2:18 marathoner; Ray Hughes, an 8:34 steeplechaser; and Nolan Swanson, a 10,000-meter runner who clocked a 28:31 in only his fifth year of training.

Goodridge rattles off their achievements and says, "They're the kind of people you want to keep in the sport."

The women finish a 5:22 mile. "Beth was a 400-meter runner in high school, and an 800-meter runner at Drake," says the coach. "You don't have to be an Einstein to look at that body and see she could run the 1,500."

Bayser, who had an NCAA post-graduate scholarship waiting for her, is taking his advice.

Chandler, injury-prone in college, was inspired to make a go of it after a great senior season at Central Michigan saw her win the Mid-American 1,500.

"It was a hard decision at first," she says, "but it's an opportunity."

Most committee members involved in Olympic development are college coaches. Goodridge knows the time demands; he was the head coach at Wake Forest until his recent resignation.

"I was one of them," he says. "I applaud their efforts. But Olympic development is not Little League. It should not be part-time."

The runners finish another loop, this time in 9:28. To hear them talk of it, they are thrilled to be a part of a real club ("Not just a singlet," defines Goodridge, "but a real club, with a coach providing a systematic training program, and an atmosphere that will equal the great collegiate experiences they've had.").

Goodridge, with the help of his wife Francie, a two-time Olympian, is more than the coach. "He's more like our accountant," one says. "And he gives us all his old furniture."

The day's work done, the athletes run up the hill to their new home, after filling Goodridge's arms with an assortment of shoes and jackets. He says the group could well be bigger, and would only be stronger for it.

The talk often returns to funding. Goodridge is flabbergasted that when corporations "support" the sport in the United States, it is usually by sponsoring a road race. "One day of publicity," he says, noting that the prize money, more often than not, goes to foreigners.

It goes without saying that we also need more clubs like Athletics America.

Ranking the Century
No. 50 -- World Championships Women's 4 x 100 Relay, Stuttgart 1993: A tremendous display of sprint talent highlighted one of the greatest one-lap relays ever. The U.S. team featured 200 silver medalist Gwen Torrence and seemingly unbeatable Gail Devers on anchor. They faced a solid Russian squad, anchored by Irina Privalova, and Jamaica, with 200 winner Merlene Ottey.

American Michelle Finn ran a decent first leg, but struggled to get the baton to Torrence. They lost ground, but Torrence made it up quickly, and handed off to Wenda Vereen. A rookie at this level, Vereen could barely keep even with Russian Natalya Voronova's storming leg. At the hand-off, the Russians and Americans were even.

Devers ran calm and controlled, moving slightly ahead of Privalova. The Russian frantically fought to get that edge back, and started her lean before Devers. She claimed she ran the last 20 meters with her eyes closed. At the line, the two teams seemed inseparable. They both ran the same time, 41.49, national records for the U.S. and Russia, and the second-fastest time ever. The Russians, however, got the gold.

No. 49 -- International Freedom Games Mile, Kingston 1975: After the 1974 Commonwealth Games, Filbert Bayi's front-running came as no surprise. When he passed the first lap in 56.9, no one went with him. Ireland's Eamonn Coghlan led the others at 58.9.

The Tanzanian smoothly retook the lead, and then poured it on. "I knew it would take something out of them when they tried to pass me and couldn't," he said. Villanova alums Coghlan and Liquori battled for the second position, banging elbows on the turn, but neither was able to challenge Bayi.

He crossed the line in 3:51.0, breaking Jim Ryun's world record by a tenth of a second. Liquori ran a lifetime best of 3:52.2, and Coghlan 3:53.3 for a European record. Rick Wohlhuter ran 3:53.8 in fourth for his best time ever. It was the deepest mile race in history at that time.

No. 48 -- Olympic Trials Shot Put, Stanford 1960: The two men who had set world records that spring, Dallas Long and Bill Nieder, both figured to be among the top three. For the first two rounds, it looked like they would get their wish. Nieder struggled, however, and after the second round, the competition changed dramatically.

Ironically, Davis injured his wrist afterwards, rendering his seaplane rescue for naught. In his place, Nieder was named to the Rome Olympic team, and won the gold with a throw of 64-6.75.

No. 47 -- AAU Mile, San Diego 1965: The Olympic champion against a high school kid. Who are you going to pick? Peter Snell, after winning two Olympic golds the previous fall, came to America to race. He had won a 3:56.4 contest in Compton, topping, among others, Jim Ryun at 3:56.8. Ryun had just graduated from Wichita East High School in Kansas, and he was too young to realize he was supposed to lose to a stud like Snell.

Three weeks later, at nationals, both Snell and Ryun ran conservatively, as Cary Weisiger took them through the half in 1:59.7. With 600 left, Czech Josef Odlozil took the lead, and the tension grew. Finally, with 300 left, Ryun took off. He felt so much power that he actually held back a bit: "It scared me to death." He waited for Snell to come, but instead it was Jim Grelle who pushed him on the last turn. Ryun beat him off, and when Snell finally came calling on the homestretch, Ryun had no problem staying ahead.

He crossed the line in 3:55.3, an American record, with a last lap in an unprecedented 53.9. Said Snell, "Ryun's got it."

No. 46 -- World Championships Men's Javelin, Rome 1987: No other nation has a javelin tradition like the Finns. While it's not a guarantee that the Finns will always win the gold, sometimes it seems that way. Take Seppo Raty. He wasn't even that good: added to the Finnish team at the last minute, not in the top 15 going into the meet, and only 10th after the qualifying round. Ho-hum stuff.

In the third round, however, the Finn popped a throw of 270-1, and took the lead away from Czech world record holder Jan Zelezny (269-8). Soviet Viktor Yevsyukov, a more likely winner than Raty, made things right in the fifth round by throwing a 270-9 to relegate Raty to silver. Then the 25-year-old Raty stepped up for his last throw and produced a 274-1, one of the best throws in history, to seal his upset.

No. 45 -- World Cup Women's 400, Dusseldorf 1977: Irina Szewinska of Poland was already a legend when she stepped onto the track that day: world record holder, six Olympic medals. Her challenger, East German Marita Koch, would soon enough become a world-beater. In fact, she had beaten the Pole in a 200 earlier that season, and just two days before had outrun her on a 4 x 400 anchor, 49.3 to 49.9.

No. 44 -- Olympic Men's 800, Munich 1972: Dave Wottle always thought he was a better 1,500-meter runner than a half-miler. Then came the Olympic Trials, where he cut three seconds off his best to tie the 800 world record. At the Olympics, Wottle tried again in the 1,500, but failed to make the final.

As the Soviet dove toward the line, Wottle edged past in the final step to win in 1:45.86. Said Arzanhov, "It is very disappointing to lose in the last stride by the length of your nose."

No. 43 -- USA Championships Men's Long Jump, New York 1991: Carl Lewis, with 64 straight wins in the long jump, jumped 27-2.5 on his first leap and might have expected to win with that. Mike Powell, the next jumper, produced a 28-1.75 that made Lewis take notice. In the next round, the Great One passed Powell with a 28-2.25, thanking the crowd with a great flourish.

Not so fast, buddy. Powell boomed a 28-3.75 to put the pressure back on. Lewis had not jumped that far in three years. He improved to 28-2.75, which wasn't enough. Powell then jumped 27-10. In the fourth round, Lewis managed a 27-9.25 while Powell fouled. In round five, a worried Lewis could only go 28-0.25. Powell, on the brink of victory, passed.

No. 42 -- Olympic Javelin, Mexico City 1968: Soviet great Janis Lusis (a Latvian) had every expectation of winning the Olympic gold. He had lorded over the world for six years and owned seven of the eight longest throws in history. But when he realized he was in fourth place after the first few throws, it got interesting.

Lusis moved into the lead in the second round with his 283-3, an Olympic record. Then in the fourth round, Hungary's Gergely Kulcsar surprised with a 285-7. Lusis responded with a throw so bad that he intentionally fouled it so that it wouldn't be measured. On his last chance, however, he launched the spear perfectly. It arced through the sky and hit the grass at 295-7, winning the gold.

Journalist Mel Watman asked Lusis if he was worried going into that final attempt. "Oh no," came the reply.

No. 41 -- AAU 100, Sacramento 1968: Richard Hymans called it "the greatest feast of 100-meter sprinting ever seen." Even though it came back in the days of hand-timing, when records were to be had relatively cheaply, it still stunned. The record at the time, 10.0, lay in tatters when the weekend was over.

In the heats, Jim Hines started the fireworks by producing a wind-aided 9.8, the fastest clocking ever. Lennox Miller ran his heat in 9.9 (windy). Then Charlie Greene (and Roger Bambuck behind him) caught a legal wind to tie the world record at 10.0. No less than 12 men now owned the record. With the wind noticeably stiller, Hines ripped the first semi in the first legal sub-10. In second, Ray Smith also hit 9.9 officially. The next semi saw Greene run another 9.9 world record, edging Miller and Bambuck.

One of the greatest fields ever lined up for the eagerly awaited final. Mel Pender got out best, and led for the first 90 meters. Greene outstarted Hines and they both chased Pender, catching him in the final strides. Amazingly, three others caught him as well, as the first seven all clocked 10.0, wind-aided.

The races had been auto-timed (unofficially) as well. Hines' semi actually was a 10.03, breaking Bob Hayes' auto 10.06 from the 1964 Olympics. Greene's semi took 10.10, and the final, 10.11w. Not bad for a dirt track.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.