Golden Girl Maggie Vessey Gets Her Game On

This summer, all eyes will be on London for the Summer Olympics. Hopefully, if Maggie Vessey has it her way, and she usually does, a lot of those eyes will be on her as well.

Maggie is like a tall glass of very smart water for the U.S. middle distance team. A blonde bombshell who runs fast as lightning -- two laps around the track in under two minutes. That's what the 800 meters is for Maggie and her colleagues on the track.

A race to the line that is nearly half a mile long and it's over before even a hair is out of place for Maggie. That's just the way it works for the 30-year-old Santa Cruz native who discovered she was a "fast kid" at an early age. "I had an instant identity: Maggie The Runner."

I asked Maggie recently about how she found out she had lightning legs.

"I always knew. I could beat anyone and everyone. In elementary school I could outrun my cousin, who is four years older than me. She was so cool and I really looked up to her and I could leave even her in the dust!" Maggie shared.

What motivates her to train and run miles each day and lift weights and do the seemingly impossible?  

"Number 1, it is my job to do this. I have a responsibility to myself and my sponsors, New Balance, to be the best I can be. I have made commitments to people who help me achieve the goal I set and I won't let them down by not trying my hardest and doing my best. And I really just love health and fitness and the way my body looks and feels when I train as hard a I do. I train my body to go above and beyond the norm and that is fun!"

Maggie also loves Palm Desert and visiting the desert to run, work out, and "do some serious damage on El Paseo."

Maggie plans a visit to Palm Desert in April when she will compete at the Mt. Sac Invitationals.

"I'm also looking forward to relaxing a couple days before the big crunch of the Olympic Trials starts in May," Maggie said, who will be interviewed on NBC's KMIR during her stay. "I always eat at when I'm in town and visit the Trina Turk Boutique. That and spa day, of course!" Vessey says with a hearty laugh.

Her coach, Rose Monday concurs that: "Maggie needs to have a balance in her training. Taking a little time off for R&R is essential to the success of an Olympic athlete. You can't go full throttle twenty four hours a day with this type of thing." 

What would a trip to the Olympic Games mean to Maggie Vessey, who was recently profiled alongside Madonna and George Clooney in Liz Smith's New York famed celebrity column? (Read the column here.)

"It's the fulfillment of a prophecy a coach made when I was in sixth grade; that if I worked as hard as I could I have the talent to go to the Olympics. That seed that was planted put me on a path and has guided me throughout my entire life. The thought that I have the talent to reach the pinnacle of the sport has pushed me to make certain decisions in my life and I want to see myself make my dream come true."

Learn more about Maggie at maggievessey.com.