Twenty years ago, Melody Fairchild followed a simple rule when it came to running: Never let doubt enter your mind.

Doubt is negative, and she shunned negativity. Thinking positive helped Fairchild win back-to-back national cross country championships and eight state titles at Boulder High School.

But that was two decades ago. Fairchild is 37 now, even if she still looks 22, and shunning doubt is complicated. Especially when you are about to attempt an improbable comeback, with eyes on getting to the 2012 Olympics in London.

Unsponsored and working at a shoe store in Boulder, Fairchild recently decided to give herself one last shot.

"I still have this dream to make the Olympics," she said the night before winning the 118-mile Gore-Tex TransRockies Run with Seattle's Ellen Parker. "And I figure, why not go for it?"