Brendan O’Keefe of Gouldsboro wins the George Schaefer Memorial 5K at Birch Harbor in 2005.—FILE PHOTO

When United States athletes gather in Eugene, Ore., in June for the 2008 Olympic Trials, Brendan O’Keefe and Louie Luchini are hoping to be among them.

Luchini, a former Ellsworth High School standout who won several state titles and earned numerous All-American honors while running at Stanford University, is working his way back to racing condition after being sidelined by achilles surgery back in 2005.

O’Keefe, who hails from Gouldsboro and was a state champion cross-country and track athlete at Sumner Memorial High School, trains these days at ZAP Fitness, a training center for high level runners in North Carolina.

Both runners will be looking to hit the qualifying times for the Olympic Trials in their respective events over the next three months.

For Luchini, it would be his second Olympic Trials. He ran the 5,000-meter event in 2004 but failed to make the Olympic qualifying time.

It’s been slow going for the Ellsworth native over the past couple of years, first from the achilles surgery and most recently from having his wisdom teeth removed.

“I haven’t raced in a while,” said Luchini in telephone interview. “I did a race last spring. So I’ve been trying lately to knock off some of the rust and get used to the feeling again.”

Louie Luchini of Ellsworth points to his fans as he wins the Murray Keatinge Invitational at the University of Maine in 2003.—FILE PHOTO

“It’s a great training group with some really outstanding runners,” said Luchini. “It makes training a lot easier than doing it on your own.”

While his sights are set on the Olympic Trials, Luchini has not yet decided whether he’ll run the five-kilometer or 10-kilometer event.

The 2005 achilles surgery required the removal of part of Luchini’s left heel bone, and that made for a slow recovery.

“The hardest part was getting muscle back because I was in a cast for a while,” he said. “Getting the left leg muscle back has been one of the biggest problems. You have to have the balance between both legs to run efficiently. But they’re getting pretty equal now.”

Luchini is hoping to increase his miles up to 80 or 90 a week and then “get used to more of the track stuff.”

He’s planning to enter some races this spring but is not yet sure what his schedule will be.

“I”ll have to play it by ear,” he said. “There will be a lot of races here in Oregon so I’ll probably do some here, and perhaps down in Stanford.”

Luchini remains optimistic despite the difficulties he’s faced over the past couple of years.

“Things are going pretty well,” he said. “I’m really happy out here with this group.”

Like Luchini, O’Keefe trains with a group of high-level runners. But he’s on the other side of the country in the mountains of North Carolina.

In late February, O’Keefe competed in the 1,500-meter run at the USA Track and Field National Championships at Boston’s Reggie Lewis Center.

While O’Keefe finished a disappointing 10th, he was only about four seconds off the winning time, finishing in 3:44.49.

Not bad, considering that he’d been focusing primarily on aerobics and running at a much slower pace during training prior to the race.

And he’d been sick not long before the competition.

“As bad as I felt, it was still a close race,” said O’Keefe. “We were all in it with about 100 meters to go. All I needed was a strong kick.”

O’Keefe says he’s benefited greatly from the aerobic training, “which is a side I’ve never had in the past.

“When I am in these races, my lungs feel so comfortable,” he said. “I’m definitely in the best aerobic shape of my life.”

Now he’ll be trying to boost his speed, with the trials just over three months away.

He’s already bettered the Olympic “B” standard of 3:43 for 1,500 meters, having previously run a 3:41.

But that won’t guarantee him a spot in the Olympic trials, since athletes who have attained the “B” standard are included only if additional competitors are needed to make the event competitive.

Athletes who attain the “A” standard of 3:39 are automatically included in the event, provided they enter and declare.

“We’re going to target a bunch of spring races out in Eugene and Palo Alto (Calif.) and try to hit that 3:39 mark,” said O’Keefe.

O’Keefe is now getting ready for the spring outdoor season, along with nine other full-time runners.

During his college running career at Brown University, O’Keefe was hampered by injuries for much of his four years. But he says that, at ZAP, his coach “has found a way to get me healthy.”

He now runs four or five days a week, and while not completely race-ready, he says “this is the best preparation phase I’ve ever been in. Being able to run consistently is amazing.”

He realizes that qualifying for the Olympic Trials won’t be easy, but he’ll give it his best shot.

“I’ve got an outside chance if everything goes well,” said O’Keefe, “but really, 2012 is probably when I’ve got the best chance.”

For now, he’s just looking forward to the spring competition.

“That’s what I’m really excited about,” he said. “I’ll really be ready to run.”