"Hello?" Darrell General answered the phone groggily. "Man, I'm just trying to get some sleep!"

At 10:30 in the morning earlier this week, while the rest of the world was well into a new day, General was focused on recharging his body, part and parcel of any rigorous marathon training program.

General, 41, needs to be rested and ready because on Sunday in Chicago he will make a final quadrennial attempt to run the marathon faster than 2 hours 22 minutes. If he does - and at this point, it looks like something of long shot - General will become the first to qualify for six straight U.S. Olympic trials marathons. Only three other men - Ed Eyestone (Utah), Ric Sayre (Ore.) and Doug Kurtis (Minn.) - have qualified for five marathon trials.