SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Qualifying heats are tense, nervy affairs. Runners have to strain just hard enough to qualify, but keep just enough in reserve to be able to perform well in the final. There’s always a fine line between running too fast and not fast enough, especially in long distance running, where recovery is oh-so-important.

Yarmouth’s Matt Lane and Ellsworth’s Louie Luchini struck that balance Monday night in the semifinal round of the 5-kilometer run at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials at the Spanos Sports Complex at California State University. Lane (13 minutes, 44.99 seconds) and Luchini (13:46.62) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, in the first heat and advanced to Friday’s final.

Matthew Gonzales won the heat in 13:44.19. Tim Broe won the second heat in 13:42.19. The top six in each heat, and the next four fastest finishers, advanced to the final.

Now, Lane and Luchini will rest and prepare for Friday’s final, set for 11:55 p.m.. The top three finishers in the final – provided they have achieved the Olympic A standard of 13:21.50 – will make the Olympic team.

Lane and Luchini know that when those top three finishers are on the podium, the qualifying heats will be a dim memory. Both runners are considered contenders for the top three, so the challenge on Monday night was to stay focused and advance.

That required a blend of patience and confidence. Early on, when the pace was slow, it meant enduring a good deal of gentle jostling and fighting to keep from getting boxed in by other runners. For Lane, it meant having the self-assurance to make the move that broke open the race enough to keep it from coming down to a sprint finish.

The field passed through 800 meters in 2:17.87, 1,600 in 4:32.68, and 3,200 in 8:58.29. Lane and Luchini were running steady in the eighth and ninth positions at this stage. Shortly thereafter, Lane decided to act.

“With 2k to go it was suddenly like this nightmare and I thought that it was going to come down to the last 400 and eight guys were going to roll by me and I was going to have nothing left,” Lane said. “So that’s when I went to the front with a mile to go.”

Lane employed a tactic he has practiced with the other runners he trains with at his base in Palo Alto, Calif.

“I started something we do in practice sometimes which is press for 100 meters and then I would coast for 100. I tried to do that [in order to] work on a rhythm and get there as smooth as possible,” Lane said. “Then with 400 meters to go it’s just a matter of trying to relax,” he said.

Luchini, who also lives in Palo Alto, was content to wait in the pack.

“I figured that somebody would want to push the pace a little bit but I knew I wasn’t going to take the lead!” Luchini said with a laugh. “I didn’t want to have any places where you panic – like when somebody goes out and makes a big move like they did. I just covered it and it worked out well.”

Luchini, who has had a nagging Achilles injury all year, said that it did not cause him any pain during the race.

There were few surprises in the heats, although defending Olympic trials champion Adam Goucher, who has had a series of injuries over the past three years, failed to advance out of heat one. Meb Keflezighi and Abdi Abdiraham, who finished first and second in the 10-kilometer run on July 9, opted not to compete in the 5-kilometers. They had been scheduled to run in heat two.