To say that Dan Kremske stumbled into marathon running fits the expression, since he more or less accidentally discovered he could thrive at 26.2 miles.

On the other hand, Kremske hardly stumbled at the 2013 Chicago Marathon, the first time he ever had run that distance. He finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes and 50 seconds, which placed him 25th and launched him on a two-year adventure.

That journey takes Kremske, a 2007 Woodstock High School graduate, to Los Angeles for the U.S. Olympic Trials. The men’s race starts at 10:06 a.m. PST, with the top three finishers qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games this summer in Rio de Janeiro.

Kremske, 26, moved to Eugene, Oregon two years ago to train with Team Run Eugene, coached by former Olympian Ian Dobson. After Kremske’s finish at Chicago, he considered leaving the Chicago area to train with a running group. He qualified for the Olympic Trials at the Houston Half Marathon in January of 2014.

Kremske has run only three marathons – Chicago each of the past three years – and knows he is a longshot, but wants to enjoy the experience Saturday.

“My training has been really consistent over the last few months,” he said. “I’m feeling healthy and feeling ready. I would definitely say top 30 or 40 would be an expectation. The thing I want to do is go in there and run a personal-best. The goal for me is to run to my capabilities. If that happens, I will be happy with it, regardless what place. That’s what I’m looking to do.”

Kremske rarely has taken the traditional route during his career. He played wide receiver at Woodstock, then ran track in the spring, yet when he went to Illinois as a distance runner for track, he also wound up thriving in cross country.

After college, he continued running and also coached cross country at Woodstock North, while working at Centegra Health System. When he first ran the Chicago Marathon, it opened his mind to another race.

“After I graduated from Illinois in 2012, I was completely self-coached,” he said. “I didn’t have any training partner, I was just going at it on my own. To be more competitive on a national level, it took having a coach and training partners and being part of a training group.”

Kremske met Dobson at the 2013 Chicago Marathon and thought about moving to Eugene, which he did several months later. Kremske found part-time work similar to what he did with Centegra at PeaceHealth Medical Group in Eugene. Eventually, he wants to become a physician’s assistant.

“It’s nice that there’s a lot of flexibility in my work schedule,” Kremske said. “It allows me to balance training and working. And I get experienced hours before I apply to physician’s assistant graduate school.”

Kremske’s last two Chicago Marathon races were not as successful as his first, probably from his inexperience. He felt like he may have overtrained and went out too fast.

“I’ve learned from those and been able to make those corrections to where I can come in feeling fresh, ready to go and knowing exactly what to expect,” he said. “I’m primed to improve upon that 2:18:50 at least by a couple of minutes.”

Kremske feels the half marathon is his best race, but it’s not in the Olympics. So he will take a break after Saturday’s race, then refocus and try to make the Olympic Trials for the 10,000 meters. The trials are July 1-10 in Eugene. He wants to enjoy competitive running, although he realizes his professional career awaits.

“I have passion for racing and running competitively,” Kremske said. “But there’s a time you have to evaluate where you’re at. It’s just a matter of deciding when to call it a career. It’s probably within the next year or year-and-a-half for when I might be done with competitive running and take the next step in my life. For right now, 2016 being an Olympic year, I’m giving everything I can.”