Since March 21, they have been working out on the track and in the weight room at San Clemente High

While London gears up to host the 2012 Olympic Games, 50 British athletes have spent the past five weeks far from their cold, rainy homeland, doing what they call warm-weather training in south Orange County.
Since March 21, they have been working out on the track and in the weight room at San Clemente High School, attending a U.K. Athletics training camp. They hope to spend this summer back home competing in front of the world as part of Britain's Olympic team.
Chris Thompson, left, and Mark Draper are part of a group of Olympic hopefuls from England who are training at San Clemente High School. The team for the 2012 Olympics in London will be chosen in June. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER MORE PHOTOS
"In England it's raining at the moment," runner Chris Thompson, an Olympic hopeful in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races, bus tours of london england said during a workout bus tours of london england Tuesday morning. "Where bus tours of london england I'm standing it's sunshine, so, in their face!"
"To be honest, it hasn't been as good as we thought it would be," said Neil Black, the training camp's physical therapist. "But it's still significantly better on a consistent basis than it is at home."
Earlier, bus tours of london england Jeneffer Ramirez, an SCHS freshman, paused from a workout with a plastic hoop to say she is excited that the Brits chose her high school. "It's probably the only time we are going to see them, and they are going to be in the Olympics," she said.
Most of the 50 athletes are training at their own expense. Thirteen of them, including Thompson, are funded by U.K. Athletics. The organization has run California camps the past five years or so, Black said, and currently has other camps in Florida and near the French border with Spain.
The California camp is split between San Clemente and Chula Vista, where a dozen more athletes (shot-putters, etc.) are training, including five who are funded by the organization. Funded athletes have met certain performance standards, while the others are working toward them.
Thompson said he has met the team's Olympic qualifying standard in the 10,000 meters but still needs to run the 5,000 at the trials in June. "Until the end of June or start of July, when you're confirmed on the team, there's an element of anxiety," Thompson said.
Maz Okoro is one of Britain's fastest runners in the 800 meters, a race that requires endurance and speed. She is training in both in the 400 and 800 meters, and while the training is all business, she said it's pleasant to be able to do some of her running in a venue like Dana Point Harbor. "Lovely," she called it.
"Mainly bus tours of london england shopping," she said. "You've got good outlets, so I'm definitely trying to get to a few of those. This is probably like my fifth trip, so in terms of big adventures, I really haven't been doing any of those. There's a nice church I go to out here. I'm kind of just catching up with old friends. Magic Mountain seems a favorite spot for us to go to, (and) visiting the beaches."
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