But those awards alone weren't enough to convince others that Davila was a good enough runner to make it to the Olympic Games. Luckily for Davila, she only had to convince herself.

After graduating from Arizona State, Davila decided to make a move from her hometown near San Diego, Calif., to Rochester Hills, Mich., in 2005. Her parent's weren't thrilled with the idea, but it was her older sister, Natalie, who encouraged her to make the move anyway, according to the Detroit Free Press.

So Davila made the move and began training with the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project in Michigan. It took six years and two Olympic trials, but the move finally paid off in January when Davila finished second in the U.S. Marathon Olympic Team Trials. The top three finishers qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games, and with her finish, Davila had booked her ticket to London.

The second-place finish wasn't Davila's first notable marathon. In 2011, the 28-year-old finished second in the Boston Marathon with the fastest Boston time run by an American woman. The year before, Davila finished fourth in the Chicago Marathon.

But all that is behind the 5-foot-2-inch runner now, as Davila is only looking forward and focusing London. She's excited to see just how good she really can be, she told ESPN.

"…Finding out how good I can be -- for me, that's just really exciting," she told ESPN in April. "I have this talent. I'm not sure why, and I'm getting better and better. How far can I push myself?"

She'll be looking to answer that question when the marathon race begins at the 2012 Olympic Games.

Sandra Johnson is an avid Olympic fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee and living in the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Johnson had the opportunity to immerse herself in the Olympic Movement. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46

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