One year removed from winning her third and fourth NCAA titles as a distance runner at Iowa State, Lisa Koll will not be a participant in the running of the 2011 Drake Relays held later this month in Des Moines.

“I would love to race Drake, it’s just probably not the best timing for me,” Koll said in a phone interview Monday.

The timing of the Relays plays the biggest factor in Koll’s decision, being that she’s already scheduled to race May 1 at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.; the weekend after the Drake Relays.

Whether she was to run in Palo Alto or in Des Moines, both venues hold special meaning for the 23-year-old.

Koll set the NCAA record in the 10,000 meter run March 26, 2010, at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, finishing in 31 minutes, 18.07 seconds, breaking the mark of 31:25.45 by former NCAA champion Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech, who set it in 2008.

“Stanford is hard to beat, the track is great, the weather is great and there are always great fields assembled,” Koll said. “There’s definitely some personal attachment to the track there, every time I step on that track I feel comfortable.”

A two-time Drake Relays champion, Koll is also a Fort Dodge native, which would give her the opportunity to come home for only the third time since moving out to Portland, Ore., to train with Nike distance coach Jerry Schumacher in July, 2010.

“I feel like Drake is my home track,” Koll said. “I always feel so supported when I run there and it makes me feel excited because I always try to put on a show.”

The nine-time All-American at Iowa State also picked up her first National Championship victory on the blue track at Drake Stadium in the 10,000 at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

“Drake was fun the first couple years I was in high school because I just wanted to make it, then I wanted to be in the top 10, then to win my first national title there, it was special,” Koll said.

After the Payton Jordan Invitational, Koll will gear up for the 2011 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will be June 23 to 26 in Eugene, Ore., just more than 100 miles from Portland.

“I’m looking forward to getting back on the track and seeing how fit I am,” Koll said. “You never really know how fit you are until you get back on the track.”

The next two events for Koll beyond that will be the 2011 World Championships in late August in Daegu, South Korea, and then the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which will be in London.

“Qualifying for the Olympics and representing the U.S. would be a dream come true, that is definitely on the radar,” Koll said.

Although the next few months of running are planned out for her, Koll wouldn’t rule out a future appearance at the Drake Relays.

“You have to plan each year differently, maybe next year it would fit in better,” Koll said. “For this year it’s a little sad, but there are big goals that I have and I have to take the path that will help me run fast when it counts.”

Without having to attend college classes, Koll has had more time to adjust to her new life on the West Coast and to help her body recover from her rigorous workouts with 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist Shalane Flanagan.

“Shalane’s been so helpful as a training partner and as a friend,” Koll said. “It’s been great, I’ve really gotten settled and I have a good routine going now.

“I had an amazing support system at college with my family, the university and really the entire state. Now I have a support system here, [Portland is] really starting to feel like my home away from home.”

The Drake Relays will be April 28 to 30 in Des Moines.