Wow. Seriously. Wow.I had the special treat of watching the US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials this morning. The boys were watching the end of Spiderman 3, so it was just me, my coffee and some insanely talented runners for 2 hours nine minutes and one second. It was pure bliss.
Ryan Hall was amazing. It is tough to describe how awesome it was watching him finish. He was yelling, waving and living in his amazing moment. It was painful to watch Dan Browne falter and stop to stretch after his calves started seizing. It was a heartbreaker to see Meb falter once again. And it was invigorating to watch Brian Sell come back from the second pack late in the race to handily take 3rd place. He had the passion, the drive, and the ability to take it to the next level. Oh yeah, and Khalid. Awesome.
These men work so hard. Even if I was a talented runner (which I am not), I don't think I ever could have been so disciplined and driven to achieve as they have. I have deep respect for all of them.
With that said, as much as I loved watching Hall come in and set the US Olympic Trails record, it was amazing to me that he never looked like he had to dig deep. Or get past that pain barrier. He looked like he was out on a tempo run. I cannot WAIT to see what this guy has to offer down the road. Truly an inspiration.
And now - tragedy. I just read that Ryan Shay passed away during the race. What an unbelievable turn from the joy that just was the Men's Olympic Trials .... My prayers are to his new wife and his family.
2 comments:
That is really sad about Shay. I was reading over on Letsrun that Shay's father revealed that Shay had of an enlarged heart, but didn't think much of it.
The question I always wonder is that runners with cardiac abnormalities live shorter because of their running OR longer because of it. I have no expertise in this area, however, so any speculation on my end is a shot in the dark.
I was lucky to be there to see the race in person. There was lots of action early on, but all the favorites stayed within shouting distance of the front.
For the last 2 laps we camped out at the 19/24 mile marker (right after the water stop on that side).
It was amazing to see it all go down. You are right - Hall did not even look like he was straining. Everyone else (cept maybe Ritz) was deep in pain-land at that point but Hall was just pouring it on. When he went by, we went nuts, then we all looked back. And waited. And waited.
We were really lucky to be right across the course from one of the Hansons. When Sell came by at 19 - he was maybe 7th? I think Browne was 3rd, Meb 4th, Khalid was in there. Nate Jenkins maybe? Then Sell.
The Hanson guy went nuts running behind the barrier along with Brian. He was yelling at him HS coach style - 'If you are going to go you have to go NOW!!!'.
And he did! He was getting updates from someone on the phone and shouting them out for us. "Khalid is coming back! Khalid is coming back! He's getting Browne!"
It was wild. Just wild.
He came by 24 and the you couldn't have stopped by with a truck. The intensity in his eyes was just amazing.
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