Olympic Marathon Trials (Read 246 times)

    Had to share this little anecdote .. my local running store/microbrewery held a little Q&A last week for runners in the area who'd qualified for the Olympic Marathon. One of them seemd a bit more on edge than the others. He said he'd visualized crossing the finish line at the trials every day for 4 years.

     

    We all gathered at the bar a week later to watch our local contingent ... and sure enough, our guy Jake Riley came in second. It was pretty exciting to watch him come out of the pack -- and cool to finally get to see a whole marathon all the way through on TV (tough for someone without cable!)

     

    I don't have cable either but I'm usually able to watch the big city marathons through the local TV station which streams their broadcast for free.

    Personal Records:

    5K - 20:07 ran in September 2021 (The second half split during the 10K run listed below.)

    10K - 41:10 ran in September 2021

    8 miles - 56:15 ran in November 2021

    Half Marathon - 1:39:06 ran in September 2020

    LedLincoln


    not bad for mile 25

      Had to share this little anecdote .. my local running store/microbrewery held a little Q&A last week for runners in the area who'd qualified for the Olympic Marathon. One of them seemd a bit more on edge than the others. He said he'd visualized crossing the finish line at the trials every day for 4 years.

       

      We all gathered at the bar a week later to watch our local contingent ... and sure enough, our guy Jake Riley came in second. It was pretty exciting to watch him come out of the pack -- and cool to finally get to see a whole marathon all the way through on TV (tough for someone without cable!)

       

      Wow, that would have been exciting for your group. Congrats again to Jake!

        We were hanging out for a while on a big downhill section on Peachtree around mile 8 where there was a neutral fluid table with bottles of Powerade and water.  The bottles kept blowing off the table (despite being full) and rolling into the street and we were desperately chasing them down before someone broke an ankle.

         

        On a side note, while Atlanta Track Club seemed to do a good job, I found the police (or course marshals) unusually unfriendly.  I'm normally super sympathetic to them since they're trying to corral a zillion people while keeping runners safe.  But they were hard core about not letting you cross a street when no runner was in sight and there were no gates or fencing that you'd have to jump/remove.

         

        I also want to applaud the genius who scheduled a motocross race in the Mercedes dome which is at mile 25.5.  I watched countless motocross fans trying to get to the stadium to be told "no crossing for the next hour".  Not that I'm ever siding with the motocross fans...

         

         

        I was volunteering on the course and there were two medical tents on the corner.  As the lead women were about to come through the first time (probably just past the 2 mile mark), the wind started to blow both tents onto the course.  The med tent volunteers had to jump into the street and pull them back onto the sidewalk as the truck with the clock was about to hit them.  I have video of them holding the tent posts the entire time the women were passing.  At one point later in the race, the wind managed to make both tents go airborne and blew them into the middle of the street.  Very lucky that no one was coming by at the time!  They folded up the tents & never brought them back out after that, lol.

        Running Problem


        Problem Child

          Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

          VDOT 53.37 

          5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

          runlikeagirI


            You could very well be talking about my intersection. I was right where the neutral fluids area ended. I know a table of sponges blew over and one with Gatorade also blew over. The no crossing was a hardcore set rule. There were a handful of exceptions made where someone was escorted to the other side by a cop but if you live or work in the area you knew for weeks this was happening.  I was certainly friendly to people unless they started cursing at me or the cops.

             

            We were hanging out for a while on a big downhill section on Peachtree around mile 8 where there was a neutral fluid table with bottles of Powerade and water.  The bottles kept blowing off the table (despite being full) and rolling into the street and we were desperately chasing them down before someone broke an ankle.

             

            On a side note, while Atlanta Track Club seemed to do a good job, I found the police (or course marshals) unusually unfriendly.  I'm normally super sympathetic to them since they're trying to corral a zillion people while keeping runners safe.  But they were hard core about not letting you cross a street when no runner was in sight and there were no gates or fencing that you'd have to jump/remove.

             

            I also want to applaud the genius who scheduled a motocross race in the Mercedes dome which is at mile 25.5.  I watched countless motocross fans trying to get to the stadium to be told "no crossing for the next hour".  Not that I'm ever siding with the motocross fans...

             

            LedLincoln


            not bad for mile 25

              https://www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a31166343/olympic-marathon-trials-pregnant-runners/

               

              These women probably beat my best time on Sunday.

               

              Well, the one woman ran a 3:07 at eight months. Not a time I will ever beat, no matter how unpregnant I am.

                The aid station volunteers were great!   And while locals knew the rules I’m not local so I’m blissfully ignorant.

                 

                I was certainly friendly to people unless they started cursing at me or the cops.

                 

                Running Problem


                Problem Child

                  Marty is thank the genius who designed a marathon without considering there might be an event at the big event place downtown on a Sunday.

                  Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

                  VDOT 53.37 

                  5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

                    Assuming the Olympics are delayed by a year, will they re-run the Trials next February for a new team?

                    darkwave


                    Mother of Cats

                      Assuming the Olympics are delayed by a year, will they re-run the Trials next February for a new team?

                       

                      I would be shocked if they did.  It takes a lot of effort to hold something like that, even if you're just repeating what you did before.  And perhaps Atlanta Track Club doesn't want to hold it a second time.   If so, there's not enough time to bid it out elsewhere and organize (though I guess you could ask some spring 2021 marathon if they were willing to hold it).

                       

                      Also, there would be huge public outcry if those who thought they had made the team were now removed from it.

                      Everyone's gotta running blog; I'm the only one with a POOL-RUNNING blog.

                       

                      And...if you want a running Instagram where all the pictures are of cats, I've got you covered.

                        Assuming the Olympics are delayed by a year, will they re-run the Trials next February for a new team?

                         

                        I have to agree with dw - the qualification stands.

                        Dave

                        Half Crazy K 2.0


                          A lot can change in a year. I guess the question is to you try to do right by the athletes who qualified and by no fault of their own have no Olympics to run in this year or do you re-run the trials (maybe just with A standard qualifiers) to have the strongest team in 2021?

                          wcrunner2


                          Are we there, yet?

                            This does not address how the US will select its T&F team, but here's the IOC's statement on qualifying.

                             2024 Races:

                                  03/09 - Livingston Oval Ultra 6-Hour, 22.88 miles

                                  05/11 - D3 50K
                                  05/25 - What the Duck 12-Hour

                                  06/17 - 6 Days in the Dome 12-Hour.

                             

                             

                                 

                            Running Problem


                            Problem Child

                              Also, there would be huge public outcry if those who thought they had made the team were now removed from it.

                               

                              Number 1 reason I would not expect to see a second Olympic trials. You might not get the same performance from the runners, OR you might just not have them show up because you just told them everything they did wasn't good enough and you changed the rules after the fact. If the United States Olympic teams starting holding second tryouts I'd have another reason not to watch the Olympics.

                               

                              The Olympics are just one event. These athletes are professionals and have events all year long to train for. Unless they're promised a big paycheck for making the team I could see them passing up on the opportunity because at the end of the day they have bills to pay.

                              Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

                              VDOT 53.37 

                              5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22