spectating the u.s. olympic marathon trials

When I started last week’s training I was definitely concerned about the foreseeable lack of foot work due to a busy week ahead of me. As I planned my week I made sure I was honest with myself and didn’t mark down training days I knew deep down I wouldn’t fulfill. For example, scheduling a 12 mile run on Saturday afternoon after I’ve been on my feet all morning and afternoon cheering on the cream of crop at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

I think it’s important to not set these unrealistic expectations for myself and then feel like a complete failure for not executing what I set out to do. However, I know I’ve got to make at least some expectations, unrealistic or not, if I’m going to train hard for Miwok.

However, I surely wasn’t expecting (nor prepared for) the heat to arrive so quickly. Seems like yesterday I was wrapping myself in a blanket to keep warm and now, I don’t even want to look at it because I might start whimpering. Thought I could ease into heat training gently, but it appears to be here now and there is not easing into anything. Not a great training week that’s for sure. Managed to run a 5K this week. That’s it.

But here’s something great…

Last Saturday I braced the warm temps and ventured downtown to watch the Men’s and Women’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with my sister and a couple of friends. Initially we set up along the West side of Figueroa between 22nd and 23rd Streets, but deep down I knew this wasn’t going to be the best seat for the entire race. On this side of the street we were at miles 3, 9, 15, and 21 of the marathon, but that sun was going to hit us strongly and one of my friends was running the LA Marathon the next day so for sure this wasn’t going to be the best spot.

As we waited for the race to get started, we watched as the staff set up the timing mat and clocks. Men’s clock was on the left side. Women’s clock was on the right side. As my sister was talking to our mom, she mentioned the men started. Started?! Running??? The staff didn’t turn on the clock because apparently it was so loud in the area, they couldn’t hear the start.

Soon after a man rode up on his motorcycle and helped recalibrate the clock so it was accurate with the time. He bumped it up to 2:37. Having those clocks helped me know the men would be coming around by in another 10 minutes or so. Sure enough, I wasn’t too off in that estimate.

One thing I’m grateful for is having loops. The only other Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials I witnessed was in New York City in 2007 and seeing those men run around Central Park was amazing, but they run so fast, so it takes multiple times to see them.

It was maybe another 10 minutes or so before we noticed the bikes and truck rolling down the street. It was the women’s turn.

After we watched the men and women pass by, we scurried our chairs, pom poms and cowbells over to the other side of the street; the shady side of the street. And it was soooo much cooler! Half a block up the street we could see we were at miles 7, 13, 19, 25.

But it’s not like we had a whole bunch of time in between seeing these elite runners.

We would see the men pass us, we’d sit down, and a few minutes later, we would stand back up to see the women pass by. After seeing the women, we’d sit down a few minutes and then would see the vehicles on the other side because the men would be coming around again. This was literally non-stop action. Each group had to go around 4 times so we’d see them a total of 8 times.

While we were in the shade, the runners were fully exposed. And while the temperatures didn’t not get as hot as predicted, it was still very hot. We saw runners drop out of the race and we’d overhear them say “it’s too hot.” One female runner was moving along swiftly and then all of a sudden, came to a complete stop and dropped down to sit in the middle of the street. It was very reminiscent of Paula Radcliffe in the 2004 Olympic Summer Games in Athens. A gentleman came over to her and gave her some water and within a few minutes the medics came over to whisk her away via wheelchair to the nearby medical tent.

While the fastest of the fastest were near the front, it was those runners who were in the middle, and back of the pack, I was impressed with.

One particular runner who really stuck out during the trials was, this guy:

I was seriously rooting for him. He was last. I saw him walking as he fought through leg cramps. As the Olympic Team was set, and most of men were finishing, this guy (Chris Barnicle) was making his way towards the final loop. People were packing up and leaving, and our section was fairly desolate at this point, but I wanted to stay to see if he decided to call it a day, or embark on his final lap. I joyfully cheered when I saw him make his way on the other side of the street to finish his final lap. However, soon afterwards I packed up myself and walked up to the LA Marathon Expo. I missed him finishing the race.

You may not win. You may not go to the Olympics. You may even come in last. But you got to run in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials!!! Something I know I will never ever to do! That’s something to be extremely proud of.

This was truly a spectacular day being a part of witnessing the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials. Seeing all the action up close was an absolute amazing experience and so happy I got to see it.

Thanks for reading and Happy Running!