Wow! That about sums up my reaction to the Olympic Marathon Trials women’s race! I willingly admit that I was unable to refrain from checking Twitter for updates on both the men’s and women’s races. I just couldn’t hold out until 3pm (thanks NBC for making us wait 6 hours to watch the race!).
The women’s race had a really stacked field, and viewers were not disappointed. Although the women got off to a slower start, an eventual lead pack consisted of Desiree Davila, Shalane Flanagan, Kara Goucher and Amy Hastings.
Very late in the race Flanagan was able to break away from Desi Davila and take first place with a record-breaking 2:25:38 (also a new PR!). Davila finished second in 2:25:55 and Goucher in third at 2:26:06. Shalane has had a lot of success this past year on the track and her speed clearly showed in the last mile of the race. Incidentally, Flanagan and Goucher are now team mates. How cool is it that they get to train for the Olympics together?
I am very happy to report that Wendy Thomas finished her debut marathon (yes it was her first!) in the 12th spot with a time of 2:34:25. That’s a pretty impressive time for a first marathon- go Wendy!
The men’s race pretty much went as predicted with Meb Keflezighi (2:09:08) and Ryan Hall (2:09.30) taking the number one and two spots. Although Meb barely missed breaking the Trials record for the marathon, he succeeded in becoming the first man to win both the Olympic Trials Marathon and the New York City Marathon. He also became the oldest man to win the Trials at age 36 (he’s also a father runner to 3 girls).
The heartbreaker in this race was Dathan Ritzenhein. He ran such a great race. He was with the lead pack for quite a while and dropped off towards the end. Trailing a clearly faltering Abdi Abdirahman for the third spot, he surged at the end and barely missed taking the third qualifying spot. You could see the tears and frustration on his face as he crossed the finish line and realized how close he was to making it to the Olympics. I was almost in tears myself—I can only imagine what that might feel like.
I really enjoyed getting to watch the Olympic Marathon Trials on national television–I just wish NBC hadn’t decided to air it so much later. There was way too much time for spoilers! Go Team USA!
Thank God for Twitter, right? It was so nice to have play by play updates as the race went on. It definitely motivated me to get out there this morning and move!
Never thought I would say that, but yes! I kept refreshing a million times! 🙂
I cannot wrap my brain around that kind of speed for that length of time. I resisted checking for updates so I could be in the moment while NBC was airing – but it was too hard to ignore the final results they displayed across the screen from the start! I was happy for Kara but my heart sank for both Amy and Dathan.
I know, I should have added that it was so tough to watch Amy miss out too. Their speed is really awe-inspiring. I can’t even run 1 mile that fast, let alone 26.2! 😉
I was following along on twitter and really wish they had aired it live!
I think they definitely got a lot of flack for not airing it live. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it was even an hour later, but six! It was too hard to wait! 🙂
Awesome recap! Thank you! I also wish it was aired live. You did a great job recapping what happened. I was happy to read your report!
Aww, thanks Sara! 🙂
Awesome that Wendy got 12th, wow! I was watching for her, but couldn’t pick her out. Yes- it was heartbreaking to watch both the 4th place men and women with such a close race, but especially Ritz… 🙁
I know, she was so nervous about it and she ended up totally kicking butt! So great to see! Congrats on your awesome half marathon performance! Hope I can see those numbers in March! 🙂
Thanks for the support! I don’t know how I didn’t see your recap in jan probably just busy with the kids. 🙂 I just wanted to say thanks again! Support from everyone keeps me going!
I totally hear you on the busy with the kids part! 😉 Thank YOU for inspiring us mother runners! 🙂