Brennan's Diary: Trials Day 1

I asked Brennan if he would indulge us by sending some updates from Eugene during the 10 days of Olympics Trials. He just asks we keep in mind he's not editing this and he's sending it from his iPhone! We'll keep checking in with Brennan over the week.

I'm obviously I big fan & follower of running as I've been around it my entire life thanks to a great family with similar interests. This has made coming out to the trials a great experience thus far. And as great as entering historic Hayward Field for the first time was & watching many outstanding races on day 1 of the trials, the thing I've enjoyed the most is taking a step back & realizing how unique our sport is!

Here are a few ways:

I traveled with the athletes to the competition. There were several on my flight & we actually had to drive the plane back from the runway to the gate because somehow southwest had realized they didn't have the bags of one of the athletes & they did not want them to be without them. They made an announcement & everyone had no complaints & in fact clapped to encourage the athletes on board.

I sat 30 feet away from Albert Salazar as he coached 2 of his athletes to the Olympics. Imagine being on the sidelines of a playoff game and being that close to the coach!

The athletes are so accessible. I Kara, Adam & Colt Goucher were hanging out in the stands just in front of us.

From my seats I can yell encouragement to the runners as they head to the warmup track under the stands, stand on the line & after the finish. I can even get down & get a high five (Miami style) during the victory laps.

You add in the legendary athletes to this as well - Michael Johnson, JBS, Billy Mills, Dan O'Brien, etc, etc.

On top of this the fans in the stands are the friendliest people around. They wanna know your story. They wanna support who you support. We are all here cause we love track & know what it's taken these athletes to get here.

It truly is like no other sport in the world.

Throughout the week these athletes are around the track supporting each other & out in the community joining us common folk on runs as well. And then you have my personal favorite: track & bars. The bar across the street we went to last night had the entire staff in Track Town shirts & had the NBC coverage on...as well as a Comcast track special on a few other tvs. Nothing like seeing a bar full of track geeks watching back to back 10ks after they had just seen that exact race.

Needless to say, it's been fun - even if I'm "sleeping" in a dorm room and having to go up a floor to use the men's bathroom.

Gotta go meet up with the brooks/flotrack crew. Then it's off to pre's rock & the meet ... Maybe a wr in the dec?