Andy Weaver Qualifies for Olympic Trials

Andy gets to run a marathon next month (photo: Emily Gispert)

Jacksonville, FL - Sunday's Jacksonville Bank Half Marathon was designed with one purpose in mind: get as many American men and women qualified for next month's Olympic Trials as possible. Baltimore's Andy Weaver was among the competitors that felt he had a chance to run the requisite sub 1:05:00 to get there. Coming into the race, Andy had run a 1:05:59 back in October at the Philly Distance Run, and has a half marathon personal best around 1:05:40 - so it was going to demand a huge effort from him to run this lofty goal.

One hour, four minutes and twenty-six seconds after he started, he crossed the line, leaving a friendly cushion between him and 1:05. He placed 10th overall, which is almost as amazing as the time, considering the depth of the field. In all, 27 men and 14 women made the Trials cut. It must have been an awesome sight to see so many runners coming down the finishing stretch, one after one, qualifying for LA.

Full Results

With this result, Andy demolished his own personal best and established a new team record, that I don't see getting taken out for quite some time (unless he does it himself).

He also gets to run a marathon next month now, joining Chrissie Ramsey as two team members who will be running the US Marathon Olympic Trials, held in Los Angeles on February 13th.

Naturally, Andy earned the first Purple Drink Athlete of the Week for 2016.

Around the World

On Friday, Ayele Abshero of Ethiopia ran 2:04:23 to win the Dubai Marathon in his debut at the distance. He led an Ethiopian sweep of the podium, as four runners broke the 2:05:00 mark, with a remarkable 13 runners inside of 2 hours, 8 minutes. Ethiopians comprised all but one of the top 10 positions, as Kenyan Jonathan Maiyo slotted into 4th (2:04:56). Abshero negative split the race, running 2:02:22 for the first half, and covering the last 21.1km in 2:02:01. Interestingly, Martin Lel was in the race, was dropped before 30k, but finished, crossing the line in 2:34:57.

The women's race was a similar story: Ethiopian domination as 6 of the top 10 spots went to runners from the east African nation, including the winner, Aselefech Mergia Medessa. The defending champ, she set a Course Record, stopping the clock at 2:19:31, just 3 seconds ahead of Kenyan Lucy Kabuu. The top 3 women were all under 2:20:00, and 10 women broke 2:26.

Two things stand out from this race:

1. Considering how dominant Kenyans were last year at the marathon, this is an great result for Ethiopia early in the Olympic year.

2. It brings up the debate we had last April: what is it going to take to see women run fast times?
The answer to that question is: about a million dollars.

The Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, held in the oil-rich UAE, features a huge purse ($250k top M/F, money 10 deep), and as such, can command a field of comparable quality. As they say in The Wire, "follow the money." But, as Brennan might say, "I hate when the money's there."

With that kind of payday on the line, the fact that a "21 year old" first-time marathoner was able to win is incredible. Setting a Course Record is even more impressive. This race is no stranger to quick times, Haile Gebrselassie won here in 2008, 2009, and 2010, running the previous CR (2:04:53) in 2008. He returned to Dubai to break the World Record, but could never match his 2008 result. In 2009 he ran 2:05:29, and in 2010 he ran 2:06:09. Only last year's champion, Kenya's David Tumo, was even close to Geb's 2010 time, running a 2:07:18. On Friday, 2:06:29 would have earned you 10th place.  There were 13 runners under 2:08, and 17 under 2:10.  Imagine running that fast and not getting paid?  In all of America's running history, 17 men have run faster than 2:10.  Incredible.

Not only is this a great boost for Ethiopian marathoners, but it sets 2012 up to be another banner year globally for the distance.

Americans Take Flight in Houston

I'm pretty sure the Kenyans and Ethiopians aren't too concerned with the US Marathon Trials, I doubt they watch much television, but both the men's and women's races in Houston served as notice that maybe they shouldn't be counted out just yet.  While the times are not as eye-popping as the Dubai results, a few things should be considered:

1) This was a race comprised solely of Americans.  2 of the top 4 finishers ran PRs, and, for the first time ever, 4 men were under 2:10 at an Olympic Trials race.  Not only that, but there were a number of superb marathon debuts in the field.  Same for the women, PRs for a few (albeit, Shalane and Kara have together only run a couple of marathons) and a fast race.

2) It was a winner-takes-all event.  You never really know the effect of tactics when you're fighting for a spot on a team, rather than just looking for a payday. 

3) No rabbits!

4) The US is, I believe, the only country to host an Olympic Trials race for the marathon.  The other countries generally choose their athletes based on performances or other qualifying criteria throughout the Olympic cycle.  So at least 16 of the 19 Kenyans featured in the 2011 Top 20 times list will be sitting at home, and just because you can run 2:03, doesn't mean you will on one smoggy day in a late London summer. 

Millrose Games, and the new Millrose Games

Indoor track fans - all 1,000 of them - were stunned last year when the Millrose Games announced that they were going to leave their home of the past century, Madison Square Garden, in favor of heading 120 blocks north to the Armory.  Why would you take this great event out of the World's Most Famous Arena, only to move it to a venue that hosts literally dozens of meets each month, from high school to college, from alternative lifestyle meets to professional meets?

USATF then announced that they would no longer support the Millrose Games, and they were going to put on their own event.  An all too familiar situation for meet organizers.  USATF was going to hold the US Open at Madison Square Garden, so basically reincarnate the Millrose Games, but, you know, make it different.  Even the announcers couldn't get used to it, because all they did was draw parallels to the former Millrose events, like the showcase Wanamaker Mile.  I went to the Millrose Games a couple of times in high school, and it was cool, but was a little long in the tooth with all the heats of 4x400s.  This meet seemed more streamlined, and it appeared to have a decent number of fans in the stands.  Even if they had 5,000 in attendance, that's more than the Armory can even hold. 

But the Armory likely stands to benefit from faster times.  The short track, tight turns, and formerly wooden boards of the MSG track made Millrose notorious for slower times; for most athletes, the thrill was in getting to compete in the Garden.  The Armory is built for speed, and with the depth of the field competing at the new Millrose Games, plus a few races in the legs, next weekend's event should be a good one.  Of course, not all the athletes are psyched about the venue swap, as Bernard Lagat made his preference for the allure of Madison Square Garden known.

Perhaps my favorite post-race interview came from Women's Mile winner, Brenda Martinez.  She won the NB Games mile the previous week at the Armory, and owned this one from early on, setting an indoor mile PR (4:34.xx).  Afterwards, she was quick to thank the fans, and USATF, for their support in getting this meet going.  Compared to other interviews with athletes being critical of their race, even after a WIN, this was a very polished remark from a relative unknown.  She will earn herselves some sponsors for sure.

This Sunday, don't forget to set your DVRs for ESPN2 at 2pm for the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, from Boston.  Forget about the Superbowl, we've got Track and Field!

Houston: We Have A Problem

By now we've all read Chrissie's recap of her Olympic Trials race, which was a great read, and created some of the highest volume of traffic to the blog in our history.  Meg McNew was on hand and was able to grab a couple of photos, here's a good one:

Chrissie lettin' 'em know: I want that award this year!

Of course, Chrissie's race wasn't the only one going on, as 5 of us traveled down to haunted Charleston, SC, for the 2nd Annual Charleston Marathon and Shrimp & Grits 5k.  The marathon went off at 8am, starting downtown and heading north into Terribletown.  Conrad Laskowski and I started together, but it was quite evident that he was on good legs.  And even though he could have easily walked away with the win there, he kept turning around and looping back to check in on me.  So thoughtful, that C-Bag.  He probably ran 30 miles on the day, but his official time was 3:00:01 for 10th place.  I fell apart less bad than I usually do to run a 3:03:43 and finish 15th.

In the Shrimp and Grits 5k, which started up at the marathon finish line at 8:30, it was a clinic on How-To-Win, led by Ed Aramayo and Alyssa Godesky, featuring special guest, Andy Sovonick.  Ed cruised to the win in 15:12, and Alyssa won in 19:05.  Andy ran with Alyssa for 2 miles before dropping the hammer to run a 5 minute last mile (17:27, 7th).  We assumed, correctly, that the course was short, and we confirmed it to be 3 miles.  Even tacking on the extra 0.1, it was a great early season time for Ed, and a new PR, easily, by Alyssa. 

Post-Crushing Butts, pre-Shrimp and Grits

As previously discussed, we will be holding the first of two Club Challenge course runs THIS Sunday, January 22nd, at Howard County Community College.  Here is the pertinent information:

Sunday, January 22
HCCC, off of Little Patuxent River Parkway
RUNNING BY 9AM

What I mean by this is, on the starting line, ready to run, by 9am.  If you need additional miles or warm up, arrive earlier.  There is no guarantee that the Phys Ed building will be open, meaning no guarantee we will have bathrooms available, although last year I remember there being some port-o-pots around. 

There are many people attending, and likely many different ideas for workouts.  In merely offering a suggestion, last year for our first workout we did 3-4x2mi on the course, using the first 2 miles as a warmup, and then starting the workout at mile 2.  Doing the suggested workout will either take you to mile 8 or the finish.  A 2 mile cooldown puts you at 14.  Dustin and Nate are going to be running longer, in the 17-18 range.  Some may be running shorter.  Whatever your flavor is, have at it.  I will be going down as a course marshal, driving along the workout to make sure nobody gets lost.  This also means I can carry water bottles and nutrition for those who would like to bring it along. 

If you have any questions, just ask.  For directions and course information, and also to REGISTER if you have not, I refer you to www.striders.net/races/rrca/2012

Only a ___________ Drops Out of a Race

It looks like I’m not going to London. Qualifying in the last six weeks with only two seconds to spare and entering the race with the highest seed number (F200) who could have possibly seen that coming?

Such ambitious dreams, such an underwhelming performance, so many friends and family supporting me both in person and from afar, it begs the questions: Why would I drop out of the most important race of my life and how do I feel about it? Because my body told me to, and pretty darn good.

To quote Linda Holmes in the funniest sports editorial I have ever read regarding UConn’s win over Butler in the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball championship:

It takes a series of hard-fought wins to even be in the position to put on that kind of unmemorable championship-game performance.

This is precisely how I feel about my experience. Like all but a few serious contenders, qualifying for and being part of the trials was the goal I was striving for. I was there first to enjoy the privilege of taking the line with all of the best runners in the USA and second, to see how competitive I could be within my ability range.

I have no regrets. I ran my race according to plan. I went out conservatively, progressed through the race and was catching up to and passing people from miles 8 through 20 where things started to fall apart. It turns out that when you only do one training run longer than 2 hours 15 minutes your body isn’t prepared for the last six miles of a marathon. Oops. And by “oops” I mean I really shouldn’t have gotten hit by that car and cost myself 5 months of preparation. I’ve made a personal note to be less cavalier with my training “plan” in 2016.

But still, why did I drop out? It was the Olympic Trials. So many friends and family members have supported me in getting here. Didn’t I owe it to them to at least walk/jog my way across the finish line? I did it because I know the difference between injury pain and “I’d sure like to not be doing this anymore” pain. Furthermore, I have the confidence that there will be other even more important races in my future. I wasn’t in contention for an Olympic team or even for placing in the top 10 for the USA Championships. I was out there for myself striving for a personal best. I have dreams of getting to that next level, but I’m not there yet, and staying healthy is an essential part of the process.

Of all of the decisions I’ve had to make in my life and especially in the past year, dropping out of the race was neither regrettable nor damning. I used to put so much pressure on myself to perform. I would run on stress fractures, under eat, and over train. I hated any sign of weakness or bodily suggestion that I was human. I more than occasionally sulked and cried after disappointing races (which was any race where I didn’t run a personal best) and on several occasions fell into serious episodes of depression. Over the years, I learned that I don’t need to torture myself with my “livelihood”. Now I trust that life itself will provide a healthy dose of suffering and never cease to blindside me with strange new catastrophes. Running has become my escape. If I perform well, that’s great, if I have a bad day, I still got outside, released some endorphins and likely spent time with some amazing people.

Saturday was one of those days. I may have exceeded my body’s physical threshold then exhausted my capacity for pain four miles too soon, but I still had the opportunity to toe the line with all of the best runners in the country and some of the best in the world. I’ll be back with a vengeance in 2016 and looking forward to what the next four years have in store.

Life is hard. Running should be fun.

A Place Called Kokomo

In the Florida Keys, Arjun Majumdar ran the Miami-Key West Ragnar Relay with some friends.  While we were here, suffering through spring-like temperatures, Arjun got to run 3 legs of varying distances, at high rates of speed, with friends, surrounded by quietly beautiful scenery. 

This weekend also kicked off the indoor season for those athletes not averse to running fast around a small oval.  Ed Aramayo traveled up to NYC's Armory for the Metro Coaches Invitational.  Ed raced the 1000m, running 2:34.61 and finishing 3rd in his heat (10th overall).  He therefore established a Team record for the distance.  Later in the meet, he was tapped to run a leg of the 4x800m relay for Central Park Track Club, where he split 2:02.  In the same meet, Alan Webb made his return to racing, finishing 2nd in the 800m.

At the PG Complex on Sunday, Tristram Thomas (4:32), Tim Burns (4:38), and newcomer Chris Snyder (4:40) ran the 1600m.  Results may never show up for this one, as Potomac Valley Track Club no longer puts on these meets, but that was the report I received from TT.  And they channeled their inner Spider Sillery, arriving just 5 minutes before the gun.

Dave Ploskonka clearly feels no need to sit on his laurels, as he headed to Texas for the highly competitive Bandera 100k.  According to an ultra insider, Dave's 10h17m race and 11th place finish is "very, very good."  I'll take it!  Editor's note: I just found out that this event served as the 2012 USATF 100k Trail National Championship, so even cooler!

The BRRC was holding its Frozen Finger 5M on Saturday, but there were a few inconsistencies: 1) it wasn't 5 miles and 2) it was hardly frozen.  With morning temps in the 50s, and a course change to a more cross-country style loop course at the Park School, it wasn't quite the event some were expecting, but I did hear that Denise Knickman took the win.

In a land Down Under, Kevin Frick started his year off with the Sydney Resolution Run 11k, running 50:20 for 29th place. 

But the big result(s) of the weekend belonged to Pete Mulligan.  A few of Pete's long run friends were going to do two marathons this weekend.  The first was the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS, on Saturday.  Pete described the course as "Baltimore from 16-22, except starting at mile 2 and not ending until 24"- in other words, very hilly!  With temperatures well into the 70s, combined with the course profile, Pete's goal of getting under 4 was scaled back.  He finished just over 4:08, and after a short break, hopped in the car for the 3.5 hour drive to Mobile, Alabama, for Sunday's First Light Marathon.  While the course was pancake flat, with a marathon already in the legs, and the temperature hitting 76 degrees, Pete was not feeling it.  Physically, he said, he was alright, but mentally it was a long day for him, as he finished in 4:12:35 for 135th place.  But, for doing the double, Pete was rewarded with an EXTRA medal, and with his bib from Sunday's race, he earned a complimentary ticket to the GoDaddy.com Bowl, featuring Arkansas State and Northern Illinois. 

With 52.4 miles of racing, 3 medals, 2 t-shirts, and a Bowl game appearance, Pete has earned the first Purple Drink Athlete of the Week.

This week is an exciting one as Chrissie Ramsey heads down to Houston for the 2012 US Olympic Trials Marathon.  And the Houston Texans head here, to Baltimore, in the NFL Playoffs.  I predict Houston is going to get blazed coming and going.  Go Chrissie!

TRACK WORKOUT UPDATE: While it looks like the popular vote is to do a workout Tuesday, Ed and Arjun are going to look to Wednesday as their preferred day at the track.  If you generally do your workouts with them, get in touch with Ed for details.

Light Friday Reading

For your Friday reading enjoyment, two articles that I saw on the Twitter:

The first is about Erin O'Mara, who qualified for January's Olympic Trials by running a 2:43:55 at last weekend's California International Marathon.  Pretty good, considering her first marathon, the 2006 Detroit Free Press Marathon, took her 4:08:08.  A year later she dropped 46 minutes off.  In marathon #4, she ran a 2:55.  I'll let you read the rest!  Oh, and for Ryan Schmidt, Ben Ingram, Nina Hartman, Andy Olson, and scores more - she's from Michigan.

The second is about Kara Goucher, who is running the tragically-long-titled Dodge Latin Music Miami Beach Half Marathon this weekend.  She was originally slated to run the Las Vegas Half this past weekend, but her new coach wanted her to do the Miami race with training partners Shalane Flanagan and Lisa Uhl.  The plan is to go in on super tired legs, on the heels of very high volume.  Read how she's adapted to the new training regime.

Here's a great quote, from a question asking whether she and Shalane are friends: "When you're competing, you're competing.  Everyone is wanting the same thing.  Everybody wants to cross the line first.  But that doesn't mean you can't help each other get to that point."