On Saturday, this Saturday, 1/14/12, in the city of Houston, Texas, somewhere between 250-300 elite athletes will toe the line and race to secure a spot on the U.S. Olympic Marathon team. There are three male spots and three female spots. This race occurs every four years and has provided for some serious spectating over the years; if you want to get a serious runner upset, claim a certain year had the stiffest competition and watch them get hot. However, this edition of the race is going to be rare for many cases. The rarest things about the race is that the men's and women's races are going to be held in the same city, on the same day, on the same course. This has never been done before. The other odd thing is the USATF (United State of America's Track and Field Assoc.) has allowed the athletes to wear any sponsor's advertisement on their running paraphernalia. The first items are pretty neat, but the second item is a sad sign of our materialistic country and culture. (It has gotten so bad that several athletes have begun advertising space on their arms and legs. Really? I won't go into what I think about all of that right now, but if you know me, I'm sure you already know what I think about it?)
The important details are that the Men's race begins at 8:00 AM CST and then Women's race begins at 8:15 AM CST. There will no live coverage. Yes, you just read that. However, NBC, who currently owns the rights to produce all Olympic sporting events for the 2012 Olympics, will show race highlights between 3:00 PM-5:00 PM. I guess they would rather show cartoons or a couple of sorry reruns than the Olympic Trails Marathon, but I'm going to pretend to not be bitter. There are some highly favored runners and some long shots. I'm going to be rooting for both. And, you faithful readers of HTH, don't have to worry. I'll post the results. Runner's World and Letsrun.com are going to be your best sources for inside information or for that matter information at all concerning the race. And the official race website is http://www.houston2012.com/
The top ten male runners to watch out for are the usual: Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Meb Keflezighi, Mo Trafeh, Brett Gotcher, Jason Hartman, Nick Arciniaga, Jason Lehmkuhle, and Fernando Cabada. But there are also many long shots and several longer shots, but as noted by many of the front-runners have said this week is that the marathon distance needs to be and must be respected because even the greatest and fastest runners have failed at the distance. The top ten female runners to watch are Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila, Kara Goucher, Amy Hastings, Deena Kastor, Magdalena Boulet, Jenn Rhines, Stephanie Rothenstein, Clara Grandt, and Blake Russell. The same mindset can be said for the women's race when it comes to respecting the distance and the fact that anything can happen over a 26.2 mile race.
I am not exactly sure where I got my love for the Olympics from, but for as long as I can remember, I have been in awe of the summer Olympics. I remember cheering for the Dream Team basketball team of my youth, Carl Lewis, Dan & Dan, and many others throughout the years. I remember checking the daily medal counts in 96', 00', 04', and in 08'. If I had been blessed with much more athletic talent than I have, I think I would have given up so much to be an Olympian. The whole idea of wearing my country's singlet or jersey and representing it in front of the entire world seems hard to even imagine. But a guy can dream, right? So, I'll bring this spirit to my spectating this coming Saturday and to the Olympic Track Trials in June right before my focus turns to London.
Enjoy the race. May the best three win a chance to represent the Red, White, and Blue. May Ryan run like he has wings. May Meb, Deena, & Blake shut down the skeptics. May the long shots hang with the lead pack much farther than mile 16 and maybe even one or two of them come in third. May there actually be a sprint to the finish. I can't wait till the gun goes off.
Happy Spectating and USA! USA! USA! USA!
The important details are that the Men's race begins at 8:00 AM CST and then Women's race begins at 8:15 AM CST. There will no live coverage. Yes, you just read that. However, NBC, who currently owns the rights to produce all Olympic sporting events for the 2012 Olympics, will show race highlights between 3:00 PM-5:00 PM. I guess they would rather show cartoons or a couple of sorry reruns than the Olympic Trails Marathon, but I'm going to pretend to not be bitter. There are some highly favored runners and some long shots. I'm going to be rooting for both. And, you faithful readers of HTH, don't have to worry. I'll post the results. Runner's World and Letsrun.com are going to be your best sources for inside information or for that matter information at all concerning the race. And the official race website is http://www.houston2012.com/
The top ten male runners to watch out for are the usual: Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Meb Keflezighi, Mo Trafeh, Brett Gotcher, Jason Hartman, Nick Arciniaga, Jason Lehmkuhle, and Fernando Cabada. But there are also many long shots and several longer shots, but as noted by many of the front-runners have said this week is that the marathon distance needs to be and must be respected because even the greatest and fastest runners have failed at the distance. The top ten female runners to watch are Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila, Kara Goucher, Amy Hastings, Deena Kastor, Magdalena Boulet, Jenn Rhines, Stephanie Rothenstein, Clara Grandt, and Blake Russell. The same mindset can be said for the women's race when it comes to respecting the distance and the fact that anything can happen over a 26.2 mile race.
I am not exactly sure where I got my love for the Olympics from, but for as long as I can remember, I have been in awe of the summer Olympics. I remember cheering for the Dream Team basketball team of my youth, Carl Lewis, Dan & Dan, and many others throughout the years. I remember checking the daily medal counts in 96', 00', 04', and in 08'. If I had been blessed with much more athletic talent than I have, I think I would have given up so much to be an Olympian. The whole idea of wearing my country's singlet or jersey and representing it in front of the entire world seems hard to even imagine. But a guy can dream, right? So, I'll bring this spirit to my spectating this coming Saturday and to the Olympic Track Trials in June right before my focus turns to London.
Enjoy the race. May the best three win a chance to represent the Red, White, and Blue. May Ryan run like he has wings. May Meb, Deena, & Blake shut down the skeptics. May the long shots hang with the lead pack much farther than mile 16 and maybe even one or two of them come in third. May there actually be a sprint to the finish. I can't wait till the gun goes off.
Happy Spectating and USA! USA! USA! USA!
David
Praying for Ryan to almost leave the ground!
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