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Tracktown, USA: Last night’s recap and 1500m Previews

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by Chris McClung

Epic. That is the only way to describe last night in Tracktown. I am lucky enough to be in Eugene, OR now and was at the stadium last night to witness the events of the night including 5K finals. I have been to historic Hayward Field before but never during a track meet and definitely not during the Olympic Trials. Words cannot describe the mix of excitement, anxiety, passion, joy, suffering, and hope that fills that place, not just from last night but whispering from thousands of races past where hopes and dreams were made or dashed on the oval in the middle. If you haven’t watched a track meet at Hayward Field, it should be on your bucket list.

There were so many great moments last night that brought goosebumps to my skin, more so than any chill that came with the mid-50 temperatures and rain.

Some of the highlights:

The Men’s Discus:

I know nothing about the discus throw and can say that I have never paid attention to the sport. Last night, the final of the men’s discus was on the infield as other running events were taking place on the track. Often times, the field events go unnoticed, since everyone is paying attention to something else.

Last night was different. The crowd became aware that the man leading the discus still needed the A standard distance to make the team, otherwise the next 3 athletes on the list would go in his place even if he won the night. It was down to his final throw, and he needed to throw 2 more feet on his next one to make the team. 22,000 people started clapping in unison to show their support as he approached the throwing circle. We continued clapping as he began to feed off of the energy and encourage us to get louder. The next few moments seemed to last for minutes as he spun, threw, and unleashed a throw that was initially wobbling but then leveled to fly clean and true. It was the most beautiful, arching throw of the night. The crowd watched and then gasped as we knew that it was a good one but that it would be close. Silence replaced the clapping and cheers as we all waited on his distance to pop up on the scoreboard, knowing that he needed to clear 213 feet to make the team.

Then, 213’ 9” flashed and we erupted in cheers and a standing ovation as Lance Brooks celebrated wildly on the infield getting embraces from his closest competitors and new team members. He was an Olympian, and he made it when it counted most with all eyes on him and one final heave to go.

The Women’s 5K:

This one proved to be as dramatic as we thought it might be. The race for the final 3 spots came down to the final straightaway and ultimately the women’s 5K Olympic team was decided by lean and 4 one-hundredths of a second. Check out this picture of the finish for 3rd here:
http://www.letsrun.com/2012/lucas-0629.php
.

Kim Conley was the story of the race. With 200 meters to go, she was in 5th and 25 meters behind then 3rd place Julia Lucas. Lucas was slowing dramatically as she had pushed to the lead too early and then started to fade, but Conley still needed to pass 4th place and close the gap. Plus, she had to do it fast enough to achieve the A standard that she still needed. And, she did it. She closed the gap, nipped Lucas at the line, and finished .2 seconds below the A standard.

Her interview is definitely worth a watch:
http://www.flotrack.org/coverage/248612-2012-US-Olympic-Team-Trials-Track-Field/video/645018-Kim-Conley-shocks-21000-at-Hayward-Field-with-5k-3rd-and-A-standard-at-2012-Olympic-Trials

In the opening to the interview, she talks about watching the Olympic Trials in 2008 from home. She was talking to her mom and saying that she could make it in 2012. Her mom agreed, but then she realized her mom was talking about making the Olympics, while she was just talking about just making it to the Trials. Now, she is an Olympian, and her mom was right!

The Men’s 5K:

The story of the men’s 5K came down to an epic battle for 1st place. Galen Rupp beat Bernard Lagat at his own game with a ridiculous 52 second final lap to nip him at the line, get his win against Lagat on this 13th try, and set the US Olympic Trials 5K record while doing it. The prior record holder from 30 years ago? The great Steve Prefontaine. Unreal.

Rupp proved that he is not just a legitimate medal threat in the 5K and 10K at London, but that he could go for the gold. If you aren’t watching those races during the Olympics then you will miss out!

On to the 1500m…

The 1500m Crapshoot

The Basics

If you like to gamble, then the 1500m is your race to watch. The very nature of the race, especially during a tactical, championship final, means that anyone can win. Add to that the fact that every single 1500m runner thinks they have the fastest closing kick, and you have a pair of races for both men and women that are set up to be high drama, likely not decided until the closing meters.

One logistical note, the 1500m is also unique in that it is contested over 3 rounds. Each round narrows the field until there are 12 athletes left on each side for the final. Last night was the qualifying round where the fields were reduced from 30 to 24. Today is the semi-final round where the fields will be reduced from 24 to 12 to make your final start list for Sunday.

I don’t have time for a full preview of both races, but they should be great ones.

On the men’s side, 7 men have the Olympic A standard and any of them could make the team with the right kick. Those 7 are: Russell Brown, Andrew Wheating, Leo Manzano, Jeff See, Robby Andrews, Matt Centrowitz, and David Torrence. You should watch and cheer for the local boy and UT grad, Leo Manzano. He is my pick to win because he always does it when it counts. Watch the tiny Leo close hard and get them at the line.

The women’s race will be equally exciting as 5 women have the A standard – Anna Pierce, Jenny Simpson, Morgan Uceny, Alice Schmidt, and Shannon Rowbury. Again, any of those 5 could make the team and watch out for darkhorse Brenda Martinez who could squeeze and get the A standard if the race goes the right way.

Morgan Uceny is in a class of her own and should get the win. Beyond that, it is anyone’s race. When the dice get rolled, we will see who shows up!

Tracktown, USA: The Basics + Men’s 10K Preview

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by Chris McClung

The first big race is tonight with the 10,000m Finals for men and women. I will attempt to approach these previews less like a sports writer or track geek and more like a storyteller.  So, here we go…

(Missed my intro to this blog series? You can catch it here for context)

Before I get to the 10K preview, let’s start with some basic info, so you can follow the events more closely:

The TV schedule

Set your DVRs now. Here is the TV schedule by day with the events to be aired during each TV segment:


http://running.competitor.com/2012/06/news/2012-u-s-olympic-trials-track-field-tv-schedule_54150

 A few things to note:

- Some of the events are shown on NBC Sports HD (channel 1640 for AT&T Uverse and 1646 for Time Warner), and some are shown on NBC (channels 4 or 1004 on AT&T and 4 or 1521 on TW). Note the differences. In general, weeknight races will be shown on NBC Sports and weekend races on NBC.

- The TV schedule at the above link shows TV times in Eastern time, while the events listed under each segment show their Pacific start time. That is ridiculously confusing. Subtract 1 hour from the Eastern times to match our TV times, and add 2 hours to the event schedule to see which events will be shown live during each segment. Note: the downtime between each event will be used to replay events taking place before live TV kicks on.

- I will give you event-specific info before each event preview and will use only Central Times, so you will know exactly when/where to watch.

Olympic Qualifying Basics

This can be confusing for the distance events because Olympic Qualifying times become a factor to make the team, and not all athletes in the field will have reached the Olympic Qualifying times. You will hear about A standards and B standards, Olympic standards and Olympic Trials standards. Boiling it down to the basics, the US will send 3 athletes to the Olympics in each of the previewed events.

And, those 3 athletes who qualify will be the 3 athletes in the race with the highest places that ALSO have run the Olympic Qualifying “A Standard” time in that particular event (either prior to the race or in the race itself). For this reason, race tactics become interesting because certain athletes in the field will need not only to place highly but also a specific time in order to make the team. Both time and place matter.

It should also be noted that, since these Trials also serve as our National Championships this year, there are athletes who race in certain events who may choose not to go to the Olympics in that event even if they qualify.

Now to the 10K…

10,000m Event Preview

The Basics

Men’s Preview: Former Olympians vs. the Other Guys

This is the deepest men’s 10K field at the Trials in recent history. With 8 runners holding the Olympic A standard, and another 5 within 10 seconds of it, this race is setting up to be good and fast. Your top 3 finishers will almost certainly run faster than 27:45 (66.6 sec laps) and make the Olympic Team. The one question will be… who in the field is willing to keep the pace honest from the start?

Of the 13 runners who have a legitimate shot, 3 of them – Galen Rupp, Dathan Ritzenhein, and Matt Tegenkamp – were Olympians in 2008 and are your favorites. The other 10 contenders are all hard-working, blue-collar runners, each of them will need some magic but any could find themselves on the podium. Those 10 contenders (in no particular order) are Robert “Bobby” Curtis, Chris Derrick, Bobby Mack, Ben True, Brent Vaughn, Tim Nelson, Scott Bauhs, Ryan Vail, Joseph Chirlee, and Aaron Braun.

Here of some of the stories to watch:

Galen Rupp – The Lebron James of US Distance Running

Galen Rupp is the Lebron James of distance running. Plucked from a soccer field at age 12, he has been coached by Alberto Salazar (the great American marathoner) and essentially sponsored by Nike since then. His athletic development has occurred with a silver spoon in his mouth, and he has both fans and critics because of it. For the longest time, critics claimed that he couldn’t close… couldn’t finish (sound familiar Lebron fans?), but now his finishing kick is one of the most devastating in the field. Given his recent form, it will take a serious mishap or choke job for him to lose this race.

The big question with him: will he help his training partner Dathan Ritzenhein with early pacing because Dathan still needs his Olympic A Standard time? [Note: you can read about Dathan in my blog from the Olympic Marathon Trials here). He attempts to make the team in the 10K after missing it in the marathon.] Either way, look for Galen to keep the pace honest early and then close hard and fast with his punishing kick to get the win.

Chris Derrick – The Bridesmaid

Chris just graduated from Stanford. Chris’s running career so far can be summed up with one phrase: “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.” He finished his running career at Stanford as arguably the fastest American collegiate never to have won an NCAA title. He finished 2nd, 3rd, or 4th in NCAA final races 8 times, always right there and every time outkicked. Can he win tonight? Probably not. Can he make the team and cast off his demons from college? We shall see…

Bobby Mack – The Scrapper

Bobby is one of the athletes who still needs the A standard (and a lot to go right) in order to make the team. He will surely go for it though.  He is that kind of guy – a fighter. In the past year, Bobby has 3 US titles (in cross country, road, and trail), but still has no sponsor. He has a Master’s Degree but currently works at a local running store in North Carolina to make ends meet and to get the gear he needs to furnish/support his 100+ mile weeks. Will he get the last laugh and prove his would-be sponsors wrong, laughing all the way to London?

Aaron Braun – The Hard-Working Dad

Aaron is probably the least known but most accomplished and versatile runner in the professional ranks at the moment. He trains with Team McMillian Elite in Flagstaff, Arizona, a team sponsored by Adidas under a similar model as Rogue Athletic Club. In the past 18 months, Aaron has finished on the podium in races ranging from one mile to 10 miles… oh, and he became a dad in the process (8 months ago).  He recently lowered his 5K personal best to 13:20, which means that he now has the credentials that give him an outside shot to make the team here. As one of the few fathers in the field, can he make his new daughter proud?

My prediction: The race will be honest from the start but stay close with a pack of 5-7 until the final mile. Rupp and Ritzenhein will make the team with a “surprise” 3rd like Curtis, Derrick, or even Braun sneaking in with a fast finish.

Check back this afternoon for my preview of the women’s race.