Hi, this is my blog in TFS’s Elite Athlete Blog Series. Bookmark kateoneill.thefinalsprint.com and check back every other Monday for my latest entry as I strive for the 2008 Summer Olympics!
For the first time in my life, I dropped out of a race yesterday. I had been eagerly anticipating the Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials since October 8th. That was the day after the Chicago Marathon. For the first 24 hours after the race, I was too exhausted to even contemplate running another marathon, but once I had had a full day to recover, I began dreaming of the possibilities and felt eager to test myself over the 26.2 mile distance again. The thought of racing at the Trials in my hometown in front of my family and friends made me even more excited. I struggled for the first few months of training after Chicago, but by Christmas time training was on an upswing and I could see improvements every week.
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Of the 124 women who finished the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women’s Marathon, only 4 had negative splits. The most notable one, of course, was Deena Kastor who ran the second half of her race 2.28% faster than the first half. The other three were Megan Hepp (-0.48%), Casey Smith (-0.24%) and third place finisher Blake Russell (-0.22%). Since two of the three women who made the Olympic team had negative splits, this would seem to be the wisest strategy to have had going into the race. Another twenty women, including the now-famous trail blazer Magdalena Lewy Boulet (+0.70%), ran “even” splits, meaning the 2nd half was no more than 1% slower than the first half. The incomparable Joan Samuelson ran her 2nd half just 0.63% slower than her first half.
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I’m a new contributor to The Final Sprint. Most of my writing has been at my blog under the moniker of “The Track & Field Superfan”, and that’s the perspective I’ll bring to TFS Media Network. So here are my thoughts on this morning’s Trials race…
#1. Put It On (Live) TV
I’m part of a relatively narrow age group that always saw marathons on TV. Not just the races in the Olympics and the Olympic Trials, but also ABC’s annual live coverage of the New York City race. I’d have to say it had a great influence on who I became; seeing thousands of people run through the streets of New York made distance running seem right at home in the gritty urban environment where I grew up. And for years, whenever it was a cool rainy day and I was running in the local city park, I imagined I was Rod Dixon chasing down Greg Meyer. In fact, I have to admit I still do that.
There are thousands of young American girls who could have been inspired by today’s race, and likewise pretended to be Deena Kastor chasing down an imaginary Magdalena Lewy-Boulet…if only they had seen it on television.
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Keeping her cool after Magdalena Lewy-Boulet had built up a one minute and 56 second lead through the 14th mile, Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor zipped through the second half to win today’s USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon in 2:29:35. For Kastor it was her third Olympic team berth and her second as a marthoner.
“It was a tough race,” Kastor told NBC Sports’ Ed Eyestone after the race. “I was panicking out there.”
Kastor’s panic was caused by Lewy-Boulet’s brave front run which began right from the Boyleston Street starting line in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Although Lewy-Boulet was not running particularly fast, around a 2:30 marathon finish time, the pack did not chase her. By the 14th mile, her lead had fattened to nearly two minutes.
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The 2008 Olympic Trials- Women’s Marathon exceeded expectations in almost every possible way. On a crisp, sunny Boston morning Deena Kastor thrilled the multitude of running fans who packed the downtown criterium course with a come from behind victory over heroic front runner Magdalena Lewy Boulet. Blake Russell earned sweet redemption from her 2004 defeat and claimed the last Olympic spot by finishing third.
The race started with most of the main contenders content to sit in a large pack traveling at a pedestrian pace. The lone exception was Magdalena Lewy Boulet, who believed that 2:30 would be good enough to make the team and thought herself more likely to hit it off an even pace. Lewy Boulet gapped the field impressively with a reasonable 1:14:36 first half, building a lead of almost 2 minutes. Afterwards she admitted that she planned to run even but had not expected to run alone, while Kastor and Russell noted that they would have covered the move had they realized it was Lewy Boulet and not a competitor more likely to come back (apparently her braid and sunglasses initially threw them off).
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With less than 6 miles to go in the 2008 USA Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, Magdalena Lewy-Boulet couldn’t have any way of knowing this, but Deena Kastor was trying to reel her in. She was now only 70 seconds back. This certainly wasn’t her plan going into the race, but Lewy-Boulet hadn’t left her any options. She had taken the race from the gun and had opened up a gap of almost 2-minutes. Lewy-Boulet had just run a 5:57 mile and was laboring a little. Blake Russell’s form looked a little forced back in third place. She still had several seconds on Desiree Davila. Kastor was 55 seconds ahead of Russell in 2nd place.
At 21 miles, Kastor was only 1:03 behind Lewy-Boulet. Had Lewy-Boulet done enough work to hold off Kastor for the last 5 miles? The lead was now down to 40 seconds. Blake Russell had kept Davila at bay and had now opened her gap on Davila. Lewy-Boulet’s last mile was 5:54. With 3 1/2 miles to go, she was now in danger of being caught by Kastor.
Lewy-Boulet was willing herself on, but she was obviously hurting. Kastor was powering along, looking smooth, steadily eating away at Lewy-Boulet’s lead. She was closing the gap at faster than 20 seconds per mile. It was now just a matter of time before Kastor passed her.
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Deena Kastor has won the U.S. Olympic Trials- Women’s Marathon in 2:29:34.
Magdalena Lewy Boulet finished a strong second in 2:30:18, while Blake Russell was third in 2:32:40. Those three women will represent the U.S. in the Beijing Olympics in August.
Zoila Gomez held off Tera Moody for fourth and the alternate spot.
Magdalena Lewy Boulet continues to lead the U.S. Olympic Trials- Women’s Marathon with one six mile loop to go. Deena Kastor has closed the gap to 1:17 and now has about a 55 second lead on Blake Russell. Russell has a 5 second lead on Desiree Davila in the battle for third place and the last Olympic spot.
Unfortunately, we have just learned that Kate O’Neill has dropped out of the race.
The chase pack has thinned considerably about 17 miles into the U.S. Olympic Trials: Women’s Marathon. Deena Kastor has pulled away and only Mary Akor and Blake Russell have given chase.
Kastor used a 5:32 mile to put about 7 seconds on Russell who now has about 5 seconds on Mary Akor. Akor is 10 seconds ahead of the rest of the chase pack. Magdalena Lewy Boulet continues to hold a lead of about 1:47 and still looks strong with a 5:38 last mile.
In the 2008 USA Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, the race was now for third place. Magdalena Lewy-Boulet had a 1:47 lead over Deena Kastor, who had closed the gap a bit. Blake Russell, who finished a heartbreaking 4th at the 2004 trials, was neck and neck with Mary Akor. Suddenly, Russell began to pull away from Akor and soon opened up a gap of 50 yards.
Kastor had a 7-second lead on Russell. Up front, Lewy-Boulet reeled off another mile in 5:38 and her form was still looking good. The Olympic team seemed to have chosen itself at this point. Lewy-Boulet had taken the lead from the gun and was way up front, 1:43 ahead of Kastor. Kastor had a 10-second lead on Russell. Desiree Davila passed Akor for 4th. Akor seemed to be done.
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Profile of Hansons-Brooks Distance Project
All five members of the Michigan-based Hansons-Brooks Distance Project women’s team have qualified for Sunday’s Olympic Marathon Trials in Boston. Dot McMahon, Melissa White, Yolanda Flamino, Desiree Davila and Lori Stich are profiled in an article on the Detroit Free Press website.
Read more at: [Detroit Free Press]
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This weekend the women’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials will be held on a specially designed loop course through downtown Boston and Cambridge, MA. The race will feature 162 of America’s finest distance runners in a battle for the three coveted spots on the U.S. Olympic Team. With the famously unpredictable Boston weather expected […]
On Episode 135 of TheFinalSprint.com Podcast, the most listened to running podcast in North America, I had the pleasure of speaking with 2004 Olympian Kate O’Neill who will be running in her first US Olympic Marathon Trials this weekend in Boston. Kate is the 2008 US Half-Marathon champ and goes into the trials with an […]
One of the sentimental favorites for the upcoming USA Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon, Colleen De Reuck, has decided to withdraw from the race due to a calf injury.
De Reuck, who turns 44 on Sunday, is the defending Trials champion, a victory she earned just ten days before her 40th birthday in 2004, sending […]
Less than a day after winning the 2007 U.S. 10-K championships at the Tufts Health Plan 10-K, on Monday, Oct. 8, Deena Kastor was up for a Tuesday-morning run on a similar course, the criterium loop which will host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials - Women’s Marathon next April. The Trials course will feature four […]
Following her first tour of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon course, Deena Kastor spoke with reporters via teleconference from the Boston Athletic Association’s office. Kastor, along with her coach Terrence Mahon, was guided on a running tour of the Olympic Trials course on Tuesday morning. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon is scheduled […]
Two of America’s preeminent female distance runners have officially entered the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Women’s Marathon, officials from USA Track & Field and the Boston Athletic Association announced Friday.
Deena Kastor (Mammoth Lakes, Calif.) and Colleen De Reuck (Boulder, Colo.) became the first women to announce their intent to compete in the U.S. […]
USA Track & Field and the Boston Athletic Association have announced that registration for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon will open tomorrow, Friday, October 5. The event will be held on April 20, 2008 on a unique multi-loop course through downtown Boston and Cambridge.
To enter the Olympic Trials, women must first qualify. The […]
A visit by Pope Benedict XVI would thrill millions of Boston-area Catholics but could raise havoc with ongoing plans for the 2008 U.S. Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials, scheduled the day before the 112th Boston Marathon.
If he comes to Boston after speaking at the United Nations, the pope’s visit would coincide with the marathon trials […]
The Boston Athletic Association produly announced today that they have launched www.bostontrials2008.com today.
“This launch marks the beginning of the countdown to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Women’s Marathon,” said Guy Morse, Executive Director of the Boston Athletic Association. “Over the next 12 months, we envision this website developing into the a comprehensive resource for anyone […]
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