Wow. I'm still shaking with excitement at the recently completed men's 10,000-meter final in the Olympics. Thankfully, I got home just in time from a long drive to and from New London, Conn., for the Kelley/Ocean Beach 11.6-mile Road Race (left at 4 a.m., raced it for the 23rd time in brutal humidity, will post on it at some point) to watch the coverage. (Side note: Thanks to my brother-in-law Mark and XC team member Billy Hild for calling/texting me to let me know the race was about to start).
Olympic distance races tend to be cat-and-mouse games of slow starts, fast surges and lightning fast kicks to the finish. This one essentially followed that script. Only this time, instead of a small subplot of Ethiopia vs. Kenya, there was a distinct Western tinge to it. British favorite Mo Farah came through in the pressure cooker situation with the gold medal, with his Oregon training partner Galen Rupp (he of 52-second last lap at the Trials) getting the silver. In their wake were the Bekeles of Ethiopia, who ran their usual strategic effort that came up short to Mo/Rupp.
For the record, I was not rooting for anyone. I'm a huge fan of the African distance runners, everything about them. Of course, I want to see USA and USA-based runners do well also. I was rooting for a great race, and that is exactly what we got. Is this a good day for Coach Alberto Salazar in particular, and American distance running in general? You bet. Mostly, it was a good day for us small legions of distance running fans.
We can only hope for similar races in other events to come in the next week.
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