 US Olympic Marathon Team Trials 2020. We did it. Absolutely unbelievable. What a day. If I look tired, you know why. I got home at about 1 a.m. last night. Oh, slept well. But now it's time to break down the US Olympic Marathon Team Trials 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. I can't believe I was able to be there to witness it in person. What a crazy day, our epic day. And I'm gonna go through the results, go through the predictions, and then pull apart some of the interviews after the race as well. But I think Jared Ward maybe put it best as far as how the day unfolded for both, I'm gonna say the men and the women's side. Listen to what Jared said afterward. He said, this is unbelievable. We have 50 guys running 211 pace on this course. I think basically he was thinking that in his mind around like mile 13, 14, 15 before that main pack at the front started to break apart. And it's so, so true. The depth of American long distance running continues to improve every single year. And for the really dedicated track and road running fans across the United States, remember the 90s, especially the late 90s and even the early 2000s to a certain extent, the depth at all of these longer disciplines in running for the Olympics and for the world championships. The teams just, we just didn't have this depth. And now like Jared said, 50 guys at 211 pace on that course, in those, I'm gonna say horrible windy conditions. Okay, it wasn't raining, it was not sleeting out but it was just, it was really, really tough day as far as the wind conditions were concerned. And as I said in yesterday's vlog, if you haven't seen the race vlog, go check it out, upper right hand corner. I said like the marathon is merciless. And yes, I'm gonna list the results right here officially. By the way, here's my Eugene, Oregon, 2008 Olympic Trials T-shirt that I went up there and spectated. So, oh man, I didn't, I couldn't find a T-shirt yesterday. I should've picked one up, but if anyone found one, let me know. I might, I'll buy it off you because I love collecting these old Olympic Trials T-shirts. Okay, here we go. Official results starting with the women. Oh my my. Okay, and forgive me on the names, okay. First place, Alaphine Tuliamouk from Hoca. Sorry, I'm the name, 227-23. Molly Seidel from Soccany, 227-31. Close finish. And third place, Sally Kipiego who runs for Nike and the Oregon Track Club, 228-52. There's the results there. Fourth place, oh, remember I thought Dez was gonna win it. She runs for Brooke. She ran 229-03, not that far off. In fact, it was a close finish. And she said in her post-race interviews, there really wasn't a flat spot out there on the course. And I confirmed that in my shakeout run the night before, like this course is unrelenting. Like it just was always either up or down, even just ever so slightly. So Dez confirmed that. She said it was a grinder of a course. And then I do have to say fifth on the women's side, Laura Thweet, my old teammate at the University of Colorado. She ran, she runs for Soccany and she ran a 229-08. And she would, oh, I can tell she like was so happy with the results. But again, the depth of field, it's just, it's tough, it's tough, but she was happy with the race. So who knows, I think she's gonna keep fighting for that Olympic spot in 2024. And she agreed on the crowd noise being unbelievable, the entire course. We're gonna come back to the crowd here in a minute. And Jordan has to say, I did hear like she had some back issues. So maybe that explained, I think she finished, oh boy, I'll put it on the screen. I think it was around like 27th, but there's Jordan has to say, so that's tough to have back issues. And then again, I just didn't see what happened with Sarah. But okay, jumping to the men's. So there's the women, top three going to Tokyo. Here we go, men's side, Galen Rupp runs for Nike 209-24. That time on that course is, it's very, very, like, it's amazing, everyone. It just, it's really amazing. It speaks to not only aerobic endurance, but I would say being in control, like of your stride and having a really strong stride for those hills. And you can see it in his form, like he and his foot strike and his, he just, oh, it's like seamless, quick turnover. He is in control of his stride, which I'm always talking about. It's like 209-20 just affirms that. Okay, second place, Jacob Riley of Boulder, Colorado, runs for the Boulder Track Club, an unsponsored athlete. I do know he ran in the Nikes though, the Alpha Flies yesterday, but he ran 210-02. So about 42 seconds behind Galen. And that is huge. I mean, he, I mean, he was on a few people's radar, but I don't think anyone expected him to come in second place and punch his ticket to Tokyo. That is, and I've never met him, even though he lives, you know, 30 minutes from here. And he's got an interesting story, just like his journey in, in running over the past like three to four years. So, okay, third place, Abdi, Abdi, oh man, Abdi, Abdi Rahman from Nike, 43 years old, 43 years old, 210-03. Oh, three, are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? On that course, as a 43 year old, it just goes to show you, I think everyone that, oh man, should I make a crazy, crazy prediction, just like a crazy one? I think that, I think the age, age is just a number. We hear that cliche that's saying all the time, but I think long distance runners are beginning to realize that there might be more in the tank, than we may think, meaning our bodies are not gonna break down. Or, I often hear the number like 34 is the year that you peak, as far as like your aerobic capacity. 34, is that what it, yeah, 34. I'm wondering if that number is starting to be pushed further and further and further, especially with like a guy, like a Kipchoge, who I think he's 33, 34, he's my age. And then, let me just jump down real quick to Bernard Legotte, 45 years old, finished in 18th place with a 214, 23. I think this is his third marathon, and he did confirm after the race, he's looking for a race in April or May, so he's hungry. You could tell in his interview after the race, like he is ready for more. So 45 years old, and yes, Abdi is the oldest Olympic marathon trials, or Olympic marathon qualifier ever for the United States. And, okay, fourth place, Leonard Carrere, he runs for Nike and Army, 2106, and then Augustus Mayo, 21047. So there you go, men's side, there we go. There are the men's results, and the top three are punching their ticket. I should say Sapporo, but you know, just to keep it simple, they're running 500 miles north of Tokyo. And here's the deal, everyone. I love America. America is the land of opportunity, the land of hard work. We work hard here. And I think the land of, you know, we have a lot of good universities and colleges, and we have a good athletic system in the United States at the collegiate level. So a lot of these runners, yes, Alaphine, the winner on the women's side, is from Kenya originally. Sally Kipiego, third from Kenya. On the men's side, Abdi Abdaraman, third from Somalia. So it's like, that is the American dream. Coming over to the United States, becoming a citizen, getting an education, running in the NCAA, and punching your ticket to the Olympics. Does it get better than that as far as an American story? I don't think so. And so I just could not be happier for all six of these athletes going to Japan. Okay, one of my biggest takeaways from yesterday, I can't, it feels like it was weeks ago, but from yesterday is what everyone continues to talk about. The crowd size. On the course, the runners, and off the course. The crowd size, yes. 700 runners on the course. I think it was a little under actually because of injuries. Some runners were unable to participate, but that is an incredible number. About 700 runners, and it felt like it. Like, they were coming at us in a, just in a, you know, a crowd of runners coming at you. It felt like a big number out there. And then, off the course. So cheering. Ben Rosario, the coach of the women's champion, said this afterward. He was out there, of course, cheered on his runners. He said, it felt like there were a half a million people out there cheering. And I don't know if they did a crowd count. I don't know how you do crowd estimates, but again, I couldn't move around. I, and security was pretty tight, but I couldn't move. I wanted to do some more filming for all of you in different locations. No, no. And like, I couldn't, the sidewalks were packed. It was a, it was at four, five, six people deep. I had to dig my way through the crowd to get to the front so I could get those shots for you right on, right when the runners were coming by. So that is one of my biggest takeaways is that American long distance running is back. And it's been back. I'd say the last Olympics, it was back. But I think there's an increase over the past four years for overall enthusiasm. And you see it at all the major marathons, Chicago, Boston, New York, like the crowd sizes continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger. And when you have competition like we saw yesterday where a, you know, where a Jared Ward, and I have one more note here. I want to mention where a Jared Ward who qualified last Olympics ends up, I think it was 27th place. So it's just goes to show you again, that depth is unbelievable in the US. And you, young runners out there, like if you're in high school, if you're in college, like keep dreaming. And yes, maybe you won't make the Olympics, but just to make it to the Olympic trials and listen, the 10K is tough, 5K is tough. Like those shorter distances, they don't, they don't accept as many runners. So like that marathon distance, I think it's a great distance for all of you young runners out there, men and women to strive to shoot for because again, these, and yes, the times will get tougher. I predict the next 2024. And yeah, the next, I think, okay. I will say Jared Ward, he's like, I'm ready. Like 2024, brilliant. Like he's, he was already talking after the race. He's excited to train for the Paris Olympics, which makes me happy. Like, I don't, you'd hate to see like this to be the last race for a very talented runner who just like gets very, or like a Jim Walmsley. Like I think a lot of people rooting for Jim Walmsley, 215, I believe, here's Jim Walmsley time. That is, it's his first road marathon. Correct me if I'm wrong. Like I know he's run many trail marathons and everything else, but like, it takes time to master the road marathon. And I think he looked good out there. But again, it's, you know, the wind, he got into no man's land there for a little bit and it's just tough. It's a tough day for a lot of runners out there. But, and it was really difficult for Reed Fisher. Remember, I was talking about Reed Fisher as a little bit of an outsider looking in, but I thought he might have a chance to mix it up at the top. He fell twice in the race. Once at the four mile mark, he got tripped up with some other runners. And then a mile later in the fifth mile, he fell again, he stepped into a little pothole, I guess, on the road. Oh, that is a tough break. But guess what? He finished the race. So kudos to, kudos to Reed Fisher for not giving up despite having a little bit of a brave heart look out there on the US Olympic Marathon's course. A couple more, and a couple more points before I lose my voice and get you that question of the day is you better believe my goal, and especially, oh my goodness, especially with Avi and Bernard. And who knows, I hope Ritz keeps fighting too. It gives me hope that I can qualify for the Olympic trials for the Paris Olympic round. I'm gonna keep fighting for it. It's like with a 45-year-old and a 43-year-old, age is just a number. So you better believe I'm gonna keep fighting. Those guys are inspiring me, a guy that's basically 10 years younger than them. So it's just amazing. And also the looped course, one last point on the course, is that the runners were like, right where I decided to post up, they were crossing, like the lead men and the lead women were basically crossing right in front of me, almost at the same time. So it was really interesting. Made the filming a little difficult. I hope you enjoyed the shots. And you just live and learn. You just keep testing out different ways to film these marathon races. And I'm realizing I filmed road races and I filmed mountain races, but I don't know if I personally filmed a marathon race. I don't think I have, because I'm always racing. Like New York, I was in the race racing. So it's interesting. But oh, epic day. Thank you for watching. Question of the day, what was your biggest takeaway for American long distance running after witnessing the race, whether you were there in person or maybe you watched on TV or maybe you're getting all your information from the vlog from yesterday or from social media. But what did you learn? How were your eyes opened over the past 36, 48 hours? All right, sound good? I can't wait to read your comments. Thanks for being here. Thanks for breaking down the race with me. Epicness, I'm gonna go rest my voice. Rest the legs, cause training continues for me. Onward and upward, butter the bread. That was a butter the bread. Kind of day everyone. All right, we're gonna tie this back. Of course, to yesterday's race vlog. Right there, yesterday's race vlog. And if you could spread it around, I would appreciate it, share it on social media. It was a fun day. And then of course, if you haven't subscribed, please do so, cause we're gonna be doing a lot more of this. All right, seek beauty, work hard and love each other. See you tomorrow.