 is about to go down. It's about to go down US Olympic marathon team trials 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. I cannot believe it. The day is finally here. Yes, I'm going to say at the Super Bowl of long distance running, at least in the United States. I love the Olympics, of course, but this is just the raw unfiltered some athletes that are not sponsored. Some athletes that are sponsored go in mono in mono on the same streets, which I will say the difficult streets of Atlanta, Georgia. We're going to go over the course, the race strategy today that I would implement if I was, if I was a dark horse, if I was on the outside looking in, I'll give my thoughts as to how I would approach the course in Atlanta, which again is just not an easy course at all. And then we'll talk briefly about the Nike Alpha Fly next percent. And then lastly, I'm going to answer your questions that you submitted to me about the Olympic trials, the marathon process of qualifying for the US team from 10 days ago, where I asked that question of the day in the QD, or sorry, the Q&A from 10 days ago. So we'll get to all that. And let's dive in, first of all, to my picks from last week. A lot of people asked in that Q&A who are my picks to make the team. So here you go. On the women's side, Des Linden, all right, first place, Jordan Assay, second place, and Molly Huddle for third place. Okay. If you want to see upper right hand corner, I explained my picks in more depth, upper right hand corner. You can go check that blog out from last week. And then on the men's side, whoo. Oh man, it's just tough picks all around. But I went with Jared Ward. Okay. He made the 2016 team, Galen Rupp for second place. He made the 2016 team. And then lastly was, oh yeah, Scott Fawble, Scott Fawble, a Colorado native. So there you go. Those are my top three picks. And then there is an alternate that fourth place is an alternate in case somebody gets injured leading up to the Olympics just so you know. Now let's dive into the course in Atlanta. It's a three loop course. Atlanta Track Club, shout out to you. You nailed it. I think this is a brilliant move to do more loops and allow the spectators to see the runners as much as possible. There's also a dog leg that goes out and back at a certain point. I foresee me standing in that area so I can film the runners coming at me. And then somehow, I don't know. Oh, I just realized, unless there's a bridge, maybe they built a bridge. I don't know. I'm going to, by the way, I'm going to go scope out the course Friday night when I fly to Atlanta just so everyone knows so I can find my spot for filming. And so it's an out and back. So I'm going to be out there in that area filming for all of you. But here we go. Look at the elevation profile. So it's an eight mile loop, an eight mile loop, and then a 10.2 mile loop. So the last loop is an extra 2.2 miles to make the 26.2 miles for the marathon distance. Look at this elevation profile, everyone. I mean, this is going to be, I'm just saying, like I ran New York City last fall. I think this is going to be a really hard day for a lot of runners. Now, some questions we're coming in about, do you think runners who trained in the hills will be better prepared? Absolutely. A hundred percent. If you did your training on rolling hills, and like, these aren't going to be steep, big mountain, you know, running up steep mountain roads, we're talking rolling, which I think can be really deceptive for your muscles, how much actual exertion you're putting forth. So it's going to be intense, and there's really no flat spots. And I'll get to the race strategy here in a minute, as far as who I think this will benefit more. As far as no flat spots, all rolling hills. And again, Atlanta Track Club, you picked a tough one. You picked a tough one. Another point on the course is the mental strategy for approaching this type of course. Because of that dog leg that goes out and back, I forget the name of the street. It's not peach tree. But anyway, I'm going to be out there on that section. I do believe the runners are going to see each other. So if there's a pack that's, you know, 20 seconds ahead or 30 seconds ahead, when they turn around, they're going to see the other runners coming toward them. So it's going to be difficult to run away from people and see like, okay, how much distance, because some courses like, yeah, like New York City or really any of the major marathons, you can run away from people and get far enough ahead where you turn the corner just before the other runners can see you. And it's really mentally difficult to not be able to see your competitors and be like, oh no, they are way ahead because I can't even see them. So on this course, I don't see that happening as quickly, maybe toward the end of the race. But I think that, I think that will lend itself to a more competitive race all around. Now let's dive in real quick to the Nike Alpha Fly, next to that. This is crazy. I don't even understand it. And it's brilliant marketing. I have no idea. I guess, okay, USA Track and Field is sponsored by Nike. So maybe I don't understand the whole contract side of this, but Nike is putting onto the an offer out on the table for this. So just so you know, there's 700 runners competing, you know, total for men and women on over 700 runners on Saturday. And Nike has put out there that they are offering all the runners, if they want, they can run in a Nike Alpha Fly next percent pair of shoes, which are being released, I think, midnight on Saturday morning, basically. So it's going public and the shoe is going to be out there in a big way. But here's what's blowing my mind is I saw some Brooks runners, like, okay, some runners that I know who are sponsored by Brooks Adidas. And I think maybe one Hoka, and also Hoka has a carbon fiber plate shoe that's called the Rocket X. Yes, the Hoka Rocket X. And we're going to talk about Jim Walmsley in a minute. But bottom line, it's brilliant marketing on Nike's part. But I don't understand if you have a contract with another shoe company, how you might be allowed to run in this shoe? Because I saw some Brooks guys holding the shoe at the pickup location in Atlanta just today. It's just as blowing my mind. But hey, this is the marketplace. This is the competitive edge that at the end of the day, long term, will help us, the consumers, receive the best running shoes possible on the marketplace. But oh my God, it's insane. It's insane. Okay, so here we go. Let's dive into some questions about the US Marathon Olympic Team Trials 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. I pulled as many as I could. I want to keep this video as concise as possible. Because I got to edit and then go to bed and wake up really early to go for a run and then catch an airplane to Atlanta. So here we go. Mr. Dale asks, and there's a lot of questions that came in about this gentleman. As a mountain runner yourself, how do you think Jim Walmsley will do in Atlanta? There was another question about it. Yeah, I'll just ask this one as well right now from James. I have seen this below. I think it's a big talking point. Do you think Jim Walmsley will make the team? I saw he did a two hour 5350K this last week and is using regular 50K training runs in the lead up to the trials. If he succeeds, will this change the way people train for marathons? And so this gets into the racing strategy. I have already said last week that Jim Walmsley is an outsider looking in. And I think he, probably, I think based on the interviews I've seen, and I know Jim, he doesn't, we don't know each other real well, but we were on the World Mountain Running Championship team together last fall in Argentina. And so I got to know him a little bit. And I think he places himself on the outside looking in based on the interviews I've seen. And so I am not picking him to make the top three. And it's but, but I will say this much as far as a racing strategy for also on the lady side, Emily Sisson. I think that's how you say her name. You know, I would put her on the bubble along with, I know a lot of people are picking Sarah Hall to make the team. That would be amazing. That would be great if she did, but I put her on the outside looking in as well. So for Jim, Emily Sisson, Sarah Hall. And then who else? I put even like a, well, I'll just say like a Luke Biskedra or a Reed Fisher, Luke actually took fourth in 2016. So I do think the Hills will help Jim Walmsley and some of these quote unquote slower runners barely like these are all fast runners, but the slower runners on the outside looking in, I think it helps them absolutely, especially if they were able to train in the Hills, like I, I know Jim was in many other runners out there that train like in the mammoth lakes area or even here in Boulder, Colorado. But here is my prediction. I think these runners, they need to break these guys. They need to break them. They need to break their will and they need to go for it or else they're not, they're just not going to out kick Galen Rump. And that is why I'm not picking Jim and some of these other runners is basically their 10K PRs. And I know Jim recently ran a 102-13 even though the course was about 900 feet short in Arizona just in January. So that's fast, but it's not 101 fast. Okay. And so therefore race strategy, US Marathon Olympic team trials 2020, they got to break them. And I'm going to call it right now. I think Jim is going to go for it around mile eight. Okay. I, if he waits to mile 13, I don't think it's soon enough. I think after one lap, Jim might start to go for it. And especially if he's feeling good, but I think that's the only way he can try to break the will of some of these faster guys. Cause I just don't see him out kicking these other guys, even like a Luke Puskettra. He was a great runner in college. Yeah. Or even a Reed Fisher. So that's my thought on the race strategy anyway. Oh, good question from Mr. Dale and James. Moving on now. Do you feel Galen Rupp will be in top form and how much credit with his progression with his new coach, Mike Smith? I think Mike Smith, like, I think it was a, you know, fine move. Galen has so much experience. I'm not going to give that much. I'm going to put it in the camp of Galen's work and trying to tune out all the noise of Salazar. I'm not going to put a ton of credit to Mike Smith. And I don't think he would expect that either. I mean, how long has he been coaching him a couple months? Not even that. So anyway, that would be my thought for that question. And yes, I think he's, I think he's ready. I think now the hills are going to be interesting for Galen, but I think he's going to be just fine. Okay. For second place. All right. Moving on to Stefan. Do you think runners who are training in hillier locations have a better shot in qualifying than others? Yes. As I've already mentioned, absolutely. Yeah. If you're just like a fast, like a Bernard Legat, even though I'm not expecting him to be toward the top, but like some of those really talented track guys, it could be a more difficult day for them. He just came to mind because he's such a famous runner from the United States. Okay. Moving on to Mason. How many runners have qualified for the Olympic trial? Oh yeah. So over 700, I think guys said 717. Actually, oh yeah, this is an update. Parker Stinson has had to drop out because of an injury. That was sad news that happened this past week. And he trains here in Boulder, Colorado, and his coach is Nathan Ritzenheim. Ritz, who's also racing a 12, 56, 5K PR guy, excuse me, or 57. So there you go. Those are my thoughts. Thus far, vlog's not done. We're going inside to pack and it's going down, baby. It's going down. Can't wait to get to Atlanta and see the course. So I'm going to go out on the course Friday night and just film for all of you to give you a little course preview of how hilly this course actually is. Did I actually mention the elevation profile? It's 1300 feet of elevation gain and loss. That's a lot. That is a lot. All right. Here we go. Okay. So some packages arrived at the PO box. Thanks for sending them, everybody. And yes, this is a critical package that arrived. I will open that up in a minute for the Olympic trials down in Atlanta. Critical. I will talk about that. First of all, just so everyone knows, there is a vlog fan who every month, he has it set up where a company sends me a box of turmeric tea. I forget his name. I'll have to look it up. It's in an email. So sorry, but there's the next box. I drink probably two or three bags of turmeric tea every single day, especially when I'm sick. Okay. Moving on to this package. Here we go from Amazon. So this is a, and this is from Todd and Christina. And so what is it? It's a pizza cutter. He said, congratulations on the arrival of baby Henry. You and true love look like amazing parents. We saw you cutting pizza with a huge knife and thought you could use this. Thank you so much, Todd and Christina for sending a huge pizza cutter. That is amazing. I love it. Thank you so much. That's awesome. And this arrived from Slovakia. Okay. So let me just see here. This is from Rado. Rado in Slovakia. I hopefully I'm pronouncing that name right. Oh, let's see here. Oh my goodness. Is this a buff? Oh, sweet. Oh, that's awesome. It's a buff, but I bet this is a pattern and color pattern that is known in Slovakia. That is so cool. And he also sent a postcard. I bet this is where he is from. I will read the letter later. Thank you so much. I bet he's enticing me to come visit and come run the mountains in Slovakia. That is amazing. Okay. Let's get to this box, which the item inside I will be taking to Atlanta. So I'm a big fan of high quality video production. And that means, what does that mean? That means getting the shots for all of you. And so part of that process is making sure you have the right equipment, which this is a 100 to 400 millimeter lens. There we go that I rented just for the Olympic Trials. So I put this on the tripod, the tripod I'm using now. And I'll just get those nice. This is what I used for the INEOS 159 challenge with Kipchoge over in Vienna. I used this also in western states. So it's just an amazing lens that I love using to get those nice close up shots of the feet, like the runners and their foot strike and, you know, then grabbing bottles off of the aid station tables. It's going to be amazing. Okay. I'm going to call there because I need to go pack because I'm leaving early in the morning question of the day. What if you did not answer last week your top three picks for men and women? Who are your picks? Who do you got? That's option one. Option two is how do you plan to watch the race? Are you going to be there in person? Are you going to be watching on NBC? Are you going to be streaming it on your phone? Yeah. Are you going to be watching updates on Twitter? Let us know down in the comments. And especially for everyone outside the US, I'd be curious to see how everyone's going to be watching around the world. It's about to go down. So exciting. Thanks for watching. Thanks for being here. We're going to toss it back right up here to last week's picks for the US Olympic Marathon team trials where I went over in more detail the runners and their potential. And then if you haven't subscribed yet, click on my face right down there. I'd appreciate it. Spread the word. Let everyone know I'm coming to film in Atlanta. Here we go. Butter it, butter it.