Talking Trials Final Report: Tarmoh-geddon, A Tale of Two Fourths and that Men's 1500

Jeneba Tarmoh hugs Allyson Felix after the 200
(all photos: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

What a week (and a half)! The 2012 Olympic Track and Field Trials have now come and gone and were filled with highs for some and lows for others, but an overabundance of excitement for all; on and off the track. Here are my final thoughts in eleventh and final edition of "Talking Trials." Full results for the trials are here.

Tarmoh-geddon
When I woke up this morning, I heard ESPN's Mike and Mike (and again at lunch on the Jim Rome Show) discussing the Jeneba Tarmoh forfeit to Allyson Felix, and how could someone give up the once-in-every-four-years opportunity to be an Olympian. I'm not quite sure, but I respect Ato Boldon and his explanation that Tarmoh was just too exhausted physically and mentally to go through with it. Seems plausible, but I'll always think there is something else there. As I mentioned on Twitter last night, I believe Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated's final article on the topic is where we should leave it. And then I watched Tarmoh's interview on SportsCenter. Mind boggling. Watch that race again.

A Tale of Two Fourths
Aside from my coverage here at writing about running, I covered local athletes for the Charlotte Observer, the Greensboro News & Record and the Raleigh News & Observer at the trials. Two of those athletes finished in the first spot that you don't want to finish at the trials, fourth.

Calesio Newman starts his run
towards the 200 final

For Greensboro's Calesio Newman, fourth was a huge jump in his career. He had failed to make the 100 meter final earlier in the week and would bounce back and look excellent through the rounds. When the 200 meter final came, he looked great. He would have a tough road ahead, starting out of lane eight, with eventual champion, Wallace Spearmon and 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist, Shawn Crawford, starting in lanes six and seven, respectively, using him as a personal rabbit. He would run the race of his life. That race would prove to be a mere .01 seconds off of his first Olympic team. He was the slowest out of the blocks and looked over about 10 meters too early at the finish. A tough day, but no one expected him to compete for the spot, so he had something to smile about. Read my final piece in the Greensboro News & Record on him here and watch part of my interview with him here. Watch the Men's 200 meter final here. 

For former Charlottean and NC State standout Julia Lucas, fourth was a bit tougher. In the Women's 5000 meter final Monday night, Lucase mad a strong move with three laps to go and looked to have the win in the bag. That changed with a lap to go. She slowed and would be passed by Julie Culley and American Record Holder, Molly Huddle, with 200 meters to go. It looked like she would hang onto the third and final Olympic spot. Unfortunately, that wouldn't be the case, as a hard charging Kim Conley would nip her at the line by .04 seconds. Despite the tough loss, Lucas answered questions for over ten minutes and faced her disappointment head on. It was incredible to watch and I take my hat off to anyone with that kind of toughness that makes a move like she did, have it backfire, and then standby it. Watch the agonizing race here.

Leo Manzano outkicks Centro down the stretch

That Men's 1500
The toughest team to make had to be the Men's 1500 meters. From the gun, it was exciting. The Jordan McNamara-Will Leer-John Mickowski plan of attack to try and get the Olympic A Standard almost worked, but they would have had to beat an excellent crowd to make the team; standard or no standard. In the end, the cream rose to the top with the year in, year out, world team lock, Leo Manzano, pushing by Matt Centrowitz in the last 50 meters to take the title and Andrew Wheating doing the same to Robby Andrews for that third final spot. It was a sea of carnage at the finish and Andrews was the face to pure exhaustion as he had to be helped off the track and then back to the warm up area. David Torrence was in second with 100 meters to go and would fade to sixth. That was just a very hard team to make. I wonder how many will drop down to the 800 or move up to the Steeplechase or the 5000 for next year's World Championships in Moscow. Watch the 1500 Final here.

Amy "Hasty" Hastings

The Eugene Scene
The town was electric for the trials. I met so many great people that it would be impossible to list them all. The people inside, outside and around the sport are some of the most interesting and introspective people I've ever met. I had the fun of meeting lots of great writers, athletes, shoe company employees and of course, the two groups that have helped every track and field fan see more of sport in real time, Flotrack and RunnerSpace. Both of these groups work relentlessly and quite frankly, I don't know how they have the energy to do it. I'm happy they do. Some highlights from talks with athletes were speaking to Lauren Fleshman and Matt Scherer late Saturday night about the sponsor game, speaking with Amy Hastings about her breakthrough and of course, hanging with my old friend Steve Edwards and the 3 Non Joggers, while his wife, Shalane Flanagan, ran the 10,000. 

I truly hope that the trials come back to Eugene, as it was easy to navigate everywhere and was very reasonable financially. Not to mention, a packed house of knowledgeable track and field fans every day. I was unsure if I'd understand all of the field events, but Kevin Sully of the House of Run podcast, educated me on them and I thoroughly enjoyed the nuances the exciting atomosphere that the fans loved. I fully expect this team to well in London and can't wait to watch them try.

Follow writing about running on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest

Support the site and start here when you shop on Amazon.com

Talking Trials: Wet 10,000's lead Day One at Hayward Field

Ritz was pumped up after making his third Olympics
(taken with instagram)

This is the third installment of "Talking Trials." There will be more to come every day during the 2012 USA Olympic Track and Field Trials from Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, OR. Full results for the trials are here.

After getting off the plane Thursday night at 11pm Pacific and rolling into Eugene at 1am, I was pretty wiped out. That didn't keep me from the 9am Brooks/Flotrack 6 miler that included all of Pre's Trail. The day only got better from there. The rain though, got heavier and heavier. The Men's 10,000 had a cross country feel to it that made it all the more exciting.

The day at Hayward kicked with a roar. Ashton Eaton ran a Decathlon World Record of 10.21 in the 100 meters and then followed it up with a Decathlon World Record in the Long Jump (27'). He'd end the day 17 points ahead of schedule on the American Record, and he did it in the rain.

The prelims in the Women's 100 and 100 Hurdles and Men's and Women's 400 and 800 went pretty much to prediction, with a few outliers. Tavaris Tate hitting the track with 150 meters to go was pretty ugly, but not as bad a watching Latavia Thomas trip, hit the ground, and then get kicked in the head in the 800 prelims. That one looked like it hurt. Erica Moore also failed to qualify for Saturdays semifinal.

But as writing about running is an American Distance Running blog, the 10,000's were the highlights for me. When the guys started, it was absolutely pouring. The track was covered in puddles and there seemed to be no end in sight to the rain. Right from the gun, Galen Rupp and Dathan Ritzenhein took it out. Ritz needed the Olympic A Standard, so weather be damned, it was going down! Oregon's Luke Puskedra took the lead for a while and when it looked like he would blow up, he soldiered on, and would later rally and finish 8th overall in a 17 second PR of 27:56.62, concluding an excellent career in the Oregon Ducks uniform.

Over the last mile, Rupp, Ritz and Matt Tegenkamp would breakaway from the field and would take the podium, with Rupp winning in an Olympic Trials Record of 27:25.33. He looked great doing it and has to be considered in medal contention in his signature event in London. Teg motored home eight seconds later for the Silver; but no one was more elated than Ritz. After finishing fourth in the Marathon Trials, he looked like a broken man. Today, he looked like a kid on Christmas. This would be his third consecutive Olympic Team. Raleigh's Bobby Mack would finish a strong 9th in 27:58.07.

Shalane Flanagan leads the pack

When the Women's 10,000 started, the rain slowed. This is when it got fun to be a fan. I met Steve Edwards when I was at Carolina. This was before he met his now wife, Shalane Flanagan. He is a sometimes guest on one of my favorite podcasts, "3 Non Joggers," and is as down to earth and fun as they get. He invited the guys up from Portland to come watch Shalane compete and I was lucky enough to tag along for the ride. According to Edwards, Shalane had run 104 miles already this week. She still looked great the whole way.

It was fun watching Steve watch Shalane, but an even more exciting byproduct of this was watching Kiel Uhl cheer on his wife Lisa. Flanagan and Uhl train together and emotion was pouring out. At one point, (Lisa) Uhl had to stop and re-tie her shoe. She fell 100 yards behind the pack, but would recover to finish fourth, qualifying for her first Olympics, as she was one of only three women to have the Olympic A Standard (sans Flanagan, as she will run the marathon). Despite Flanagan and Uhl's success, Texas A&M's Natosha Rogers was the story of the day. Rogers fell to the track early in the race and rallied late to finish second, between eventual winner, Amy Hastings, and Flanagan. Her personal best time of 31:59.21 would be just over 14 seconds off the Olympic A Standard.

After the competition, I finished my piece on local runners competing, for the Greensboro News & Record, and then hit the dorms before heading out for Saucony night at the Wild Duck Cafe. The place was packed and looks to be the "after hours" spot for the trials. One of the people in attendance was a very excited Matt Tegenkamp, who would qualify for his second Olympics. Now the question is, will he double back in the 5000? or is his work complete? Will he run the 5000 and help teammates Andrew Bumbalough and Lopez Lomong? We'll find out soon as the trials march on!

More photos from Day One at Hayward:

Galen Rupp greets the fans after his 10,000 win

The crowd at the Wild Duck Cafe

Coach Bill Bowerman welcomes fans to Track Town

Brooks/Flotrack run with the legend, Derek Rubis, and Spiked Up, Psyched Up's Kevin Liao

If there's anything specific you want to see, email me!

Follow writing about running on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest

Support the site and start here when you shop on Amazon.com