Talking Trials: The Olympic Trials represent everything that's right about Track and Field

Gabe Jennings leads the three eventual Olympians
through the 2008 Men's 1500 meter final
(photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

I'm not sure if you remember where you were in 2008 when the Olympic Trials returned to Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. I was in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina with my family of runners and ex-runners. We dug in like we do every July when the Tour de France is on. Two weeks earlier, I had run a scintillating 20:18 5k at the Run for the Cure in Raleigh, and,at almost 30 years old, was slowly starting to get interested again in the sport that I lived and breathed in high school. The next week and a half would be the launching pad for what has inspired most of the words on this blog today.

From the first day, I was hooked. I had followed distance running even after my days of competing were over, but this would be the first meet I was truly excited about in some time. To fuel the fire even more, my cousins had recently shown me LetsRun.com and more importantly, the "World Famous Message Boards." It was all downhill from there. I remembered guys like Gabe Jennings and Alan Webb, but there would be many new faces.

On day one, I got to watch former Tar Heel, Shalane Flanagan, win the 10,000 and then got to watch Amy Yoder-Begley outrun the clock to hit the Olympic A Standard. The crowd roared as she clipped off the last few laps and came in 1.4 seconds under the mark to greet her then-teammate, Kara Goucher, and grab the flag and book her ticket to Beijing. A moment like this could happen again as soon as this Friday night, with both the Men's and Women's 10,000 Finals kicking the distance events off. I loved every second of it. It would only get better from there.

This is the second in a a series of articles
that will highlight the 2012 Olympic Trials;
aptly called "Talking Trials"

A few days later, the race of the trials would take place; the Men's 800 (video here). I probably watched this race 10 times that night and have probably watched it 20-30 times since. It really doesn't get any better. That kind of drama was as good as it gets. Christian Smith gets into the 800 only because Alan Webb scratches, opening up the last spot. He navigates through the heats and then runs the race of his life to take third place, in a falling dive, and hits the Olympic A Standard, securing his trip to China. In doing so, he helps complete an Oregon sweep of the podium, with the Oregon Track Club's Nick Symmonds taking the win and the University of Oregon's phenom, Andrew Wheating, rallying late for second. That race will be run again this Monday night. Can it live up to that hype? With the field assembled, it's certainly possible.

With all the talk that track "needs to find it's audience," this is an event where the audience will be captivated, knowledgeable, and won't need much cajoling. In 2008, it inspired me to go from a sometimes jogger to a three time Boston Marathon Qualifier and to run some pretty decent times in the process (for a hobby jogger). It also inspired me to write this blog and to get active in the sport I love. I've attended the Prefontaine Classic the last two years, the 2012 Marathon Trials in Houston and multiple other meets that have been great. This is the granddaddy of them all. I hope many others can get inspired the way I have. I can't wait to get back to Eugene and take it in firsthand. 

Follow along on television (all times Eastern):

Friday, June 22 NBCSN 9:00 p.m. (10,000 Finals)
Saturday, June 23 NBC 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 24 NBC 7:00 p.m.
Monday, June 25 NBCSN 9:00 p.m. (800 Finals)
Thursday, June 28 NBCSN 9:00 p.m. (5000 Finals & Men's Steeplechase Final)
Friday, June 29 NBCSN 6:00 p.m. (Women's Steeplechase Final)
Saturday, June 30 NBC 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, July 1 NBC 7:00 p.m. (1500 Finals)

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2008 US Olympic Trials - Distance Events Revisited

The 2008 US Olympic Trials were extremely entertaining. The Men's 800 kicked off the excitement (and was the race of the trials for me), with the rocket launcher like finish from Nick Symmonds, followed by the Oregon Duck, Andrew Wheating, barreling up the homestretch for second, upstaged only by the Oregon Track Club's Christian Smith, diving at the line for the final spot and getting the Olympic A-Standard in the process.

The trials closed with the Men's 1500, which was set up for drama with the mystery man, Gabe Jennings, looking incredible in the heats, but needing the A-Standard. Jennings took the lead early, but a windy day killed his hopes at a second Olympic team. Also surprising was American Mile Record Holder, Alan Webb, not having a kick over the final 100 and then getting nipped by Will Leer at the line to finish fifth.

The Women's 10,000 was exciting in the fact that Amy Yoder-Begley raced the clock, after she had locked up third place, to attain the A-Standard (which she did by a few seconds). Then Abdi crushed the last lap in the Men's 10,000, to win, and then dove into the steeple pit. What a character! Glad he'll be making a return trip this year in the marathon.

Below are the Olympic Qualifiers in every distance event from 800 - 10,000. Click on the link in each event for full results.

Race of the trials (all photos: TrackandFieldphoto)

800 meters
Men
1. Nick Symmonds
2. Andrew Wheating
3. Christian Smith

Women
1. Hazel Clark
2. Alice Schmidt
3. Kameisha Bennett (no standard)
4. Nicole Teter

Erin Donhue

1500 meters
Men
1. Bernard Lagat
2. Leo Manzano
3. Lopez Lomong

Women
1. Shannon Rowbury
2. Erin Donohue
3. Christin Wurth-Thomas

Anna Pierce

3000 meter Steeplechase
Men
1. Anthony Famliglietti
2. Billy Nelson
3. Josh McAdams

Women
1. Anna Pierce
2. Lindsey Anderson
3. Jenny Simpson

Bernard Lagat

5000 meters
Men
1. Bernard Lagat
2. Matt Tegenkamp
3. Ian Dobson

Women
1. Kara Goucher
2. Jen Rhines
3. Shalane Flanagan

Shalane Flanagan

10,000 meters
Men
1. Abdi Abdirahman
2. Galen Rupp
3. Jorge Torres

Women
1. Shalane Flanagan
2. Kara Goucher
3. Amy Yoder-Begley

Just think, we're only 3 months away from the 2012 Olympic Trials!

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Road to Houston: 5 Questions with Olympic Trials competitor, Joe Moore

Over the past few days, I've covered some of the early Men's contenders and Women's contenders. Over the next few, we'll take a more in depth look at some of the competitors on their "Road to Houston."

First up is 5 Questions with former local standout, Joe Moore. I first saw Joe running in Raleigh when he won the 2010 Old Reliable Run. Joe spent his last few years living, training and racing in Raleigh, NC and recently moved north to Minneapolis. A few of his highlights over the past year include winning the 2011 USATF 10k Trail National Championship and recently ducking under the 1:05:00 standard in the half marathon (with a 1:04:58); qualifying him for the trials. Check out his blog here and his Twitter feed here.

5 Questions with Joe Moore

1. Writing About Running: Where did you run in college and what were your PR's coming out?

Joe Moore: I ran at Kansas State University from 2002-2007.  I was a late bloomer and ran all of my PR's in the last few months of eligibility.  My big name drop from college is that I used to live with 2008 Olympian Christian Smith.  It was really exciting to be rooting for someone running at that level.  It really encouraged me to keep after it.

My PRs from college were:
Mile (indoors) - 4:09
3000m - 8:19
3000m steeple - 9:08
5000m - 14:08

2. Writing About Running: I counted 3 times where you ran 1:05 before hitting the 1:04:58.

Joe Moore: Yeah, I ran 1:05:27 in August, then 1:05:14 in November in Raleigh, 1:05:19 in Vegas, and finally got under it.  I also ran the Chicago Marathon in 2:21:50, in which I bonked hard after running 2:19 pace for 23 miles.  So I had a lot of chances.

Writing About Running: How'd it feel to hit that standard?

Joe Moore: It was really cool.  It was a small race, and I don't think a lot of people were paying attention.  There was a tight turn at the finish, and I saw the clock tick over 1:04:50, and I knew I had it.  It was more just a huge relief that I had finally gotten it.

Winning the USATF 10k Trail
Championships this Summer

3. Writing About Running: You won the national championship in the trail 10k this summer. What'd you take from that?

Joe Moore: Trail running is fun.  Despite the dangerous nature of the race (especially the Continental Divide race), the atmosphere is really laid back.  Road and track racers can get a little uptight, so i had a great time. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time and was able to jump (Ryan) Woods at the finish.  It was pretty exciting to win a national championship though.  I can't imagine that happening again.  I think I'll hit the trails some more in the future to keep things exciting.

4. Writing About Running: You've recently moved to Minnesota from Raleigh, how'd you enjoy your time in Raleigh and how's the running going in Minneapolis?

Joe Moore: When I first came to Raleigh, I had kind of given up on running.  I didn't know the area well, and didn't have the group I was used to training with.  After a while I decided to run a marathon and in the process, I learned how to train alone.  I also started to run really high mileage, mostly because that was easier to do alone than a lot of hard workouts.  I started to get my longer distance PRs down, and then I got to know Bobby Mack and started to run with him and occasionally with the NCSU team.  I still wasn't really part of a group, but I gleaned a lot of motivation from being around athletes of that caliber again.  Bobby and I were pretty much the TAF elite team, and watching his progress over the last year really encouraged me to keep working my way up.  Right now I'm back to training on my own, but I've been racing all over the place, so I haven't had to do a ton of serious stuff yet.  Hopefully I can get hooked up with some good folks here too.

Running in Raleigh with Bobby Mack

"Will wear anything a potential sponsor will give me in the Olympic Trials Marathon (within USATF guidelines of course) #noshame" 
-recent tweet (sponsors take heed)

5. Writing About Running: What is your goal for the trials?

Joe Moore: I'd like to be in a good spot to finish high.  I don't know what that will be, but since I've bonked in almost every marathon I've run, I'd just like to be able to close hard instead of melt down.  My plan is to go out in a little under 1:11, and then throw down in the second half in 1:08. I might change the plan, but this way might work. It's kind of a dangerous proposition, since nobody will probably go out that slow, and since I usually don't finish well.  I don't have much to lose though, and there isn't any real pressure, since I don't need to hit a time. I don't think a lot of people are banking on me making the olympic team, so I can just go for broke. Running is much more fun that way.

Stay tuned for more articles this week and continued coverage leading up to the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, TX on January 14, 2012.

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Olympic Trials announcement kicks off an exciting year ahead

Christian Smith tastes Olympic (Trials) glory

With today's release of the 2012 Olympic Trials schedule, the momentum is already starting to build for the Olympic year. Many athletes careers will take off in 2012 and many others will fall short and retire from professional running. It's the four year cycle that Track and Field fans have become accustomed to. New sponsorships will be earned and old sponsorships (that end at the end of 2012) will be lost.

At the Chicago Marathon this past weekend, we were reminded once again about the qualifiers for the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon. The window is closing for the January 14, 2012 race on December 15th (30 days prior), which leaves the prior weekend as the last chance to make Olympic (Trials) dreams a reality. Expect a big group runners to take one last crack at the qualifying standard at the speedy California International Marathon on December 4th. Expect some extreme last chancers at the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville on December 10th, only 100 miles from the 2004 Men's Olympic Trials Marathon.

Many new stars will emerge on the track through the collegiate system, well timed breakthroughs will take place from people like Christian Smith, who was the last seed in the 800 in 2008 (and came in third) and many old stars will surprise as well.

The Olympic Trials standards (for distance events) are as follows (not taking into consideration the Olympic Games standards):

Men				Women
Automatic (“A”)	Provisional (“B”)	Field Size & Rounds	Event	Automatic (“A”)	Provisional (“B”)	Field Size & Rounds
1:46.50	1:48.30	(30–3)	800m	2:01.30	2:05.90	(30-3)
3:39.00	3:43.00	(30–3)	1500m	4:12.93	4:17.00	(30-3)
13:33.00	13:50.00	(24–2)	5000m	15:35.00	15:50.00	(24-2)
28:15.00	29:00.00	(24–1)	10k	32:45.00	34:00.00	(24-1)
8:32.00	8:45.00	(24–2)	3000m SC	9:55.00	10:15.00	(24-2

US Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field June 22 - July 1, 2012

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