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.

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Talking Trials: Back to the Track

Will Bumby be ready to kick again tonight?
(Photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

This is the seventh 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.

It's Thursday morning here in Eugene and track is back! The Flotrack/Brooks run was packed again and we were joined by Neely Spence and Shayla Houlihan, who just announced her retirement from the track, after a disappointing steeple preliminary heat on Monday. She didn't rule out the roads though, including a potential fall marathon. Best of luck to her. It just shows the intensity of the trials and the training these athletes have been putting in to excel to the fullest extent during these 10 days that come along only every four years. The grim reality is that many of the athletes running here this week will move on from the sport if things don't go their way. A true reminder that it's "do or die time."

The 1500 prelims will kick off this afternoon and they are stacked. Some excellent runners will not make the team and a few will likely not make the final. A few of the men and women are right on the outside looking in at the Olympic A Standard times and I wonder how that will affect the way the rounds are run. The stars should have no trouble getting through to the semis, but that's where it will get interesting.

The Men's Steeplechase final goes off later in the evening and six guys have the A standard. College standout Donn Cabral has had a very long season, but has a great kick and will contend. Dan Huling has the best PR in the field at 8:13.29 and looked good in the prelims. Kyle Alcorn has been very consistent this year and also always has a great last few laps. Evan Jager has only run three steeples ever now, but looked flawless in the prelims. He looks to be the obvious choice to take the win. Billy Nelson got in by the skin of his teeth on time (from the prelims), but is good at showing up in big races. Finally, Ben Bruce hasn't run great yet this year, but is a tough competitor and will be in the mix. He could be rounding into shape at just the right time. The darkhorse pick will be Brian Olinger. Olinger ran within a second of the A Standard last year before committing to the 10k and the marathon. He now is back steepling again and looked good on Monday. Expect him to make an honest push towards the podium like he did at the Marathon Trials. He'll stick his nose in it for as long as he can. If I had to pick the three, I'd go Jager, Alcorn, Huling, but would not be surprised if Cabral snuck by Huling if he is there with 400 to go.

The Women's 5000 final will send some new faces to London as American Record Holder Molly Huddle will look to make her first team and will bring two newcomers with her. My Charlotte roots will have me pulling for former Myers Park Mustang, Julia Lucas, as she continues to have an excellent season and incredible comeback. Also, Liz Maloy looked effortless in the prelims and looks to be in shape to do something big. Those are my top three, but I think Julie Culley has as good of a shot as any of those women. Lisa Uhl is already on the team in the 10,000, so I am not sure she'll contend, but we can't forget Magda either. She'll lay it all out there as she has in the past. Kim Conley, Emily Infeld and Abbey D'Agostino looked great in the prelims, yet lack the standard. In 2008, it took 15:02 to make the team, so if it's anything like that, the standard will come as the byproduct of a great race.

The Men's 5000 final will be interesting. On paper, Bernard Lagat, Galen Rupp and Lopez Lomong look like the cream of the crop, but Andrew Bumbalough looked great in the prelim and could break up that party. He can kick with the best of them and has run many more 5000's than Lomong, so his experience may help him. Ben True and Brent Vaughn looked good in the prelims, as did recent NC State graduate, Ryan Hill. Will they have enough to crack the podium? Maybe not, but will hopefully make it interesting.

See if you can find the Picky Bar founders

Yesterday was the first truly nice day out here in Eugene, with the sun out and the temps around 70 degrees. Since my shin was hurting pretty good after Tuesday's double, I opted for a five mile walk around town to explore and take some photos. After that, we went out to Ninkasi Brewing Company for the Picky Bars event. It's been fun to watch the company grow since I bought my first batch in September of 2010 and all the Picky staffers were in attendance, including Lauren Fleshman and her husband Jesse Thomas and Stephanie Rothstein and her fiance' Ben Bruce. It's freaking science dude.

Later in the evening, after some table sports with the Tar Heel contingent, we headed out to Taylor's Bar & Grill, before capping off a low key night at the usual Wild Duck Cafe. For the next two days, Saucony will be hosting the post meet parties there and if it's anything like the first few nights, you won't want to miss it! Alright, off to the track. Tune in to NBC Sports Network tonight at 9pm eastern for some great action on the oval!

Here are some photos of my Eugene walkabout (taken with instagram):

Home of the Ducks

Oregon being Oregon

The block is hot

The Autzen Footbridge on the Willamette River

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