Olympic Trials on Campus!

By Grace Carballo ‘17

This past weekend was long, both because of President’s Day and also because many ambitious folks ran great lengths. You may have seen some world class athletes speed by you on Saturday. If you didn’t ask follow up questions, allow me to clarify- what you witnessed was the U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials. 204 countries will be competing this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and each country can send just 3 athletes (except for team sports). The marathon trials are held in February because the event is so exhausting the athletes need ample time to recover and prepare for the actual games in July. Every four years the marathon trials are held in a different U.S. city and this year Los Angeles had the honor.

(Above: Photo by Ryan Bethke as Flanagan collapses across the finish, claiming the third and final spot for women)

So what’s up with the course?

The course was incredibly spectator friendly- no matter where you stood the runners would pass you at least four times. This video linked below details it well but essentially the Olympic hopefuls started with a 2.2 mile loop and then ran four 6 mile loops for a total of 26.2 miles. 

http://www.latrials2016.com/race/race-course/course-flyover-video

The course passed right by the Coliseum and our campus, as well as Exposition Park and the Staples Center. Though the course was conducive to spectators and very flat, the day was challenging in other ways- most notably because of the heat. The races started after 10 AM and temperatures rose to nearly 80 degrees F by the time the runners crossed the line. Many of the athletes weren’t used to running such a long distance in that kind of heat but Brazil’s temperatures will likely be comparable and much more humid.

Below, Kara Goucher, who finished 4th and will be the alternate, on her last lap. My friend, Evan, captured this and many other amazing moments from the trials from the comfort of our campus because he knows how I idolize these athletes, especially Kara.

Qualifications to Qualify

According to the USATF, for this year’s trials the qualifying window was August 2013 to January 2016. Men who ran a 2 hours 19 minutes marathon or faster were eligible, and those who ran faster than 2 hours 15 minutes were eligible and reimbursed for travel expenses.

Women who ran a 2 hours 45 minutes marathon were eligible for the trials and those who ran a 2:37:00 or faster were reimbursed for travel, lodging, and meals. 

Obviously, these times are impressive, but if you’re not familiar with marathons or distance running, a sub-4 hour time is an admirable goal for many marathon runners. To get the slower qualifying time for women 2:45:00, you would need to run faster than 6:20/mile for 26.2 miles.

Impressively, 246 women and 211 men qualified.

Big Names

For the men, Galen Rupp won easily in 2:11:12 and Meb Keflezighi took second in 2:12:20, thus becoming the U.S.’s first three-time Olympic marathoner. He’s a UCLA alum, but we Trojans are willing to put rivalries aside, especially to celebrate such a great accomplishment earned on our own campus. Jared Ward, finishing in 2:13:00, got the third place spot for the men.

Below, Rupp and Keflezighi leading the pack on campus. (Photo by Evan Schwartz, Class of 2017).

For the women, Amy Cragg won in 2:28:20, sweet redemption after missing qualifying in 2012 by just one spot. Her teammate, Shalane Flanagan, finished in third (2:19:19) after leading with her until the last lap. She was treated for complications from the heat after collapsing across the finish line. Desiree Linden, the second place finisher with 2:28:54 will also compete in the Olympics. Flanagan and Linden competed as teammates in the 2012 Olympics, as well. Kara Goucher, my favorite distance runner ever since I met her in 2010, competed admirably and finished in fourth, as the alternate.

Below, Flanagan and Cragg, leading the way through USC. (Photo by Evan Schwartz).

It was an exciting day to be a runner, Trojan, and American; even following the race from afar gave me quite a thrill. Conveniently, (or inconveniently for some due to traffic it caused), the LA Marathon was the next day (Sunday), so plenty of runners were inspired by the Olympic hopefuls and ran with new energy. 

Running a marathon at any pace is an incredible feat and does incredible things to your feet (I lost a handful of toenails when I ran mine), so if you see anyone limping to class tomorrow, be sure to congratulate them on their race. And who knows? Maybe if they keep at it they’ll get the times to compete in the Olympic Trials in 2020, though they won’t be in LA or on our campus, so there goes half the fun.

Fight on & run strong,

Grace Carballo ‘17

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