Atlanta Track Club Executive Director Rich Kenah talks about bidding for and putting on the largest Olympic Marathon Trials.
Cross country at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology wasn’t a glamorous sport, but Jonathan Phillips didn’t care.
“Basically it’s a bunch of nerds doing the nerdiest sport,” he said. “I loved it, that’s what kept me on the team.”
His journey to 40th place at the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials started in places like Mason District Park, where the Colonials would perform their team rituals, which are best left vague for the uninitiated, or shirtless snowball fights on cold days.
“There was a team culture that really drew me in,” Phillips said. “We were pretty good at running, and it was a sport that takes focus.
“When I started running, there were a bunch of guys in the next grade and they really reached out to welcome us. A lot of those guys came down to Atlanta for the Trials.”
Name: Justine Bello
Self-described age group: 30s
Residence: Kingman Park, Washington DC
Occupation: Conservator at the National Park Service
Why you run: I love working hard: it brings me joy and satisfaction. I am my best self when I run.
After three eight-mile loops of downtown Atlanta, Nick Golebiowski was approaching the end of the Olympic Marathon Trials feeling no worse for the wear. Sure, the hills were rough and he was well off of his PR, but the race experience had been pretty good. And then…
“Wow, those last couple of miles were brutal,” he said. “A few wind gusts pushed me sideways.”
Like the end of a horror movie, everyone thought the monster was dead, but it came back at the end for every protagonist in the race. Golebiowski’s overall effort started to catch up to him on the two-mile epilogue loop when conditions got their worst.
“My arms and shoulders were getting tingly,” he said. “I’ve never been in a place like that.”
Golebiowski finished 81st in 2:22:47, the first of three finishers who live in the D.C. area. Two former local high school runners, Jonny Phillips (40th in 2:17:51) and Chase Weaverling (64th in 2:20:58), were the top finishers with ties to the region.
Pace the Nation recorded a podcast from Atlanta the day before the Olympic Marathon Trials, spreaking to various Brooks Running athletes and personnelincluding Adam Dalton, Steve Dekoker, Brian Sell, Julie Stackhouse and Jim Weber.
Grace Landau knew how to cry. As a toddler, she wouldn’t nap, and it was driving her mother, Kate, a little nuts.
“I’d have to lie down with her if she was going to nap,” she said. “I couldn’t lie down all day, but she was a really colicky baby. Nothing else seemed to make her happy”
Grace would, however, sleep in the stroller. It was a revelation that gave her single mother options, and brought her back to a sport that once defined her life, for the good and the bad.
It had been 14 years since Landau, finishing her fifth year at Georgetown, stopped running in the middle of a long struggle with various eating disorders that she had only recently coped with. Since then, she’s run 2:31 for the marathon and is heading to her second Olympic Trials, her first since 1996.
Longtime local runner Dan Yi pitches some ideas to increase engagement in distance running among fans. Read more about the Dojo of Pain.
Name: Lisa Johnston
Self-described age group: Almost a Master
Residence: Reston
Occupation: Environmental Scientist
Volunteer roles in the running world: Run club at my girl’s elementary school
Why you run: loaded question, could write a novel on this topic, but for today – I run for self therapy and to set a good example for my girls (8 and 12)
When did you get started running: eighth grade track (like 1,000 years ago)
A warm day for marathoners can be pleasant for spectators, at least. But the weather in Los Angeles for the last Olympic Marathon Trials wasn’t good for anyone: A combo of high temperatures and noontime sun made it hurt just to be outside. My favorite spot to watch the race was in the shade beneath an overpass.
Which is why I’ll never forget the first time I saw my friend Kieran O’Connor pass by me.
His top-10 American finish at the brutally hot 2012 Boston Marathon proved he had the ability to thrive in tough conditions. But what I saw still feels almost unreal to me.
It was early in the race and athletes already looked delirious. Kits were soaked. Sweat was flying off hair.
And there was O’Connor, cruising along, beard dry — cool, collected and completely in the zone, an athlete seeded 145th on his way to a 24th-place finish in 2:21:37.
Reading Charlie Ban’s post-race article, the quote from O’Connor that brings me back to that moment is this one:
“I knew I just had to keep grinding for six more miles. There’s nothing else I had to do, just keep grinding. With about three miles to go, I thought, ‘I just have to finish up this loop and I can go home and see my daughter.‘”
It’s that time of year — when stuffy noses, sore throats and congestion abound. During cold and flu season it can be tempting to ignore symptoms to get in a run or a workout as spring race season approaches, but it begs the question: when is it OK to run when you have a cold, and when should you take a break?
It all boils down to how severe your symptoms are and how your body is feeling, said Dr. Glenn Wortmann, director of infectious diseases at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and an avid runner himself for about 20 years.
“Everybody is a little bit different, but if you’re so congested you’re having trouble breathing, then you should take the day off,” Wortmann said.
There’s some good news though: if cold symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, cough, congestion, slight body aches, headaches and sneezing aren’t too severe, it’s fine for runners to power through them to get a workout in, Wortmann said. Over the course of the winter, people may get the cold several times and if they feel up to it, they can run, he added.
