Marathon running was a showcase of courage–for three marathoners, especially–at last week’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
When you feel especially good and full of spring vigor, go to a local high school track and run a single mile at 4:58—just one.
That experience will tell you why there were so many great stories about the recent U.S. Olympic Marathon trial in Atlanta. The tight turns of the course. The wind. The hills. You’ll find all of that, and more, on the 26.2 miles of difficulty that runners must negotiate.
Molly Seidel, who was competing in her debut marathon, placed second in the women’s race. She was seeded #139 but then showed grit by climbing to the top. Seidel works two jobs in Boston and has experienced personal battles since running in college. But she finished strong. The hope is that she’ll be able to quit at least one job to train for Tokyo.
Jacob Riley (right) at the finish (photo, Twitter)
The inspiration carried onward when I looked at a photograph of the male runners who finished 2-4. The three runners were packed, separated by three seconds only. Finishing second was an unsponsored runner, Jacob Riley, in 2:10.02. One second back (in the last qualifying place for the male Tokyo marathon team) raced a 43-year-old by the name of Abdi Abdirahman.
Born in Somalia, Abdirahman moved to the United States and graduated from Tucson High School. He ran at Pima Community College, then at the University of Arizona, and became a citizen in 2000. He represented the United States Olympic team in 2000, 2004, and 2008 as a 10,000-meter runner. In 2012, he withdrew during the marathon race because of a knee injury.
I was inspired by Seidel, who only qualified for the trail based on a half-marathon time and by Riley, who didn’t have a sponsor. Then you have a 43-year-old who finished just one second behind Riley and three seconds from the front over 26.2 miles on a hilly, windy course.
Ernest Hemingway defined courage as ‘grace under pressure.’ What grace those three showed last week in Atlanta!
