U.S. Olympic Marathon trials tomorrow morning (2/13)- Buff alums in the hunt

[AztecBuff]

Just wanted to mention that what I assume is one of the 1st U.S. Olympic qualifying events, the marathon, is being raced in Los Angeles tomorrow (Saturday, 2/13). For the 1st time ever the qualifying race is being televised live, on NBC, with coverage starting at 11:00 AM Mountain Time (MT). Scheduled starting time for the men's race is 11:06 MT, while the women are planned for an 11:22 MT start. Of course, with the marathon being as long and brutal as it is, anything can happen, and the above normal 81 degree scheduled high for LA tomorrow will be an extra wildcard.

Buff alums are among those trying for a top 3 finish in their races to qualify for Rio. On the men's side, Dathan Ritzenhein is considered one of two co-favorites (at least per the below linked letsrun.com preview article). Meanwhile, on the women's side, Kara Goucher (last name was Grgas-Wheeler in her Buff years) is considered one of the top 4-5 favorites to make it to Brazil. (I want to emphasize I’m not in any way a Buff historian, so apologies in advance if I'm missing any other former Buffs competing tomorrow.)

Short bio and personal preview for the 2 former Buffs are available at http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/olympic-trials-contender-dathan-ritzenhein and http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/olympic-trials-contender-kara-goucher . In 2012, Mr. Ritzenhein JUST missed qualifying for the Olympics in the marathon with a 4th place finish at the trials, while Ms. Goucher finished 3rd in the marathon trials and then earned an 11th place finish in the London Olympics. (Mr. Ritzenhein did end up qualifying for London in the 10,000 meters, where he ended up finishing 13th.)

Ms. Goucher has a further CU connection, as she returned to Boulder a couple years ago, and is now coached (again) by CU coaches Mark Wetmore and Heather Burroughs. An article with more detail on that, and her life in general, is available at http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/kara-gouchers-coach-shes-ready

~16-1/2 minute interview with Mr. Ritzenhein- http://www.flotrack.org/video/91665...king-on-experience-at-olympic-trials-marathon

Brief description of the race, coverage and course- http://running.competitor.com/2015/...marathon-will-be-televised-live-on-nbc_133918

Letsrun.com race previews (with emphasis on what underdogs could pull an upset and qualify)-
Men's- http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/02...-big-three-meb-ritz-hall-might-not-make-team/
Women's- http://www.letsrun.com/news/2016/02...ic-trials-marathon-preview-leading-underdogs/

 

[AztecBuff]

Neither Buff quite qualify for the Olympics-
1) Kara Goucher finishes in the agonizing 4th place position, so JUST misses the Olympics by one spot. Still a GREAT finish for her, especially with her injury challenges the last couple years, and should give her great confidence in any future professional races she chooses to race in. (This is her best marathon since at least 2013.) I don't know anything about her objectives, but assume she may (???) end up deciding to also try to qualify for the Olympics in the 10,000 meters? (She won a bronze medal in the World Championships in that event back in 2007.)

2) Dathan Ritzenhein evidently dropped out at some point during the race after being "in the picture" of the lead group cameras for most of the early part of the race. The announcers did mention at one point he'd been suffering with a sore neck (or back???) the last couple days, so assume that didn't help any. Assume like Ms. Goucher he may also try to qualify in the 10,000 meters for the Olympics, which, as I noted in the OP, was the distance he (surprisingly) qualified for in the last Olympics. (The announcers did say it's been awhile since he's run ANY track races, so it might be difficult for him to transition, but I believe that was also somewhat the case in 2012.)

 

[AztecBuff]

 

[AztecBuff]