The trip to Eugene was fairly unexciting. I enjoyed the surprise cookies about halfway through the trip from Laura. I arrived at the airport with Shawn Crawford & some other hopeful Olympians. Steve picked me up outside and we hurried back to Haywood field for the 800 meter semi-finials. We watch UT star Jacob Hernandez come in 3rd in his heat and make it to the next round. It was exciting to yell for a “local guy”.
The crowds at the stadium are amazing! They yell really loud like at a baseball or football game & they stay around for the 5k & 10k! That’s amazing. And they really yell loud for the local boys & girls. Jacob was winning his heat and an Oregon kid passed him the last 25 meters & the crowd went crazy! We will just have to wait for the finals to see how loud everyone yells, I think Jacob will be a leading in the finals.
We watch some 5k prelims for the men & it was amazing to see how slow they started out and would bunch up in to a mass, everyone waiting for someone else to take the lead. Steve & Adam told me that the strategy is to try to run easy for 3k and position yourself for the last 2k. Adam Daily, who ran at Arkansas should know he was here not to long ago in the same position. Adam & Jess, started Ludus Tours they take people to the Olympic games, Oktoberfest, Running with the Bulls & lots of other cool sporting events.
The best part of the evening was the woman’s 10k finals. Jessica Daily, who also ran at Arkansas and at the Olympic trails was Amy’s college roommate. Amy Yoder-Begley definitely stole the show in the 10k. Jess had us yelling & screaming for Amy. What was most interesting and exciting about this race was that Amy did not have a qualifying standard, so not only did she need to be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd but she had to run it in under 31:45, about 1 minute faster than her PR. It was amazing to watch the determination she had and the guts she showed to qualify for the Olympics. It was inspiring. It makes you think about your own running. I will never be that fast but I hope that I can so the same courage & determination to a goal that Amy did last night. It is also great to see a person, after years of trying to qualify, do it! Dreams come true.
To read more about Amy’s race go to: let’s run.com
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