She Runs by the Seashore

I had an amazing experience at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the marathon in 2020, and ever since then, I wanted to go to the next Olympic Marathon Trials, which were held in Orlando for 2024.

I made it back to the Trials — this time as a spectator instead of a media member (though I’d love to be a media member again) — and had another fun experience that also involved some running of my own. There wasn’t an open-entry marathon the next day like there was in 2020 in Atlanta (this happened right before the pandemic changed life as we knew it), but there was a 5K that ran on some of the same streets — the Orlando Magic 5K, and I was excited to participate in that.

I missed out on some of the activities surrounding the Trials, like athlete panels, because I didn’t arrive until the day before the race, but I jumped into the fun quickly by heading to the Brooks Hyperion House, which had people screen-printing T-shirts, free drinks and a party atmosphere. I ate at a pizza place across the street with my sister, aunt and grandmother (Orlando was also a great location for me as I have lots of family in the area).

There, I ran into Tim, Jess and Andy from Team BibRave, which was awesome! I also saw other members of The Vibe, Chris and Jessica, at the Brooks Hyperion House, and later saw Jenn from Team BibRave while walking around. Seeing people I know is a daily occurrence here in my town of Salisbury, but it was a different experience when I was hundreds of miles from home! I also ran into Caroline, who I knew from Instagram, at the 5K on Sunday.

The Olympic Trials races started shortly after 10 a.m. Feb. 3, and because I had nothing else planned for the morning and wanted to get a good spot, I arrived to the start line a little before 9 a.m. I figured I would watch the start of both races (men at 10:10 a.m. and women at 10:20 a.m.), then find a spot along the course. The course included three eight-mile loops, so I’d be able to see the runners three times.

I was surprised that few spectators were there when I arrived. I guess it was because they were all getting coffee. I walked a short loop and figured I’d get some coffee, but the line was crazy, so I decided to go back to the start. There were more spectators than before behind the barricades, but I was still there way ahead of the start of the race and got a good spot.

I enjoyed seeing spectators wearing shirts that were supporting family or friends who were participating in the Trials, and there seemed to be plenty of people who had come to watch one specific runner. I was near fans of Team Perez at the beginning; later, along the course, I was near a couple who were there for Tyler Pence.

Both races started off quickly, and after I saw both starts, I then started making my way to a spot along the course. Because of the amount of barricades, it was tough to get from one side of the road to the other at places. I went through one spectator area at Lake Eola Park that was packed full of people and I knew I wouldn’t be able to see (I’m five feet tall), so I kept moving. It was totally empty along the barricades right by the finish line, so I asked a nearby volunteer if the runners would go through there three times, and she said no — just at the end. So, that was too good to be true.

After a little more than 1.3 miles (I tracked it on my watch), I ended up along South Street by Summerlin Avenue, which was the Brooks cheer station. I saw some people I knew from Brooks and was able to find a good spot along the road where I could see everyone. Of course, it was fun to see all the pro runners, but I also appreciated one lead cyclist in particular who was encouraging the crowd by lifting his arms up, encouraging them to cheer. There were also media vehicles that had the cumulative time of the race in front of the men’s and women’s lead packs.

My location was at about miles 9, 17 and 25 (I am not sure exactly where the mile marker was). Because the men started ahead of the women and they were each doing three loops of this section, there were some dead times (particularly earlier on), but they’re all so fast that we were never waiting too long for more runners. The crowd was enthusiastic, and the sun was beating down. It was not the kind of temperatures I’d have liked for a marathon. When I left my hotel that morning, it was about 45 degrees, but the sun was so warm that I was fine in just a T-shirt and shorts. I got warm (and sunburned) just standing around.

The top three women, Fiona O’Keeffe, Emily Sisson, and Dakotah Lindwurm, were in that order when they passed by me. I later saw that Jessica McClain had gotten fourth, and when I saw who she was, I remembered her — wearing a bright pink top — because she looked so happy when she ran by. I was not in reporter mode, so I am not sure, but I think she passed Sara Hall after I saw them. (The results show that she passed both Hall and Caroline Rotich between Mile 25 and Mile 26, and she probably passed Rotich after I saw them, too).

The top three men were Conner Mantz, Clayton Young and Leonard Korir. Again, I wasn’t in reporter mode, but I’m pretty sure at the time they went past where I was, Elkanah Kibet was in third, and Korir was able to pass him. (The results show that Korir passed Zachery Panning and Kibet between Mile 25 and 26.)

The speed of all these runners is impressive — and I mean ALL of them, down to the last finisher. To qualify, men had to run 2:18 or faster and women had to run 2:37 or faster at a marathon, and a smaller number of runners qualified with a half marathon time — like O’Keeffe, who was running her first marathon. In the Trials race, Mantz’s pace was 4:56/mile, and O’Keeffe’s was 5:26/mile. (Full results can be found here.) I also enjoyed seeing some of my favorite runners, like Des Linden, who finished 11th.

Meanwhile, my race pace for the 5K the next day — a fraction of the distance — was 9:20/mile, and I was happy with that!

The crowd thinned out within 10 minutes of the lead women’s pack passing, but I stuck around for a while to keep cheering on the runners. I came all this way to watch the race, and the later runners are still amazing. I thought about what it must be like for these extremely fast runners to be at the back of the pack.

As I cheered for one of the later finishers, Ashlee Powers (all the runners had their last names on their bibs), she looked right at me and said “I’m finishing!”

I think I only missed seeing the last two finishers. However, even the last finisher, Sofie Schunk, still ran a 7:44/mile pace for 3:22:26. I did also notice a few people that dropped out that I’d seen on an earlier lap, such as Aliphine Tuliamuk and Keira D’Amato. It would be so tough to have so much riding on one race!

There was also a woman who had a lot of crowd support as she ran visibly pregnant, Maegan Krifchin, though she decided not to finish the race (this article was shared by Fast Women).

After I left my cheering spot, I finally got my coffee, a sandwich and some ice cream before heading back to the hotel.

Orlando Magic 5K

The next morning, Feb. 4, I headed back to Orlando from my hotel in Winter Park (I had a free two-night stay with Marriott!). Thankfully, the race for us regular runners was at a more reasonable time for the Florida heat — 7:30 a.m.

I took an Uber to near the start and ran a half-mile as a warm-up. I wanted to run faster than 27:41 — my fastest recent 5K time, from the Firecracker 5K in July 2023 (my fastest since 2019), but that was really fast for me, and I wasn’t sure I could do that, especially in the warmer Florida weather compared to Maryland’s winter weather. It was warm for me, and I wore my Eastern Shore Running Club tank, shorts and an ESRC hat, while there were people around me in the corral wearing long sleeves. It was 63 degrees with 89 percent humidity.

The course was one big loop that went on some of the same roads as the Trials. There were light pole flags for the Trials, and we crossed the intersection where the start line was that I remembered being at the day before.

Though it was warm, it really didn’t feel miserable, and, it was a flat course, which is where I thrive. My first two miles were 9:07 and 9:05, and then I faded a bit for the last one (which included a brief walk at a water stop), for 9:38. Then, I came back to sprint the last bit (my watch had 0.15) in an 8:04 pace. There was also a part of the course that had brick streets instead of a paved road (I think that was also during the third mile).

My time was 29:01, a 9:20 pace. This was my fastest 5K since that Firecracker 5K over the summer. My most recent fast 5K run before this was the unofficial Crouse Family Christmas Day 5K, where I ran 29:30.

After the race, there were different vendors set up and lots of people wearing the Orlando Magic color of blue. I had someone take my photo next to a “How do you measure up?” sign, since I am so short. I had a smoothie sample and then had some free ice cream from Kelly’s Homemade Ice Cream. It was announced that Meb Keflezighi and Deena Kastor were there, but unfortunately, I didn’t see them.

All runners received a shirt, and finishers received a medal. After the race, I walked to a coffee shop that was actually just a coffee warehouse-type-place that didn’t have coffee for sale and had recently closed its drive-thru. So, I got a ride back to my hotel and then it was time to go to New Smyrna Beach and spend time with family!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Trials, visit www.Orlando2024Trials.com.

Splits

Mile 1: 9:07
Mile 2: 9:05
Mile 3: 9:38
Last bit (watch had 0.15): 1:10 (8:04 pace)

Final: 29:01; 9:20 pace on results / 9:14 pace on watch for 3.15