Our Trip
Our trip to Texas started the weekend prior to the Trials;
we took a vacation to the Gulf Coast. We
traveled the entire length of the Gulf Coast, from near the Louisiana border in
Port Arthur to Brownsville on the border with Mexico. We had both good and bad weather and stayed
on islands for each of those five days.
Our first stop was Galveston for two nights. Galveston is an interesting little city
reminiscent of New Orleans. We ran along
the seawall each morning. (This wall was
built after the 1900 hurricane which killed 6000 residents.) We also enjoyed the historical district with
its beautiful Victorian homes and an interesting shopping area. Although Hurricane Ike devastated the area in
2008, the residents have done a good job with restoration. Ten feet of seawater covered some areas for a
short while, long enough to do much damage and kill many trees. In one area, a local woman organized an
effort to make something of these trees by hiring tree sculptors. There are now tree stumps in the shape of
herons, dogs, turtles, and even a geisha.
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| New Orleans-type home with sculpted tree stump |
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| Tin man and Toto (formerly trees) |
While staying in Galveston, we did a day trip to see the
Gulf Coast Museum in Port Arthur, a great regional museum (hometown of Janis
Joplin and NFL’s Jimmy Johnson). In Port
Arthur’s downtown, waves of economic
recession and Hurricane Ike have created a nearly vacant, boarded up ghost
town, possibly the worst we have ever seen anywhere in the world.
Our next stop was Port Aransas for two nights, with runs on
the beach. From here on we stopped at
National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs) and other places for some incredible birding
opportunities. We spent a day at the
Aransas NWF checking out birds and other wildlife. Although Aransas NWR is a wonderful place, we
did not have much luck there. There has
been drought in the area for a year, and the day we chose to visit the refuge
was the exact day that the park officials conducted a “controlled burn” and
disallowed visitors from most of the park.
Karen found better birding elsewhere at Goose Island, Port Aransas, and
Corpus Christi.
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| Green jays in Laguna NWR near South Padre Island |
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| Texan armadillo in Aransas National Wildlife Refuge |
The Texas highway system has free ferries in many
places. We took one to Port Aransas and
one from Galveston to Bolivar. Corpus
Christi to South Padre Island was a long drive through scrublands to the Rio
Grande Valley, while listening to Tejano radio stations along the way.
Our final night before Houston was on South Padre Island, with
a moonlit 5AM run on the beach done wisely while it was still warm (two hours
later it was 20 degrees colder and windy).
We visited Laguna Atascosa NWF and headed back to Houston, a six-hour
drive.
We stayed in downtown Houston, just a block off the marathon
course and two blocks from the start/finish.
From our 16th floor room we could see the marathon course. On the day of the marathon trials Karen shot
her photos from the ground and I was on the official photo bridge at the start
and finish. Since the marathoners
covered the 26.2 miles in loops and the men and women were 15 minutes apart,
there was great photography on the ground and on the bridge.
We had dinner with journalist friends on Thursday night and
went to the Sacramento Kings vs Houston Rockets NBA game on Friday night (1
block walk, nice). Friday during the day
we walked the downtown part of the course with Brandon Parks and his mom to
check out photo spots for Karen. (Karen
had mentioned that the trials were in Houston, and Brandon, a pilot, managed to
arrange his schedule to be there. Both
Brandon and his mom enjoyed the experience.)
Following the trials we met with Jeff Hill from Katy, TX who
started the “50 State Sub 4” group, which I am proud to be a part of. In fact, Jeff determined that I was the first
person to run a marathon in each of the 50 states, all under 4 hours. Of the thousands that have now done the
states, only 22 have done all of them under four hours.
On Sunday, the regular Houston Marathon took place with lots
of participants and fast times posted by the Ethiopian winners. We shot a few pictures and headed to the
airport.
The Trials
First of all, Aimee Taylor and Dave Berdan deserved to be in
the marathon trials. Both runners ran
several worthy near-misses and have my respect for their marathoning talents
and professionalism. Sometimes luck
plays a part too, like the nice tailwind at the 2011 Boston Marathon. Well, maybe that luck was too good, as the
winners ran so fast in the 2011 Boston Marathon that the IAAF won’t recognize
the world records set there.
The USA Olympic Trials were in Houston, Texas on January 14,
2012. For the first time in history the
men and women ran at nearly the same time, in the same city, and on the same
course. The spectator-friendly course
started in downtown Houston with a 2.2 mile loop, and then continued with three
8-mile loops to the finish. The men
started at 8AM; the women started at 8:15AM.
The system is pretty simple and fair; the top three men and women are
the marathoners going to the London 2012 Olympics.
Meb Keflezighi now 36, who won silver in the 2004 Olympic
Marathon in Athens, won the trials in 2:09:08.
Ryan Hall was second in 2:09:30 and Abdi Abdirahman held on for third in
2:09:47. Dathan Ritzenhein, who was on
the 2008 Beijing team, was a close fourth in 2:09:55.
Shalane Flanagan was the women’s champ in just her second
marathon in 2:25:38. Desiree Davila from
the Hanson’s team in Michigan was second in 2:25:55. Kara Goucher was third in 2:26:06. Amy Hastings ran a courageous race but ended up
in the dreaded fourth spot in 2:27:17. Deena Kastor who won bronze in Athens and
broke her foot 5 kilometers into the Beijing Olympic Marathon, was 6th
in 2:30:40.
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| 2012 USA Olympic Marathon Team will go to London |
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| Women's Start from the Photo Bridge |
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| Top women Shalane Flanagan, Desi Davila, and Kara Goucher (background) |
Some interesting facts:
152 women and only 85 men finished.
Quite a few runners qualified by running a fast half marathon and there
were several nice debut marathons. A
select few track runners qualified with a fast 10,000 meter time. Rebecca Donaghue from State College qualified
that way and ran her first marathon in 2:35:57, good for 17th and
first PA resident. James Carney, a PA
native and now a resident of CO, finished 9th in 2:12:23, a personal
best. Carney went into Millersville
University’s Hall of Fame last Fall, obviously the school’s best professional
runner ever (apologies to Greg Cauller).
Jed Christiansen finished 61st. He won the White Rose 5 miler in 2010, and
you may remember the fast Christiansen family from Greenville, PA who came to
the White Rose Run for many years. Max
King from Bend, OR, was in my elite field at the Baltimore Marathon in 2010
where he posted his 2:15 qualifier; he bettered his PR with a 2:14:36, good for
19th at the Trials. Max is
the best versatile runner around; he has made several USA XC teams, won the World’s
Mountain Running Race, and commonly wins ultras and trail runs. Another versatile runner is Michael Wardian
from VA, who finished in 62nd place
and ran the Houston Marathon the next day - a 2:21 on Saturday and a 2:31 on
Sunday, quite a double.
On the women’s
side 21 masters’ runners competed.
Seven- time Olympic Trials runner and 1996 Olympian Linda Somers-Smith,
now 50, and placed 28th in 2:37:36.
Four- time Olympian Colleen DeReuck, now 47, placed 35th in
2:38:52. Colleen won the 2004 St.Louis
trials in 2:28:25 and held the trials record until this year, when the first four
women bettered that mark.
Post Script
I picked Ryan Hall, Meb Keflezighi, and Jason Hartmann in
that order for the men. I guessed Shalane
Flanagan, Desiree Davila, and Amy Hastings for the women. I got two right for each and was really close
on the women. Many USA Marathon trials
have produced upsets in the past, but not in Houston. USA marathoning is strong and marathon trial
records were set by both men and women.
Both races were controlled swiftness; no one charged out in front in
either race, as the main contenders all ran near the front.
Clay Shaw is a
long-time marathon runner and sports photographer. You can reach him at
sports35_photography@yahoo.com.
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