The 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials are a little over twenty four hours away and close to 400 of the very best distance runners in our country have flocked to the starting line in Los Angeles. For a handful of those competing, their long journey to one of the finest events in our sport began right here in Massachusetts. They competed at Franklin Park, spent long days at Reggie, and logged hundreds of miles in their respective hometowns. Fortunately for us, we were able to catch up with a few and gather their thoughts before they take to the streets of LA tomorrow!
Tim Ritchie
Doherty High School '05
Boston College '09
Half Marathon - 61:23 Marathon - 2:14:50
1st Olympic Trials
"The 2016 US Olympic Team Trials Marathon is coming up quick and I am very excited to be able to line up along side the best in the country and the best in history. With every step forward in my career my father reminds me how far I have come from running the trails behind Doherty High School in Worcester. He is right! It's been an incredible journey of discovery so far and the Trials is the next step into the future. I am looking to simply run my best out there and compete with all my heart against what will surely be a memorable field. Getting there has been an accomplishment already, getting to the finish line would be another and every runner I can catch would be an added blessing.
It means everything to represent my hometown of Worcester and my alma mater Boston College. Those places have made me the runner and the person that I am. I carry the support of my family, friends, coaches and teammates wherever I go. The last three months, the support has been tangible and I will do all I can to validate that support on Feb 13th. I am very aware that I carry the cheers and hopes of everyone back home and I carry that with pride. Thanks everyone in MA for pushing me along. Let's see what we can do!"
Wish Tim good luck at @TimRitchieWTD!
Tyler Andrews
Concord Academy '09
Tufts University '13
Half Marathon - 65:47 Marathon - 2:16:59
1st Olympic Trials
"Nine years ago, I sat in my then-girlfriend's living room, watching Ryan Hall power away from the field at the 2007 US Olympic Marathon Trials. As someone who had - at that point - run fewer miles than I now cover in an average week, the performance was both captivating (the allure and prestige of the event) and entirely incomprehensible. I had no true understanding of what Hall's 2h09 finishing time meant or the absurd negative split he ran or why people were so fired up about this young dude.
The next day, I asked my coach if he thought I could qualify for the Olympic Marathon Trials.
"How fast do you need to run?"
"2h18, 5'16 per mile."
Jon puzzled for a moment, perhaps wondering how to reply to the seventeen-year-old with the brand-new 18-minute 5K time.
Finally, he says, "I think you could certainly run 10 miles at that pace."
What gave Jon - who still coaches me, a decade and lap-around-the-earth later - the idea that this unathletic teen who could barely cover 3 miles at 6'00 pace would be able to run even 10 miles at 45 seconds-per-mile faster is beyond me. But for whatever reason, I believed him. I just figured it might take a while.
And it did. Fast forward five years and I first did run 10 miles at 5'16 pace in 2012. 10,000 miles later, at the end of 2014, I ran under that oh-so-mystical yet -arbitrary barrier. And here we are.
Looking back, it seems entirely unreasonable to have considered this goal, for Jon to have given a second's thought to my naive question. How many other coaches would take that risk? And how many times could it possibly play out favorably?
Through his guidance, Jon guided me away from an obsession with fickle time-standards and instilled in me a passion for self-improvement and a desire to find the limits of my athletic ability. As I head to the starting line on Saturday, I'll think of the process I fell for back on that November day in 2007 and all those who have shared in this journey with me. What a journey it's been."Wish Tyler Good Luck at @TylerCAndrews!
Eric Ashe
Whitman-Hanson HS '06
Boston University '11
Half Marathon - 63:33 Marathon - 2:17:06
1st Olympic Trials
"Only once every 4 years do all the top marathoners in the country come together to race. I'm really grateful to be a part of the select group. Although I've had a few too many setbacks recently to have my best race, I'm still looking forward to the experience. I have to keep reminding myself that two years ago I was trying my best to qualify for this race. I was really disappointed after missing the qualifying time at the 2014 Houston Half (by 1 second!) and the Boston Marathon. But luckily I have some great mentors that have kept me motivated to keep striving. My goal is to learn from the race to comeback stronger for 2020!
It's exciting to be in the group traveling from Massachusetts. Most of us train and race together on a regular basis. I can't wait to see how everyone does, especially the ones that haven't tackled the full marathon distance yet. I am really honored to represent Massachusetts- I have lived here my whole life! I grew up in Hanson, MA and graduated from Boston University.
The support I have received has been amazing. From high school, to college, to my current BAA team, there have been so many people helping me along the way. The journey has been a great so far and I look forward to the future!"
Wish Eric Good Luck at @EricAshe!
You can watch the 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials Live on Saturday, February 13th at 1:00pm ET on NBC!