Ryan Hall tweeted early this morning that he was at the airport heading home. I wonder what Kara would have told us over Twitter, if she had such a way to connect with her fans. Flotrack tweeted earlier in the day, “Sports Illustrated reporting Kara Goucher and coach Alberto Salazar are attempting to add her to this weekend’s London Marathon.”
Screeech. What?! Quick, Google. Truly she’s not considering…Okayokayokay. She is NOT running London. Salazar talked her out of it. Well thank goodness he did!
So, my predictions were kinda crappy. Let’s see how I did.
Men’s Open Race (Prediction/Actual)
- Robert Cheruiyot / Deriba Merga
- Ryan Hall / Daniel Rono
- Deriba Merga / Ryan Hall
Could have been worse, actually. Two of my top three picks actually finished in the top three, though four-time champ Cheruiyot was a DNF due to back pain. Rono wasn’t even on my radar, but he is now.
Women’s Open Race (Prediction/Actual)
- Kara Goucher / Salina Kosgei
- Dire Tune / Dire Tune
- Bezunesh Bekele / Kara Goucher
I suppose I’m a little psyched I was on the nose with Tune, but no need to go into how I’d have rather been right about Kara. Bekele came in fourth, so while she didn’t make the podium she was a better call than Cheruiyot! Salina Kosgei had her day on April 20th, for her first World Marathon Majors Win (like Merga).
Flotrack was the first site with video up, as I trolled the web before I had to jump on the Amtrak regional back to New York yesterday evening. JG came to watch what few clips were up then, and we both felt kind of yucky, gaping at Kara as she struggled to keep the tears at bay for the press, standing there in her racing bikini, with Adam hovering protectively at her side. In this video, the sports reporter, Steve Burton, actually calls her “Sara Goucher.” It only goes to show what a class act Kara is that all she did was give one little chuckle and a private smile, rather than ream the dumbass out. And the video of her all alone on the dais answering questions from an insensitive press corps, as she choked back tears, was heartbreaking. (You can see Adam’s profile to the left of the stage, ready to go to her if she needs him.) In this video, Kara’s answering a Q&A with the same guy who interviewed her and Bernard at New York Running Co. earlier this year. This time, the single piece of advice she gave the crowd was to “have patience,” and to not worry about a timeline when working towards your goals. “You have forever,” she said. Was she speaking directly to me? Most certainly not, but once again Kara provides me with the inspiration I need.
Pigtails Flying 