One day I will make a pilgrimage to Tracktown, USA. I will run Pre’s Trail (and no doubt get dusted)… I will go to Hayward Field; I will attend the Olympic Trials (or maybe the Prefontaine Classic)… I will buy a Ducks tee-shirt (this, from a woman who has a 10-minute schpiel on why non-uniform, team-branded clothing is just plain wrong)… and of course, I will stalk Kara, Adam, Alberto, Amy, Andrew, Christian, Galan, Nick, Dan and Dathan… Dathan has been having an incredible season, setting a new American Record in the 5,000 in Berlin (12:56.27), and nabbed the bronze at the Half-Marathon World Championships in Birmingham, England (in one hour flat, just 17 seconds off Ryan’s AR)… Check out DR’s blog post in which he shares his thoughts about what sets him apart as a competitor (Matty: your comment is adorable)…..who’s heard of the band Stars of Track and Field? Since they hail from Portland, OR, I thought their name was just a clever way to get the locals to turn up to their shows, but actually it is a hat-tip to the Belle and Sebastian song “Stars of Track and Field” (oops B&S are Scottish not Oregonian)…Once, a dreamer of a man told me he wanted to take me to the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field because he knew how happy it would make me…
I’d like you all to meet regular-reader and occassional-commenter leftcoaster (aka BT). She lives in Portland, and ran the Portland Marathon a few weeks ago–it was her first, and she BQ’ed! BT shared with me, via email, “I was just so psyched about how the race turned out and wanted to mark the event in a unique way. The Garmin map idea popped into my head while running… oxygen-deprivation-to-the-brain probably had something to do with it.” Qualifying for Boston was BT’s secondary goal, after her “primary goal of just finishing the race without totally ponking, walking, passing out or puking.” (A worthy A-Goal, no?) Finishing in 4:01:10 at the age of 54, she qualified with four minutes to spare and coming in 19 out of 347 in her age group. I get tingles thinking about all of these age-group aces I have met through this blog, Twitter and actual, real-life. I am inspired by you all, because while I’ll never win an entire race, I can dream of placing in my age group. leftcoaster, congratulations on a tremendous first effort–I’ll be there in Boston this April to cheer you on. Here is the Garmin report of her celebration run.