As soon as the Marathon Olympic Trials were announced, I knew I would have to go and see them. It would be a once in a lifetimes me opportunity!
I was not sure where I was going to spectate but once I figured that it was going through campus, I knew that was where I needed to go! It was one of the only spots that actually has shade on the course and would also allow for me to get into buildings with my ID card for food and water and restrooms!
The race didn't start until 10:06 so I figured USC would t be reached until 10:15/10:20 so I got to campus at 10 and parked on the street. I first viewed the course from the exact mile 4 marker. The course went from LA live through downtown down Figueroa through USC and over to the coliseum and back again. It was a 6 mile loop that they did 4 times so there would be plenty of places to see everyone. The men stared at 10:06 and the women 15 min after.
One thing was even though it was 66 and low humidity, it was HOT in the sun so I knew this race would be a bit rough and it made me nervous for the next day. In all honesty, I'm not sure why they didn't just start the race at 7/730. It would have been much cooler and the disruption to traffic would not have been as big as it was (closing all of the exits for downtown off the freeway, closing many of the roads around USC campus made for a crazy traffic day).
We had a small wait and then the men came through-the pack was mighty big at the front but everyone looked good. About 10 min later the women came through and there was a smaller pack in the front.
One thing that was a bit shocking to me was that there was no one on campus. I think USC instead of scaring everyone with how bad traffic will be, should have encouraged people to come out and see the event.
While waiting for the second lap, I posted that I was chillin and Greg from WhyIRunDisney posted he was by Tommy! They were finally letting people cross so I went over to meet him and we watched the rest of the trials together. Each lap that went by, the front pack got smaller and smaller and everyone else spread out. On the end of the women's 2nd lap, the men started coming through on their third lap and you could really tell they were flying. It's weird to watch a group of people move at a 5-7 min pace, you don't realize how fast it is until you compare it to others. So crazy!
I was not sure where I was going to spectate but once I figured that it was going through campus, I knew that was where I needed to go! It was one of the only spots that actually has shade on the course and would also allow for me to get into buildings with my ID card for food and water and restrooms!
The race didn't start until 10:06 so I figured USC would t be reached until 10:15/10:20 so I got to campus at 10 and parked on the street. I first viewed the course from the exact mile 4 marker. The course went from LA live through downtown down Figueroa through USC and over to the coliseum and back again. It was a 6 mile loop that they did 4 times so there would be plenty of places to see everyone. The men stared at 10:06 and the women 15 min after.
One thing was even though it was 66 and low humidity, it was HOT in the sun so I knew this race would be a bit rough and it made me nervous for the next day. In all honesty, I'm not sure why they didn't just start the race at 7/730. It would have been much cooler and the disruption to traffic would not have been as big as it was (closing all of the exits for downtown off the freeway, closing many of the roads around USC campus made for a crazy traffic day).
We had a small wait and then the men came through-the pack was mighty big at the front but everyone looked good. About 10 min later the women came through and there was a smaller pack in the front.
One thing that was a bit shocking to me was that there was no one on campus. I think USC instead of scaring everyone with how bad traffic will be, should have encouraged people to come out and see the event.
While waiting for the second lap, I posted that I was chillin and Greg from WhyIRunDisney posted he was by Tommy! They were finally letting people cross so I went over to meet him and we watched the rest of the trials together. Each lap that went by, the front pack got smaller and smaller and everyone else spread out. On the end of the women's 2nd lap, the men started coming through on their third lap and you could really tell they were flying. It's weird to watch a group of people move at a 5-7 min pace, you don't realize how fast it is until you compare it to others. So crazy!
At the end of the men's fourth lap, we could tell the 1-2-3 place and they were pretty spread out. For he women's, Amy and Shalene were still in front with Dez behind and Kara behind her the one thing we realized with being about 2 miles from the finish, we were unsure what happened! We live streamed the men's and I found out the women's on Twitter.
After that, I went to my office to eat lunch and then met up with Ralph. We headed to Santa Monica and relaxed watching the Theory of Everything and went to grab dinner at a place called Shophouse-basically Asian food served chipotle style. My bowl I had was delicious! We then got ready and I was asleep by 8:15 for a 4am wake up call.
Overall, the day was amazing! I am so happy I got to experience the Olympic trials and am very happy with the results. I realized I want to volunteer at some races this year if I can fit it in my schedule. It looks like it would be super rewarding!
Did anyone else watch the Olympic Trials?
Overall, the day was amazing! I am so happy I got to experience the Olympic trials and am very happy with the results. I realized I want to volunteer at some races this year if I can fit it in my schedule. It looks like it would be super rewarding!
Did anyone else watch the Olympic Trials?
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