Four Nittany Lions and a Group Friend ran the Olympic Trials Marathon (and Women HERE) yesterday through the streets of Los Angeles. Four loops with sharp turns and a substantial number of first-timers in the race made this a unique race.
Both Tyler McCandless and Nick Hilton failed to finish in the heat and both were near the front more than half-way through. Tyler went for broke and led for 6 or 7 miles and reported being chilled despite no longer sweating after 20 miles. At least 61 men dropped out!
Matt Fischer, in what I think was his first marathon, finished first for the Lion contingent in 2:25:34 in 43rd place.
Kyle Dawson, also in his first foray into the event, finished in 2:37:36 in 89th place.
The top Lion was Elizabeth Herndon who finished in 2:45:32 and in 40th place. She has earned another post-race beer!
The television coverage of the event was poor, the streaming options abysmal and the difficulty of getting full results from the USATF nearly impossible. Still, any 4 from our group with a keg of beer could run things better and with more fairness. And with the continued antagonism (whether warranted or not) by 4th place finisher Kara Goucher to Nike Inc., maybe we haven't heard the last of this race.
"Breakthroughs don't happen without taking a risk. Today I took a risk but a breakthrough didn't happen. I dropped out at mile 20 when I felt I had chills but wasn't sweating anymore. The marathon is humbling, but the incredible support from friends and family is more humbling. Thank you all and I'll be back and striding towards new goals again soon." -Tyler McCandless.