It was an exciting morning in Houston. The weather was excellent and the runners rolled. The Men took off at a furious pace and the early pack consisted of Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Abdi Abdirahman, Mo Trafeh and former steepler, Brian Olinger. Bit by bit, the Men began to fade off the back, eventually leaving Meb, Hall, Ritz and Abdi to fight for the three spots. Ritz was the first to drop, and was down 35 seconds to Abdi with about a 5k to go. This is when Abdi began to fade and Ritz began to pick it up. As Ritz rounded the last turn, it looked as though he just may catch him. In the end, Meb triumphed (in 2:09:08), with Ryan Hall finishing a strong second (in 9:09:30), Abdi rounding out the podium (in 2:09:47) and Ritz being the first alternate (in 2:09:55). Brett Gotcher ran a strong fifth in 2:11:06. Click here for full Men's results.
On the Women's side, they took it out very, very easy (6:13 first mile) and slowly paired it down. Like the Men's race, in the late stages, it was a pack of four. This pack consisted of Flanagan, Davila, Goucher and Amy Hastings. Hastings was the first to drop, and just as you thought she was done, she put the hammer down and took the lead just before going into the last lap (18.2 miles in). Eventually, the move wore her out and Davila showed her strength. Flanagan hung with her and Goucher stayed a few steps back. Flanagan pulled away over the last 5k and won in 2:25:37, with Davila just a bit back (in 2:25:55) and Goucher just behind her (in 2:26:06). Hastings finished fourth (in 2:27:17) with Janet Cherobon-Bawcom (in 2:29:45) rounding out the top five (Women's full results are here).
Click here for my "fan video" of Meb rounding the last turn with Hall just behind.
Click here for my "fan video" of Shalane rounding the last turn, with Desi and Kara following thereafter.
The twelfth and final 5 Questions with interview for the "Road to Houston" series is with the University of Oregon's Luke Puskedra. Puskedra won't be running the trials tomorrow, but will be debuting in the Half Marathon on Sunday.
Luke Puskedra has had an excellent college career, and he's not done yet. After finishing in the top ten in Cross Country in three of his four seasons as a Duck, he's gearing up for his final semester in Eugene. He'll change is up this Sunday, where he'll be stepping onto the roads of Houston. Follow him on Twitter here.
1. Writing About Running: You're running the Half-Marathon in Houston on Sunday. What led you to this decision?
Luke Puskedra: My coaches and I sat down and decided that running this race would se me up to contribute to the big team goals we have for the Track and Field team this year. I started my training for Cross Country late because of an injury. Training has been coming along well, so it made sense to take a break in my training after this race.
2. Writing About Running: How have your workouts changed leading up to this race? and who have you been training with?
Luke Puskedra: My workouts haven’t changed much. I have always worked best off of more volume in my training, so I only had to change a few key workouts. I stayed in Eugene for a bit longer over the break, to avoid possible weather issues in my hometown, Ogden, Utah. We had a few guys stay in Eugene, so I had a good group of guys to workout with. Believe it or not, I meshed a few workouts with team members who focus primarily on the 5k/10k, all the way to ones that focus on the 800, specifically. That’s the thing that attracted me to Oregon from high school, there is so much talent on the team and all the members are willing to work hard.
3. Writing About Running: Are you planning on running indoors?
Luke Puskedra: I still have to sit down with the coaches to discuss if running indoors will set me up to be a contributor to the big goals that we have as a team this year in outdoors. It is an exciting time in Eugene right now, with everything going on. Watching the hard work the whole Track and Field team is doing is exciting. Walking to practice everyday, I see the throwers practicing technique and the sprinters moving it along on the track. I’m excited to compete with these guys.
4. Writing About Running: You had an excellent Cross Country career at Oregon. What are your goals for outdoor?
Luke Puskedra: I feel that I have underachieved on the track compared to results in Cross Country and the workouts I’ve done. I’d like to run fast in the 5000 and 10,000 and win some team titles, whether it be Pac-10’s etc., to finish off my college career.
5. Writing About Running: What are you hoping to get out of the race Sunday?
Luke Puskedra: I hope just to have fun. I’m doing the race to keep things loose and fresh. I’m going in with no expectations, just hoping to run to my abilities. I know it will be hard and I am excited for the challenge.
Next up will be my picks to make the team, which will publish later this evening.