How many times do the 1-2-3 favorites come in 1-2-3? Not often, in any sport. But on this special day, when even a little snow fell on the place they call “Magic City,” the big three became the best three at the U.S. Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials.
Yep, three runners stood out with the three fastest qualifying times, and the same three — Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne — stood on the podium Saturday at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame after a cold, blustery run on the streets of Birmingham. Say hello to the 2004 U.S. Men’s Olympic Marathon team.
Culpepper broke the tape in 2:11:42, followed by Keflezighi in 2:11:47 and Browne in 2:12:02. But there was much more to this ususual race with the unlikely finish.
“This is pretty much the top of the list,” Culpepper said when asked to compare the victory to the many others he has had in track and cross-country. “National championships are one thing; the Olympic Trials is at the next level.”
Culpepper, 32, of Lafayette, CO; Keflezighi, 29, of San Diego, CA and Browne, 29, of Beaverton, OR, were in a pack 57 seconds behind Brian Sell, 26, of Rochester Hills, MI at Mile 15 when things started to happen. While Sell kept maintaining his strong sub-5-minute pace, the pack of Culpepper, Keflizighi, Brown and race surprise Trent Briney, 26, also of Rochester Hills, MI were slicing into the lead as each mile went by.
Between official mile splits, the lead even went over a minute for a few moments.
“Everyone on the course was yelling how far ahead of us he was,” Culpepper said. “We knew where he was. But there was a moment when I was a little concerned. Ultimately (we knew), you’d have to take the brunt of the wind (to catch up). It was kind of a weird dynamic. But the three of us all looked at each other and we knew we were going to catch him.”
Sell, who had passed early leader Teddy Mitchell around seven miles, stuck to his plan to run around 5:02 pace, but as he entered the third of three loops through the Birmingham downtown area, the four pursuers went by just before the 19-mile marker.
“I was worried the whole time,” said Sell, who like Triney and Verran, runs for the Hanson’s Running Team in Michigan. “I was really feelng good until that last loop. The plan was to run 5:02s. That was the plan and I stuck to it. The wind got to me, I guess. Those guys went by me pretty fast. I really couldn’t respond. I don’t have any regrets. I just went with the race plan. I did learn a few things.”
After they got by Sell, Culpepper and Keflezighi surged a couple of times, breaking from Brown, who in the meantime had moved ahead of Briney. It stayed that way until the final 200 meters when Culpepper found some life in his cramping legs and mustered a sprint to the finish to beat Keflezighi, who was battling tight quads. Browne held third while also battling cramps.
The combination of a controlled pace early, more wind on the first nine-mile section of the course and some next-level racing on the latter half of the course contributed to some impressive negative splits for the top three. All went through the half- marathon in 1:07 or 1:08 and did the second half in 1:04:34 (Culpepper), 1:04:40 (Keflezighi) and 1:04:54 (Browne). Actually the first 16 finishers posted negative splits on a day of impressive running in tough conditions.
Culpepper summed up running at any level when he explained his thought process when Sell had the big lead.
“Let your fitness and all the training you’ve put in take over,” he said. “Don’t let your head hold you back.” He didn’t. Not for a second.
Browne, looking like he was working much harder than the others, gamely fought to hold his position in the late miles as Culpepper and Keflezighi pulled away to a short lead. With Briney still pushng from behind, Browne knew it was gut-check time.
“That was the critical portion of the race for me,” Browne said. “My body was full of cramps. I’ve got to be honest. I ran with a purpose. I ran it to make the team. I also ran for my West Point classmates who have died in Iraq. I thought of them and and I knew I wouldn’t quit.”
People who had wondered who the dark horse would be got their answer in Briney as he crossed fourth in 2:12:35. He had entered the race with a personal best of 2:21:10! His time was the fastest ever run in the Trials by a runner who didn’t make the top three. Clint Verran, also of Rochester Hills, MI, moved up to grab fifth in 2:14:37.
Briney was on the closest thing to Cloud 9 after improving his PR by nine minutes.
“Ever since Chicago last fall (2:21:10), my running has really taken off,” Briney said. “I had been gearing to run with the other Hansons guys at a 2:18 pace, but I had been feeling so good, they moved me up where I would try to hang at the back of the lead pack. We really didn’t know where my fitness was. That’s not much of a race plan. It was a scary plan, but that’s the way it was.”
Sell, who had set the pace needed to keep the leaders on a sub- 2:12 pace, faded to 14th place, finishing at Linn Park in 2:17:21. As disappointing as it was for Sell, he improved his PR from the 2:19:59 he ran at Chicago last fall to qualify for this race.
“Sell ran a great race,” Kefleighi said. “Strategy-wise, I don’t know if that was the smartest (plan) for making the team.”
Keflezighi, who had dealt with a knee problem and a bout with the flu said he never ran more than 100 miles a week to prepare. Not much slowed him down on Saturday, except maybe the wind.
A total of 71 runners, all of who had qualified with times of 2:22 or better, completed Saturday’s race. There were 86 starters.
The weather was not typical for Brimingham this time of year. Temperature at race tme was 37 degrees wth a wind chill of 32. Many runners wore singlets with hats and gloves and it appeared to be enough. Snow flakes really did fall here in central Alabama at the start and right before the finish.
“I did consciously try to use the wind when it was our backs,” Culpepper said. “It was the only time we were going to gain on Brian.”
The one question left partially unasnwered is will the three marathon team members run the marathon or opt for the 10,000 meters at the Olympics. Trials for that event aren’t until July. Culpepper was the only one of the three who gave a qualified yes to the question “would he run the marathon?” Kefflezighi and Browne said they strongly expected they also would run the marathon, but hedged a bit in their answers.
In the meantime, Briney and Verran, the fourth- and fifth-place finishers will wait in the wings and stay in shape, just in case. Having both broken the Olympic “A” standard of 2:15 along with the top three, both could run in Athens.
No matter what, big crowds of running fans were treated to some of Magic City’s finest on Saturday. On to Athens!
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