My excellent adventure: Day 28, adios, Boston, by Larry Eder

This is my journal as I travel through Copenhagen, Paris, London, Boston. Each day I try to give you some insights into my day in the world of sports media.

Shalane Flanagan, photo by PhotoRun.net

As much as I was transfixed by Meb Keflezighi and his day of vindication, I was also mesmerized by the agony of Shalane Flanagan’s day.

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I am a sports romantic. I do not believe that days of glory come without days of absolute agony. If you have not wanted to quit the sport you love, if you have not had days where the workouts wipe you out, the lack of support get to you and the absolute nil chance in hell that you will succeed have not creeped into your cranium, then, how can you appreciate the big wins?

After the 2008 Olympic Trials, there was 18 months of absolute crap for Meb Keflezighi. After his fourth in London, Meb had a 2013 New York where he hit halfway in 1:05 and ran 1:17 for the next half.

Meb Keflezighi and his coach, Bob Larsen get it.

And so does Jerry Schumacher. I believe Shalane Flanagan, who is so much of a winner that it is hard for her to comprehend, I believe that athletes could dare be better than her. Not a bad trait. She needs to believe in herself.

But she needs to also know that 2:22:02 is amazing on the Boston course. Coming in, she was the fifteenth ranked women’s time in the field. She finished seventh.

She was amazing in the post event press conferences. Honest, she said that ” I will be back until I win.”

She wants it.

She will get it. When, how, are all the question.

But then, this is a sport, it is not professional wrestling.

I am sitting in the Logan Airport, reviewing in my mind the last twenty-eight days of travel, and I have enjoyed each visit, to Copenhagen, to Paris, to London, and now to Boston.

I love Boston, but it is time to clean the clothes, work on ad sales and develop the next issues.

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself."

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