by Larry EderIn Atlanta, Georgia, on February 29, 2020, the team for U.S. men and women will be determined for the marathon distance. The top 3 men and women in the US Olympic Marathon Team Trials will be named to the US Olympic team for Tokyo 2020.
Mind my words here, there will be surprises in the top three on both men and women. The Trials in 2020 will be both the beginning and ends of careers for many U.S. athletes. The marathon is a brutal game, focus, training, luck and focus (didn’t I say that already?) will be key.
Tokyo 2020, just so you know, will be hot as hell. It could make the conditions in Dubai (World Champs) look like the easy day. Winners in Tokyo will also be surprises, so get ready to watch. Hot, humid no matter if it is 6 am or 9 pm.
In Chicago last fall, Sarah Crouch finished as first American in 2:32:37, a six second PB from a PB that was six years ago. I inteviewed Sarah post event, and, as always, enjoy her enthusiasm. But what struck me about Sarah was that she was recovering from a recent surgery that would have stopped mere mortals from competing.
Sarah Crouch, 2018 Houston Marathon, photo by Photorun.net
Sarah Crouch hit the half in 1:15:10, with the lead pack, and kept the battle on, much of the time on her lonesome. Crouch is just the kind of athlete who could surprise us in Atlanta in 2020. Her drive, and the lack of pressure, will give her some assistance as she pursues one of the toughest teams to make on the U.S. Olympic team.
The runs come, one at a time, the building fatigue comes, and the tough sessions, done in the company of a few quail or rabbits, can not be shown in the up close and personal video intros on terrestrial television. Those loops, continuous, with sound and smells, play in the athletes’ head, as they put the next 6 to 8 thousand miles on their bodies, in search for that complete race.
We look forward to seeing where Sarah Crouch shows us that she can go in the next 14 months. We hope you enjoy the inteview below with Sarah Crouch.
