After exiting the building and discovering CNN headquarters just across the street, we took a left and found ourselves amongst swarms of people surrounding the finish line.
Those people would see the runners only once, at the finish, an exciting spot for sure but not the most efficient use of spectator positioning. Instead, we found a way across the course, pausing for a selfie with the finish line in the background, and then another half mile away aiming for a spot where we would see them three times, once on every loop. We made it, even with my janky old phone putting up a fuss and dying even with plenty of battery left. Portable charger to the rescue!
Although we found a decent spot from which to watch, the wannabe gale force winds made coffee an absolute essential for survival so we trekked over to Starbucks and found a new spot. I pulled up Twitter to track when the runners might come and waited with giddy anticipation. On the whole walk over, I kept turning to Mom and exclaiming at a near squeal some version of “I get to see the Trials!” or “we’re actually at the Marathon Trials!”
When the men approached, less than a mile into their journey, you could hear the roar of the crowd long before you could ever see them. They pounded around that corner so fast and so close, I just took pictures and then exclaimed as I watched them run away that “Jared Ward had been this close!” The next 20 minutes until the ladies came through passed so quickly.
This huge group of amazing women thundered past, bringing out enthusiastic cheers and yells from all, most definitely including myself. I looked down at my phone after they passed, disappointed to see that I hadn’t gotten a good picture of Desi out front. Mom recognized her! She told me that I did so I checked again. I saw that I had taken a burst. When I discovered that I had gotten a picture of Desi, I literally jumped for joy.
Once the huge, amazingly huge, group of women passed, many of the spectators moved away from the street to either find a new location or just to wait until the men passed on their next loop. The volunteer near us had mentioned a few minutes before that our side didn’t have a great view because by the time they turned and we could see them, they were right upon us. I looked across the street and considered crossing. After I finally made the decision and got to the other side, I wished we had stood on that side the whole time. From that vantage point we could see them for over a tenth of a mile descending down the hill.
Several of the people around us had a family member or friend running in the Trials which leant an infectiously cheerful mood to our cheering spot. (Not that I needed any help getting more hyped up, of course.)
When the men started coming down the hill for their second loop, I did experience some annoyance, the only annoyance of the entire experience that day. One of the spectators had a large sign that she held up as the runners came down the hill. Since the runners hugged the corner on the other side of the street where we once stood, this woman moved fairly far out into the street, apparently trying to get their attention with her sign and moving directly into the frame of the photos I attempted to take. I also could not figure out the identity of the person she drew on her sign. I never would have guessed Bernie Sanders as she later indicated. It looked more like Trump or one of those old man Muppets. No wonder none of the runners acknowledged the sign. Why waste mental effort trying to figure it out?
The wind continued to blow, funneled through the surrounding tall buildings as we lost the direct sunlight on our spot. Just before thew omen came through the second time, Mom and I decided to find a spot in the sun to wait for the third loop. As the sound wave approached and we saw the still positively massive lead group, I became ridiculously giddy again. They just kept coming. So many of them! I learned later that almost 500 women ran!
By this point the group of total runners had spread out considerably so we started to find our sunny spot while runners still passed our viewing spot. The wind whipped through us, making us quite thankful that this wind would not trouble us the next day. Even when we found a bit of sun by the 1, 9, and 17 mile marker, it still felt much colder than when we first started watching. Thankfully the race had almost finished, not that I wanted the experience to end of course, just the chilly, windy portion.
Several people around us stood, like I did, phone in hand, refreshing the athlete tracker faster than it could be updated. We talked about the athletes at the front, engaging in a running nerd’s equivalent of fascinating discussion, the kind we rarely get other than online. We never asked each other’s names either. We all cheered as the lead men ran by although I admit that I paid less attention to the men than the women. Of the people in the lead group I recognized only Rupp and Ward.
I could not believe my eyes when the lead women came by. That lead pack still numbered 14 at that point with all the top picks still a part save for Jordan Hasay who had dropped back significantly off the pack. I squealed yet again when I saw Desi tucked right in the middle. She still had a chance.
I now had to make a decision. She I try to help us get back to the finish line, an area likely already crammed with spectators or settle for starting the journey back to the hotel and following the race via Twitter. I started walking in the direction of the finish line but then realized that we would have to cross over the course. With the runners so spread out, I did not want to take a chance and become one of those annoying spectators who crossed in front of these runners who had worked so hard to get to that point. With that, I made my decision. We headed back to the hotel, with my attention practically glued to my phone as I “watched” Tuliamuk and Sliedel’s amazing break away, cheered for the seemingly ageless Abdi Abdirahman to hold onto that podium spot, and anxiously hoped that Desi could pull off something amazing. When she moved into fourth my heart leapt into my throat and stayed there while I waited to regain service again. (I lost it temporarily as we went underground in the MARTA.) I let it out again in a disappointed sign since Desi ran out of room to overtake Kipyego but even that could not keep me down.
I felt on top of the world as we walked from the MARTA stop back to the hotel. I could not believe what I had just gotten to see. I felt on top of cloud nine that entire evening even after having to come back down to earth a little to work on school related tasks. Before settling into our room, we stopped at Planet Smoothie in the shopping center by the hotel for a treat. Since we had saved food from breakfast, we had all we could need, a relaxing end to an amazing day and a great way to prepare for a marathon in the morning.
Post-Script
When I think back on this experience, I realize that if this race had been scheduled for one week later, we likely would not have had this experience or had the ability to run our own marathon. The last major race, the LA Marathon, went on as scheduled the following Sunday, to outraged calls from across the globe to postpone or cancel the race. With the Olympics not taking place this year, the 6 people who garnered their spot on this amazing day will likely remain some of the only members of Team USA until this whole crisis dies down and other qualifying meets and matches resume. All the cancellations and changes in the world make me even more grateful to have had the opportunity to have this experience.