Olympic Trials Marathon Recap
Saturday’s race brought excitement, drama, and heartbreak—basically, everything you’d want from a championship competition.
People always say “the marathon doesn’t owe you anything,” and this weekend’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon made good on that promise. It ended with the fastest women’s podium in history, thanks in part to a massive debut from Fiona O’Keeffe, who clocked the fastest women’s Trials Marathon time ever.
Going into the race, I had predicted that current American marathon record holder Emily Sisson, former American marathon record holder Keira D’Amato, and third-fastest qualifyer Betsy Saina would take the three Team USA spots, and I was almost totally wrong—and honestly, I’m thrilled that I was. So much can happen over the course of a marathon, and a predictable 26.2-mile race would be, well, boring. Saturday was anything but that.
Heading into the Trials, the women’s race was totally stacked with contenders—there were 15 other women who had already achieved the automatic qualifying time of 2:26:50, unlocking the three team spots for Paris 2024. But the shake-ups came in quick during race week: Susanna Sullivan, who represented Team USA at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest dropped out early due to a positive Covid test, then Molly Seidel, the only qualifier who has actually won an Olympic medal, withdrew on Thursday due to a broken kneecap and torn patellar tendon. And no one seemed sure whether 2016’s winner Aliphine Tuliamuk would start or not the night before the race (she did).
I went down to Orlando in December to preview the course, which was made up of one 2.2-mile loop through downtown Orlando, and three eight-mile loops through the rest of the city. The course was flat and pretty much guaranteed to be fast—but a significant part of the course was extremely exposed to the sun, and there were fears that the temperature could reach into the 80s.
ICYMI, there was a big debate over race timing due to the potential heat; the start time was eventually bumped from 12 p.m. to 10 a.m., but it was still in the mid to high 60s when the athletes started, with a real feel of 70°F. For anyone who wants to argue over whether that’s really “crippling” or not, the ideal marathon temperature for elite athletes is between 46°F to 59°F, a 2019 PLOS One study that looked at 50 years of finish times revealed. I strongly believe the weather contributed to the large number of athletes who dropped out of the race, as well as those who have been posting about cramps, vomiting, and passing out.
I was posted up with Nike and Mill City Running—Gabi Rooker’s racing team—right around miles 2, 10, 18, and 26; I was able to see all the athletes three times before I sprinted about three blocks to the finish in order to catch the winners coming in. I’ve never been to a Trials marathon before, and as someone who’s used to the World Marathon Majors crowds, I thought there’d be more spectators. For most of the race, it was easy to find an unobstructed spot on the barricades to cheer from; it was only at the finish line where I had to crane my neck and stand on my tiptoes (and aim my camera with pretty much just a prayer) in order to capture any content. I heard that the crowds were significantly less than in Atlanta in 2020, which makes sense—the field size went from 512 female and 260 male qualifiers for the 2020 race to 173 and 227 for 2024. That said, there was a really strong brand presence (looking at you, Hoka and Brooks), and the spectators that were there were fully invested.
Keira D’Amato was leading the way from mile one, but most of the people you’d expect to see at the front stayed with her, like Sisson, Sara Hall, and Saina; but debut marathoners Fiona O’Keeffe and Natosha Rogers were also in the mix, as well as Caroline Rotich and Makenna Myler. Tuliamuk was the first to drop around mile 10, and D’Amato, Saina, and Nell Rojas eventually did as well.
O’Keeffe—who, I just want to reiterate—had never run a marathon before, started dialing things up a notch around 16 and it was pretty much her race after that; by mile 18, she had a solid lead over everyone else. At 25 miles, she clocked her fastest mile of the race, a 5:09, and had a 40-second lead over Sisson. Sticking to one spot on the course made it kind of tough to see the action play out, but it was worth it for that finish line spot.
Watching the finishers come in is never not an inspiring experience. O’Keeffe couldn’t wipe the grin off her face coming down the home stretch (for anyone wondering, the blood on her bib was apparently from chafing), Emily Sisson came charging through on a mission, and Dakotah Lindwurm looked like she could not believe what was happening, in the most excited, endearing way. (This is extremely important journalism: Lindwurm’s incredible sunglasses were a cheap pair for Amazon.)
Outside of those top three performances, we saw some major debuts (Natosha Rogers finished 28th in 2:34:51), big PRs (Makenna Myler, for example, clocked a 5:45 PR for a seventh place finish in 2:26:14), and incredible performances (Maegan Krifchin ran 18 miles at more than seven monthspregnant). Obviously, there were also heart-breaking and dramatic moments: Sara Hall finished fifth in 2:26:06, which was her highest finish ever; Emily Durgin finished ninth, in 2:27:56, after falling about 70 feet from the finish. I actually learned after the fact that Olympic Trials Marathon runners don’t get a medal, which, what?! If there’s any race you’d want to commemorate, this seems like it would be it.
Yes, I’m aware that there were also men racing: Connor Mantz and Clayton Young’s 1-2 finish finish was totally heartwarming—although there seem to be some ~feelings~ on the internet as to whether Young “let” Mantz win—and Leonard Korir’s joy at finishing third was palpable, especially considering he missed out on the Tokyo Olympics by just two seconds (that third men’s spot still needs to be unlocked, though). And it seemed like everyone was rooting for Zach Panning, who led much of the race but eventually faded to a sixth-place finish.
Now, let’s talk about shoes. Only one Nike, the Vaporfly 3, made it into the women’s top 10, while three Alphaflys were in the top 10 on the men’s (first place was an Alphafly 1, not 2 or 3), and only one Adidas (the Adizero Adios Pro 3) in the top 10 on each side. Puma had four—all unannounced prototypes—in the top 10 on the women’s side, and Asics had two in-development shoes in the men’s top five and three in the women’s top 10. More on those shoes soon…
One big success story from the weekend was Jess McClain, an unsponsored athlete who took fourth place and will be the alternate for the women on Team USA. I’m sure a big brand will snag her soon, but her performance is a great way to highlight how some companies are helping to support unsposored athletes without a contract.
Nike announced the Dreamweaver program just before the Trials. Created two years ago to support female athletes aiming for the Olympic Marathon Trials Qualification time of 2:37:00 without elite contracts or access to pro resources, more than half of the participants achieved new personal bests in the half marathon and marathon distances during, and sixteen of them achieved the OTQ. The biggest success story? Gabi Rooker, who entered the Trials as a top 10 qualifier after shaving nearly a half hour off her marathon time (she ended up finishing 19th).
Tracksmith’s Amateur Support Program (ASP), which provides support for post-collegiate athletes who have yet to receive professional contracts, had eighteen athletes at the Trials, and announced that they would be expanding the program in 2024. They also debuted the Eliot Racer, Tracksmith’s first entry into the race shoe category. This sleek, understated prototype model—a sharp departure from the angular geometry and flashy neons of super shoes like the Nike Alphafly—was tested not on elite athletes, but specifically on the brand’s ASP athletes in order to best serve amateur racers. The big selling point is that it comes with two sockliners: one for training and one for race day; Tracksmith hasn’t released pricing yet, but It’ll be on sale fall 2024.
Overall, I’m super excited about Team USA—these athletes proved that they can take on fierce competition, and in less-than-ideal conditions (I’m sure it’s going to be hot as hell in Paris this August). I can’t wait to see how they’ll represent on the global playing field.
the rundown
Hoka Cielo X1
Just before the Trials, Hoka announced its new racing shoe, the Cielo X1. You can probably tell just from looking at it, but the Cielo X1 has the most rocker and cushioning of any HOKA race shoe yet. There’s a winged carbon plate sandwiched between two layers of PEBA foam, and the brand’s “Active Foot Frame” design puts your foot more in the shoe than on top it, sort of like a bucket seat, for more stability than you’d expect from a 40-millimeter stack height. I’ve worn these for a couple of speed workouts now, and I was definitely outpacing my fitness—these are fast. But I did experience some ankle soreness after each workout, likely because I haven’t been wearing shoes like this lately, so consider this your reminder to prioritize foot and ankle strength and stability work before jumping into any beefy shoes like this. For more details, check out my full review.
You Can’t Overcome a Poor Diet With a Few Good Days
Yikes, this one hit really close to home. I’ve always had issues with underfueling, but I tend to delude myself into thinking getting my nutrition “right” for the few days going into a big long run or a race is good enough. Well, I’m wrong. Ten days of low energy availability followed by two days of optimal energy availability still impaired performance and muscle glycogen in trained female runners, according to a December 2023 study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. They also found that two days of recovery with optimal energy availability partially restored those impairments—but performance was still subpar compared to consistently eating enough.
College Running Is Coming to Amazon Prime
I’m not going to pretend I know anything about the NIL—which stands for name, image and likeness—conversation as it pertains to student-athletes in college sports. But a new Prime Video docuseries called “The Money Game” will follow LSU’s 2023-24 athletics season and explore the impact of NIL. Athletes, including quarterback Jayden Daniels, basketball stars Angel Reese and Flau'jae Johnson, gymnast Olivia Dunne (who is the highest-paid college athlete) and track star Alia Armstrong will be featured. This isn’t running-specific, but I love that a) it includes female athletes and b) running is getting more screen time!
What Happens When the Data You Rely On Is Inaccurate?
If you’ve been following me for a while, you likely know my feelings on data dependence. This article from The Atlantic muses on the way wearable tech can infiltrate our every waking moment and turn us into an obessive with a random metric, in this case, calories. Calorie tracking on most wearables is an approximation, and it’s usually pretty unreliable—a 2020 systemic review of 158 studies found that, in laboratory-based settings, no fitness tracker was accurate when it came to energy expenditure. We’ve started to tie self-worth to this super computers we wear, and the habits they drive aren’t always enouraging healthy relationships with movement (i.e. pacing in your bedroom at night to close your activity ring). It’s nice to see a mainstream publication acknowledging this.
I was blown away by the sights of the groups especially at the beginning. Was stationed 200m from the finish line watching the massive groups of fast runners running towards you is so impressive and inspiring. As a huge sports fan in general it’s hard for that feeling to match up with most events, the closest being the opening laps of Indy 500 for me. I’ve never attended a major marathon before let alone trials but I’m hooked! I will definitely be adding this event into my must-do lists in the future. I loved the setup of Orlando and ease of seeing the competitors pass multiple times.
I was surprised though by the lack of certain brands activation onsite (NB, Adidas) compared to the all-out activation (Hoka, Brooks). I think half the crowd had the Hoka sling bags and cowbells.
Even as an Orlando homer I didn’t expect crowds that big. Orlando is so much smaller than Atlanta but several athletes and attendees of both felt the crowds were fairly similar. So color me impressed.
I was also struck by how fun it is to spectate the Marathon Olympic Trials. As someone who has been to huge sporting events in other sports this race stacked up with the best of them. Super fun cheering experience.