There was a shootout in Houston, Texas yesterday and after the smoke cleared, only six remained. Say hello to your 2012 USA Olympic Marathon Team: Meb Keflezighi, Ryan Hall, Abdi Abdirahman, Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila and Kara Goucher.

American distance running has come a long way in the “second running boom” and that was evident in the streets of Houston. In two of the fastest races in USA Olympic Marathon Trials history (four men under 2:10 and five women under 2:30), these six set the pace for what could be a very promising summer in London.

From the outset, it was pretty obvious that two of the three slots for both the men and women would be filled by the favorites, barring some unforeseen incident (Meb and Ryan; Shalane and Desiree). The only question left was who would get the coveted third slot on London. While the American running scene is not nearly as deep as say the Kenyan or Ethiopian teams, there was a strong contingent of runners that really had a good shot at it.

I wasn’t totally sold on Abdi Abdirahman halfway thru the race. I’ve watched him in big races before start strong but finish off the pace (I will give him this though, Abdi does have a badass nickname: the Black Cactus). Was Dathan Ritzenhein going to come back after falling back of the lead pack? Would another young runner throw his hat into the ring and barge onto the American marathon scene? All of these seemed moot after Dathan fell way back but did make it interesting at the end coming up just 8 seconds short of catching Abdi.

The women’s field was more stout halfway thru the race with a dozen women leading the way. While Shalane and Desiree did most of the work, we had some interesting names in the lead pack. Kara Goucher, Amy Hastings and Deena Kastor were still in the hunt for the third spot. Deena fell back towards the end (finishing in sixth) while Kara held on and Amy had to settle for disappointing fourth place.

Overall, I think USA Track and Field should be fairly optimistic about the marathon team they’re sending across the Atlantic. While I don’t think the men will be able to knock off Geoffrey Mutai and Emmanuel Mutai of Kenya or Tsegaye Kebede or Gebre Gebremariam of Ethiopia, I do think they will at least give the USA a fighting chance at a couple of top tens and maybe…just maybe sneak onto the medal stand. The women are a totally different story altogether. I could absolutely see Shalane, Desiree and Kara competing for the top spot. You’re looking at three young runners with a ton of potential. Especially in Shalane’s case. She’s only run in two competitive marathons and the future is looking very, very bright.

Congratulations Team USA!!! We can’t wait to see you shine.

RMFR

I’d seen Mark Remy’s book on the shelves many times before I actually picked it up. I thought to myself, “great, another book telling me how I’m supposed to run” – so I avoided it like a cheeseburger. As time passed, I saw snippets here and there. Then, runner’s like Ryan Hall and Josh Cox were tweeting about it. OK, there has to be something behind that red cover that’s actually worth reading. Let me rephrase that. If you’re a runner, YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!!!

“The Runner’s Rule Book: Everything a Runner Needs to Know – And Then Some” is one of the funniest and most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time!!! Mark Remy also writes for Runner’s World and in the January 2010 issue (p. 75), you can get a taste of what’s in store for you in the rest of the book.

To somebody who doesn’t run, a lot of this book will go right over your head. Most of it would need some explanation or at least confirmation from a runner that this stuff is true and really happens. It’s a quick read and is laid out as a bunch of rules. I found myself going back and rereading a bunch of them over again. I don’t want to give to much away because I think every runner needs this on their bookshelf but here are a couple of my favorite examples:

Rule 1.18
Learn and Love the Farmer’s Blow
Mastering the Farmer’s Blow is a must for every runner. A good Farmer’s Blow is a wonder to behold, satisfying, efficient, and brilliant in its simplicity.

Rule 1.9
Pass Gas, Not Judgement
(the bullet points for this rule are instant classics)

Rule 2.32
Do Whatever It Takes to Finish Ahead of a Costumed Runner
Because being outkicked by Elmo is too much to bear.

Rule 3.5
Save the Race Shirt for Postrace
Wearing the official race shirt during the race is like wearing a U2 t-shirt to a U2 concert. Not cool. Don’t do it.

RMFR

I’m halfway thru the ING NYC Marathon (I recorded it) and wanted to share my notes. What a GREAT day for U.S. distance running!!! These notes are in chronological order so some of it may seem out of place since the race was run nearly 12 hours ago.

• 42,000 runners? Waves of runners starting an hour after the initial gun? In the words of my fellow Norwegians…UFFDA!!!
• Abdi Abdirahman has the coolest nickname (The Black Cactus).
• Meb Keflezighi in the U.S.A. singlet…very cool.
• Looking at Paula Radcliffe run by fast food joints was the ultimate paradox.
• The coolest running scene has to be the mass of running humanity crossing the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
• I love the fact their were no pace setters. That’s one thing that drove me nuts about the Chicago Marathon. Another thing is that New York separated the women elite from the rest of the pack. I hated the fact that the women in Chicago were running with other runners.
• Kudos to Universal Sports. Without them, running wouldn’t get nearly the coverage it now gets.
• The fluorescent yellow and black that some of the elites were wearing really stood out. Remind me to never to wear fluorescent yellow and black.
• Anybody else wish Kara Goucher was in the race?
• I’m amazed at how efficiently the elites run. Ryan Hall looks like he isn’t even trying.
• Is orange the new black?
• Thought it was funny when the announcers said the women’s time of 1:14:04 at the halfway point was pedestrian. Yeah right!!!
• The fall that Yuri Kano took at the beginning was brutal. Talk about wrong time wrong place.
• Was anybody else trying to will Magdalena Lewy Boulet back into the lead pack when she fell behind?
• The 59th Street bridge looks like a beast.
• How cool was it to see 5 Americans in the 13 runner lead pack at the beginning? Sign of times to come?
• Maybe it was because of the fall but Salina Kosgei runs like she’s falling forward.
• I need to run New York just to experience 1st Avenue in Manhattan. It sounds awesome.
• The slower pace in the middle of the race made for great finishes for the women and men.
• When the pace picked up, the U.S. men (except for Meb) got squashed.
• Central Park looks like a great setting for running. Great backdrop for television.
• What was Ludmila Petrova looking for in the drink cups with a couple miles to go? She grabbed two cups, looked inside them and thru them away. The third one she finally drank from.
• Derartu Tulu ran a great race. She never stuck out the whole race but was always in the pack. You could tell at the end she was going to turn it on and win.
• I haven’t seen the interviews yet but what happened to Paula? She fell off the pace hard.
• Meb had me at full attention at the end when he finally put the move on Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot.
• I get really nervous for the runners with all the motorcycles and media towards the end of races. I just waiting for one of them to clip a runner.
• Meb Keflezighi crosses the finish line in 2:09:15. It’s a GREAT day for U.S. distance running. Now that 1982 has been buried, let’s see if we can roll this into a winning streak.
• Ryan Hall was strong to the end finishing in 4th. Like a lot of people, I was looking for him to break out today. He’ll have his day…no doubt.
• My last note is to Nike. I WANT A U.S.A. SINGLET!!!

I was checking out my “Tweets” the other day and happen upon this article sharing Sara Hall’s iPod Playlist. Ryan and Sara’s devotion to their religion as well known. In fact, it’s refreshing that they don’t try and hide it or feel embarrassed to make it known publicly.

Back to the subject at hand, I found it funny that I just posted on this same exact topic – My Spiritual iPod. I also wanted to share one of the songs that gives me goose bumps every time it shuffles thru my magic metallic green music box. I love the tie in with running and praying and this song sums it all up for me. If you like this song and want to check out the rest of the album go the the two42 cafe and have a listen (Track 13).

There’s no denying it – we’re in the “social media” age. From Facebook to Twitter and a million blogs in between (present company included), there are more outlets to information than ever before. My advice to you…grab on and hold on tight.

To be honest, it’s just too much. How much information can one runner’s brain actually handle? I don’t want to find out. From now on, I’m going to treat social media as I do talking to my wife – selective listening (just a joke honey – SERIOUSLY – I’m just joking…honey?).

When I first signed up on Twitter, I followed everybody and their mother…yes I did actually follow somebody’s mother. I finally reached my breaking point after reading several posts by Lance Armstrong feeding his kids various types of sandwiches several days in a row. Could the signs have been any clearer?

My Twitter page now reads like a “who’s who” in the running world. That’s what I really want to know about. I DO care what Ryan Hall eats before his 15K training run. I DO want to know that Dean Karnazes ran the LA Marathon and kept running south thru California until he ran the San Diego Rock ‘n Roll Marathon (which is later next year and may be on my schedule next year) the following week. You can’t get that anywhere else and you have to admit, it’s good stuff! And the best part is, they’re runners and don’t have the time to post every hour on the hour.

With a little discipline and a reckless abandon to hit the “Don’t Follow” button, you too can lead a sane and informational Twitter life.