Rupp crushes the field over the final 10k, Riley a suprise 2nd, Abdi makes 5th Olympic Team

The Olympic Marathon Trials lived up to the hype. More than 200 men lined up, but only the top-3 would get to call themselves Olympians when all was said and done. The favorites, for the most part, did not have the races they wanted to have. This left room for people to make the team who were not on people’s radars heading in.

The Atlanta course presented some unique challenges on race day. Runners were greeted by pleasant forty degree temperatures but gusts of up to 20mph and rolling hills made for a challenge.

As soon as 5 miles into the race, a pair of runners, Brian Shrader and Dan Nestor, tried to put their mark on the day. Nestor qualified for the Trials with a 1:02:57 half marathon. His Atlanta Track Club profile says that he endured nine stress fractures/reactions from 2011 to 2016. Shrader, running for Freedom Track Club in Boston, ran 2:13 at Chicago last fall. Using a 4:47 mile from 5 to 6, these two men put 17 seconds on the field. By 10 miles, Shrader had dropped Nestor and had put about 50 seconds on the chase pack. He went through halfway in 1:04:53, with all of the big names coming through in 1:05:41.

By 14 miles, Rupp was at the front of the chase pack, closing the gap on Shrader. He used a 4:57 mile 15 to 16 to pull even with Shrader. Mile 15 to 16 is a very uphill mile. For comparison, Shrader could only manage a 5:20. Rupp led a cohort of others with him. The main pack now comprised of Shrader, Rupp, Augustus Maiyo, Abdi Abdirahman, Matt McDonald, and Elkanah Kibet. Notable exceptions were contenders Jared Ward and Scott Fauble.

By 17, there were 5 guys left: Rupp, Maiyo, Abdi, McDonald, and Korir. At 20 miles, Rupp had separated himself from the field. Maiyo and McDonald were 3 seconds back. Abdi 7. Korir 14.

Rupp would go on to absolutely demolish the field. He covered the last 10 kilometers in 30:29 (4:54 pace). That might not seem fast but the last 10k has a net uphill and Rupp put more than 40 seconds on the field running by himself. Rupp crossed the line in 2:09:20. This has to be one of his strongest marathon performances, with many in agreement that this marathon course runs two or three minutes slower than a flat course.

At 20 miles, something really special started to happen. A chase pack forty seconds back started to make up some ground. Maiyo, Abdi, and McDonald looked like they were battling for the final two spots at 21. Korir had fallen back but by 22 he passed McDonald and closed back in on Maiyo and Abdi. Behind him, Jake Riley was in control of 6th and was closing fast. Only uphill miles remained in this race.

Abdi, Maiyo, and Korir ran miles 23 and 24 together. The only change? A new runner, Riley, made contact with the group. Riley used a 4:58 and 5:00 25th & 26th uphill miles to get himself into second place with less than a quarter mile to go. Adbi and Korir right behind him, in that order. Riley had the fresh legs and would hold onto second place through the finish line. Abdi held off Korir to make his 5th Olympic team.

This race, aside from Rupp’s dominance, did not go to script. Korir, a favorite heading in, finished in the dreaded fourth position. Riley, who struggled with injuries before running 2:10 at Chicago last fall, was a surprising second. Many were picking Lagat to be the top master’s runner but seemed to forget that Abdi is the one who has been putting together quality marathon after quality marathon. Maiyo finished a hard fought 5th. A pair of Syracuse alums, Martin Hehir and Colin Bennie, went 6th and 9th, respectively. CJ Albertson and Jonas Hampton went 7th & 8th to outdo their pre-race seeds. McDonald hung onto 10th. Tyler Pennel of 2016 Trials fame finished 11th. Fauble was 12th. Ultra runner Jim Walmsley beat a lot of good runners, including Jared Ward, to finish 22nd.

The US is sending a very strong team to Tokyo. Fauble, who ran 2:09 in Boston in 2019, ran 2:12:39. That time on this course is probably worth a 2:09 or 2:10 on a faster course. The issue was not Fauble having an off day. It is that 11 other guys ran a sub-2:10 type of effort to finish in front of him. The people who like to knock American distance running should be able to understand that many of our best runners do not race on the fastest marathon courses. We looked at PRs heading into the race and made predictions based off of that. It was shortsighted to not think about how many good racers we have and how many people could run the race of their lives.

I’m excited to see where men’s marathoning goes in the next four years. The future is bright.