Past Travels: 2008 Men's Marathon Olympic Trials

The first major race I covered was the 2008 Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City. I had never been to NYC before and flew there alone. My friend lived there, so I wasn't alone for too long.

It was an amazing learning experience, that's for sure. The morning of the race, I got lost on the subway for 3 hours. There were maps, but some routes were closed for the marathon. By the time I reached my destination, the race was half over. I didn't even have press credentials that day. I found the guy I was working for and he tried to get me into Tavern on the Green (media HQ) with him, but security was tight. I remember making it through the door and down a long mirrored hallway, but 

the last guard would not let me through. So I sat and waited until I got bored and went back outside.

When I got outside, there were a lot of sad-looking people (athletes, coaches, agents, media, etc.). I thought they were just sad because they didn't make the Olympic team. Then I bumped into wejo (letsrun.com co-founder) and he told me one of the athletes, Ryan Shay, had died. Everyone was in shock. When the shock wore off, I cried.

It was a weird mix of emotions that day. Part of me was extremely sad, but part of me wanted to be happy for the 3 guys who were going to be Olympians - Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell.