Projo Running Blog

Thirty-nine runners, the most since 1980, ran under 2 hours, 20 minutes at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the men's marathon, held yesterday in Central Park. And Matt Pelletier was one of them. The 28-year-old Warwick resident, who runs for Running Heritage, clocked a time of 2:17:17, finishing 19th.

USA Track & Field provides this recap of the race, which was won in record time by Ryan Hall and featured the No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 all-time Olympic Trials performances:

Hall Wins U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Sets Trials Record in Dominant Performance
Ritzenhein, Sell also earn Beijing berths
From Jill Geer, USATF

NEW YORK - (November 3, 2007) - All the chatter about the resurgence of American distance running came to fruition in powerful fashion Saturday, with Ryan Hall leading Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell onto the 2008 Olympic Team. Competing at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon in Central Park, Hall tamed what had been thought of as a slow and very difficult course, breaking the Olympic Trials record with his winning time of 2 hours, 9 minutes, 2 seconds. Ritzenhein was second in a personal record time of 2:11:06, with Sell third in 2:11:40.

A 25-year-old Californian, Hall has been looked to as a future star since high school, and in 2007, the Team Running USA athlete broke the U.S. record in the half-marathon (59:43) and posted the fastest American debut marathon in history in placing eighth at the Flora London Marathon (2:08:24) last April.

But Hall on Saturday served notice to the world that he is not just a star of American distance running, he has the capacity to be a major player on the global scene. After leisurely opening miles in which the main pack came through 2 miles in 11:00, the pack finally caught up with earlier leader Michael Wardian at 7 miles, after a 5:19 mile split. From that point on, however, the hammer was down, and Hall made it look frighteningly easy.

In the lead
A lead pack of Hall, 2004 Olympic Marathon silver medalist Meb Keflezighi, Ritzenhein, two-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman and, for a short time, Fasil Bizuneh then began to click off sub-5:00 miles. After the 7 mile mark, mile splits were 4:56, 4:54 and 4:43 as Hall, Meb, Abdi, Ritz and Dan Browne came through 10 miles as the leaders in 51:04. 2004 Olympic Trials champion Alan Culpepper led the chase back, but he was to drop out a few miles later.

After a 4:55 11th mile, U.S. marathon record holder Khalid Khannouchi left the chase pack to take off after the leaders, but he never was to close the gap. After a 12th mile in 4:59, Hall began to up the pace. At the 20K mark, passed in 1:03:04, Hall doffed the cap he had been wearing for warmth on this cool, overcast day, and the Mammoth Lakes resident began his stunning display of what looked like an easy run in the park.

Hall tamed a Central Park course that has virtually no flat stretch and is a constant stream of bends and curves. His mile splits tell the story once he left the pack. Starting with the 13th mile, they were 4:46, 4:53, 4:53, 4:59, 4:56, 4:32, 4:41, 4:34, 4:40, 4:51, 4:42, 4:52, 4:47 and 4:49, before he crossed the finish line in 2:09:02. The Stanford grad ran the first half of the race in 1:06:17 and the second half in 1:02:45, a negative split.

The race for third
The race for second also was fairly quickly resolved after the break. A 2004 Olympian at 10,000m with just one marathon under his belt, Ritzenhein, 24, ran with Hall when he started to move at 13 miles. At 25K, just past 15 miles, Browne briefly took the lead. By 17 miles, it was Hall's race as he strode effortlessly through the 5-loop course. Ritzenhein separated himself from Browne and moved permanently into second, leaving Browne and Keflezighi in an apparent battle for the coveted third spot.

Therein lay the drama. Keflezighi began to drop back, leaving Browne, a 2004 Olympian in the marathon and 10,000m, apparently alone and in control of third. But 1:42:05 into the race, Browne suddenly pulled up with an apparent calf cramp and stopped very briefly to stretch his leg. A little more than a minute later, Sell starting making his climb into third.

Sell was 40 seconds back of Browne, then 17, and then 15 seconds back, all in short order. The 2007 USA 25K champion, Sell, 29, passed Browne 1:51:45 into the race, with Khannouchi also moving closer to the front.

Ritzenhein crossed the finish line second in 2:11:07, followed by Sell in 2:11:40. Having boldly taken the lead at the 2004 Olympic Trials only to fall out of contention, Sell has always been known for his tenacity and guts. On Saturday, he also became known for making the 2008 Olympic Team.

Deep field
Khannouchi finished fourth in 2:12:34, with Jason Lehmkuhle 5th in 2:12:54, PR, Browne sixth in 2:13:23, Nathaniel Jenkins seventh in 2:14:56 (PR) and Keflezighi eighth in 2:15:09. Josh Rohatinsky was ninth in his marathon debut in 2:15:22, with Jason Hartmann 10th in 2:15:27, PR.

Ryan Shay, a five-time national champion on the roads, died Saturday at the Trials. Shortly past the 5-mile mark of the race, Shay collapsed and was immediately given CPR. An ambulance transported him to Lenox Hill Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:46am.

U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon
New York, NY, Saturday, November 3, 2007

1) Ryan Hall (CA), 2:09:02*, $60,000
2) Dathan Ritzenhein (OR), 2:11:07, $40,000
3) Brian Sell (MI), 2:11:40, $30,000
4) Khalid Khannouchi (NY), 2:12:34, $20,000
5) Jason Lehmkuhle (MN), 2:12:54, $12,000
6) Dan Browne (OR), 2:13:23, $10,000
7) Nathaniel Jenkins (MA), 2:14:56, $8000
8) Meb Keflezighi (CA), 2:15:09, $5000
9) Josh Rohatinsky (OR), 2:15:22, $3000
10) Jason Hartmann (CO), 2:15:27, $2000
11) Matt Gonzales (NM), 2:16:14
12) Mike Morgan (MI), 2:16:28
13) Fasil Bizuneh (AZ), 2:16:47
14) James Carney (CO), 2:16:54
15) Steve Sundell (CA), 2:16:54
*Trials and USA Championship record (previous Trials record, 2:10:19, Tony Sandoval, 1980 and USA Championship record, 2:10:41, Bill Donakowski, 1986)

Complete results at: www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men/results.asp

FAST FACTS
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon
New York, NY, Saturday, November 3, 2007
Central Park

Weather: overcast
Temperature, 47 degrees
Wind, NE 14-20 mph

Qualifiers = 179
Declared = 131
Starters = 130
Finishers = 104

Ryan Hall, 2:09:02, Olympic Trials record (and the first sub-2:10 at the Trials)
Previous record, 2:10:19, Tony Sandoval (1980)

Hall ran each successive 5K after the first 5K faster than the previous one.

On the challenging Central Park course, Hall also produced a huge negative split: 1:06:17 (first half) vs. 1:02:45 (second half).

This race produced the #1, #5 and #6 all-time Olympic Trials performances:
2:09:02 Ryan Hall
2:11:07 Dathan Ritzenhein
2:11:40 Brian Sell

Second youngest U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials winner:
Ryan Hall, 25 years, 20 days (youngest Frank Shorter, 1972)

Third youngest Olympic Marathon team member for the U.S.:
Dathan Ritzenhein, 24 years, 10 months, 4 days (Kenny Moore-1968 and Frank Shorter-1972)

Second youngest Olympic Marathon team for the U.S.:
79 years, 168 days (youngest, 1984 team)

Brian Sell became the first Olympic Marathon team member from Michigan (current resident).

Deepest OMT top 10 since 1980.

Most sub-2:20 performances (39) at the Trials since 1980.

25 personal records set by:
Dathan Ritzenhein, 2:11:07
Jason Lehmkuhle, 2:12:54
Nathaniel Jenkins, 2:14:56
Josh Rohatinsky, 2:15:22, debut
Jason Hartmann, 2:15:27
Matt Gonzales, 2:16:14, debut
Fasil Bizuneh, 2:16:47
James Carney, 2:16:54
Steve Sundell, 2:16:54
Chris Raabe, 2:17:01
Matt Pelletier, 2:17:17
Joe Driscoll, 2:18:22
John Mentzer, 2:18:23
Allen Wagner, 2:18:25
Pat Rizzo, 2:18:30
Sergio Reyes, 2:18:31
Mikhail Sayenko, 2:18:35
Donovan Fellows, 2:18:45
Macharia Yuot, 2:18:56
Eric Post, 2:19:25
Matt Folk, 2:19:47
Michael Cox, 2:20:12
Greg Costello, 2:20:28
J.T. Service, 2:21:12
Adam Tribble, 2:21:21

SOURCE: Running USA

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