USATF Championships Viewing Guide
All the info you need to watch BTC at the 2018 USATF Track and Field Championships
The USATF Track and Field Championships are in Des Moines, IA from Thursday June 21st to Sunday June 24th. We will have 10 athletes competing over the 4 days of competitions. This year we are hoping to step up our social media game and provide you with more updates, photos, and video from Des Moines. Follow us at @BowermanTC on Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the action. Below you can find event by event viewing information so you don’t miss a single race! All times are in the central time zone.
You can find a complete schedule and list of entries here.
Women’s 10,000m: Marielle Hall, Gwen Jorgensen, Carrie Dimoff
Date/Time/Where To Watch: Thursday, June 21st, 7:00pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Carrie and Gwen at the 2017 Payton Jordan Invite. Photo: Talbot Cox
The Women’s 10k field is deep this year, with 9 women who have broken 32 minutes, including defending champion and American Record holder, Molly Huddle. 3 of those women are BTC athletes. Marielle was an Olympian at this distance in 2016, but opted for the 5,000m last year. Her 31:37 personal best is the third fastest in the field. Gwen and Carrie each had big personal bests at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May, running 31:55 and 31:57 respectively. The two #RunnersWhoMom have both taken unorthodox paths to the starting line in Des Moines. Gwen is the reigning Olympic Champion in the Triathlon who now trains with our professional group and will be appearing at her first USATF Track Championships. Carrie, a shoe designer at Nike, finished top 10 at the Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2012 in the Steeplechase, but has blossomed at the longer distances over the past year. In addition to her 49 second 10,000m personal best this year, she ran a 2:30 marathon and was second at the USATF Championships at that distance in 2017.
Mercifully it seems like only the pace will be hot in this race, as the current weather forecast is for cooler temps and rain.
Men’s 10,000m: Lopez Lomong
Date/Time/Where to Watch: Thursday, June 21st, 7:40pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Lopez has made Olympic and World teams at 1,500m and 5,000m and will now finally try his hand at the 10,000m. He debuted at the distance earlier this year in 28:21. There are a lot of new names in the field this year, but the most experienced is Shadrack Kipchirchir who ran 27:07 at the World Championships last year.
Women’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Courtney Frerichs
Date/Time/Where To Watch:
Prelim: Thursday, June 21st, 1:50pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Saturday, June 23rd, 3:20pm CDT (NBC)
Courtney and Emma Coburn at the 2017 World Championships where they went 1-2.
An unfortunate foot injury will keep Olympian Colleen Quigley from competing in this event, but BTC will be well represented by 2017 World Championships Silver Medalist, Courtney Frerichs. Courtney has kept a relatively low profile this year, running just two track races in preparation for a long outdoor season. She ran a personal best of 4:14 in the 1500m in April and finished 4th in Oslo Diamond League Steeplechase in 9:20. Reigning World Champion Emma Coburn has dominated this event, winning six national titles in the past seven years. Can Courtney challenge her for supremacy? We hope.
Women’s 1500m: Shelby Houlihan and Kate Grace
Date/Time/Where to Watch:
Prelim: Thursday, June 21st, 3:35pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Saturday, June 23rd, 3:46pm CDT (NBC)
Shelby celebrating her victory at the 2018 Prefontaine Classic.
Kate was second at this distance last year, in the best 1500m season of her career. This will be her first outdoor championships with BTC. Shelby, perhaps better known as 5,000m runner before this year, has been on fire over 1500m in 2018. This indoor season, she won the US title and took 4th at the World Championships. At the Prefontaine Classic she stunned a world class field over the final 150 meters to win in her first sub-4 performance. The star BTC pair will face off against an always deep field headed by Jenny Simpson, whose 4 World/Olympic Medals make her one of the most accomplished US middle distance runners of all time. Expect a lot of buzz around this race!
Women’s 5,000m: Shelby Houlihan and Marielle Hall
Date/Time/Where to Watch: Sunday, June 24th, 3:20pm CDT (NBC)
Marielle at the 2018 Portland Track Festival. Picture: Jordan Beckett
Both BTC athletes will be doubling back in this event, which could prove extra grueling by virtue of being in the middle of the afternoon (temperatures are currently forecast at around 80 degrees for Sunday). Shelby will be attempting to defend her title as US Champion, while Marielle will be looking to improve on her 5th place finish from a year ago. Shelby has not competed at this distance in 2018. Marielle recently won the Portland Track Festival in 15:16 as a final tune up for USA’s. The field is missing usual stars Molly Huddle and Shannon Rowbury, but still features 7 women who have run 15:20 or better.
Men’s 3,000m Steeplechase: Evan Jager and Josh Thompson
Date/Time/Where To Watch:
Prelim: Friday, June 22nd, 3:15pm CDT (NBC Sports Gold)
Final: Sunday, June 24th, 3:55pm CDT (NBC)
Evan on the way to winning his 6th consecutive US title in 2017.
The Master and the young Padawan: Evan has won more steeplechases national titles than Josh has run steeplechases in his life. Twice as many, to be precise. Evan goes for his seventh consecutive title against four other athletes who have gone under 8:15 in their careers. Coming off a narrow third place finish in 8:11 at the Prefontaine Classic, he is well positioned to defend his title, but winning at this level is never easy or guaranteed. Josh struggled with injury in his first year as a pro but opened up his season 10 days ago at the Portland Track Festival by winning the Steeplechase in 8:35. The prelim will be just the 4th Steeple of his career and these championships will be an excellent chance to build his experience in the event.
Men’s 5,000m: Ryan Hill
Date/Time/Where To Watch: Sunday, June 24th, 4:30pm CDT (NBC)
This race figures to come down to the 4 men who have run under 13:10 in their careers. Ryan is one of them. The favorite is defending champ and Olympic Silver medalist Paul Chelimo who ran very aggressively at the front last year. Will he adopt similar tactics this year or will it be a slow race like the last time the championships were held in Des Moines in 2013? That race favored Ryan’s 3,000m prowess, as he closed in under 4 minutes for his final mile and surprisingly made the World Championship team while still representing North Carolina State University. In either scenario, expect Ryan to be hanging out near the front, waiting to use his big finishing kick.
Get Ready For Boston
The Boston Marathon is right around the corner. Shalane is coming off a thrilling victory in New York and is returning home to race the 2018 Boston Marathon. Check out the Boston page to follow Shalane's journey and all things Boston.
Shelby and Colleen Seek World Dominance
Shelby and Colleen are across the pond in Birmingham, U.K. for the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Track and Field Championships. Before jetting off, they thawed out the track at Nike WHQ. Shelby will seek medals (yes, plural), as she attempts the 3k, 1500m double, while Colleen seeks redemption after finishing second (to Shelby) at USA Indoor Championships.
A week of frigid temperatures and snow had the track at Nike World Headquarters frozen solid. That is until Colleen and Shelby thawed it out with a blazing workout before jetting off to the U.K. for World Indoors. Still feeling the tough weekend of racing in their legs, Shelby and Colleen wanted to get some pop back in their strides.
Shelby was already the 3k U.S. National Champion when she took the track to race the 1500m the following day. Coming into the homestretch of the 1500m, she was in fourth, but in typical Shelby fashion, she unleashed a ferocious final 50 meters to outkick the field. Even after a dominating victory in the 1500m, Shelby thought little of the doubling at Worlds. Immediately following the 1500, when asked if she’d double at Worlds Shelby said, “I’ll probably just stick to the 3k.” That was before she talked to Jerry though.
Although the decision to double came as a surprise to Shelby, she is now just as excited about the opportunity as she is about having authentic fish and chips for the first time. Despite travelling to London last summer, Shelby was so excited to be in the land of Harry Potter that she forgot all about the famed fish and chips. One can forgive Shelby for this error as she is quite possibly the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, even sporting a tattoo of the boy who lived on her wrist. However, now that her cravings for Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and Butterbeer, two staple foods in the world of Harry Potter, have been filled, she is excited to finally try eating fish and chips out of a newspaper cone...after her races of course.
Shelby’s weekend begins Thursday when she takes on a loaded field in the 3k. Racing against a field that includes the likes of Genzebe Dibaba,the two time defending world champion and current indoor 3k world record holder, Hellen Obiri, the outdoor 5,000m world champion, Sifan Hassan, the reigning indoor 1500m champion, and hometown favorite Laura Muir, Shelby said, “[I] needed one, last, hard track session to wake my legs up” before heading to the U.K. If her legs were asleep during the workout, it is scary to think about what they will look like when they are awake come Thursday.
Like Shelby, Colleen looked to, “get some pop back in my legs and feel the burn,” in her last workout before heading across the pond. Not that she needs any extra motivation heading into the 1500m at World Championships. Still feasting on being outkicked down the homestretch at USAs, the workout provided Colleen a significant confidence boost. While she has no regrets about her race or how she finished, Colleen said, “I’m excited to go to Worlds with no expectations,” but also admits, “a little redemption wouldn’t be so bad.”
World Championships will quite literally be a combination of Colleen’s three loves: London, indoor track, and the 1500m. While it is no surprise London is one of Colleen’s favorite places to travel, one might be surprised that Colleen sometimes wishes she was a miler. She loves the tactics involved with the distance, which become more apparent in indoor races and even more so in championship races. While she might enter Worlds as an underdog, Colleen will be racing on fresh legs; as opposed to many of the top contenders who are running the 3k the night before.
The women’s 3k is shaping up to be the must watch distance event at Worlds, and Shelby says she is, “stoked,” that it is only a final. Her plan for Worlds is to only think about one race at a time, taking each day and race as they come. The race is likely to be tactical, like most championship races. But, given the talented field, Shelby is prepared for hot pace from the gun; and, would not mind a fast pace as she is only .76 seconds off the American Record.
Unlike the 3k, there are semi-final heats for the 1500m starting on Friday night. While both ladies are confident about advancing to the final, they are not looking past the semi-final heats by any means. It is likely the semi-finals will be sit and kick races, which Shelby and Colleen have proven they are comfortable with. While Shelby went from fourth to first in the final 100 meters of the 1500m final at USAs, Colleen showed her impressive finishing speed when she ran the mile at the Armory earlier this month. Should one or both ladies qualify, the 1500m final will take place Saturday afternoon.
While both women would be happy knowing they ran their best, we hope to see them sporting new hardware around their necks when they return. Below is a schedule of races. All races will be broadcast live on the Olympic Channel and streamed on NBC Sports Gold.
Thursday, March 1: Women’s 3k -- 3:15 p.m. EST (Shelby)
Friday, March 2: Women’s 1500m Heats -- 2:48 p.m EST (Shelby and Colleen)
Saturday, March 3: Women’s 1500m Final -- 3:39 p.m EST (TBD)
For more World Indoors coverage and full race previews, visit LetsRun.
All photos courtesy of Jordan Beckett.
2018 Tokyo Marathon Preview
Amy is aiming for a new marathon PR in Tokyo. Can she get the win too? Watch her race live at 7:00 p.m. EST
Details
Race Start Time: 7:10pm ET
Viewing: The Olympic Channel and online through NBC Sports Gold
Amy will try to make it back to back Abbott World Marathon Major victories for the United States and BTC today at the Tokyo Marathon. At the last major marathon, we were all witnesses to Shalane’s unforgettable, body chilling victory in New York City. Now three and a half months after the New York City Marathon, Amy looks to keep the United States and BTC atop the women’s marathon elite.
Although Amy ran her first marathon in 2011, she has really flourished over the past two years. In 2016, she won the US Olympic Trials and went on to finish 9th at the Rio Olympic Games. She followed up those performances with possibly the best performance of her career so far at the 2017 World Championships where she won the bronze medal and became the first American to medal in the marathon in 34 years.
Even with all of her recent success, Amy’s marathon PR of 2:27:03 is still from her 2011 debut in Los Angeles (she ran the same time in Chicago in 2014). Amy enters the race this weekend with the 10th fastest PR in the field, but her recent races and training have definitely proven she is capable of running much faster. With Tokyo being is an incredibly fast course, what Amy calls “more of a time trial course”, she hopes to re-write her personal record book. Amy is no stranger to running fast times in Japan. Just over a year ago, Amy set personal best in the half marathon of 68:27 at the Marugame Half Marathon. Combine the fast course and deep competition with one of her most consistent buildups and her love of Japan, and Amy is poised for a breakout performance.
For full race details, check out Letsrun.com’s in depth race preview.
For those of you who live in the United States, the Tokyo Marathon is one of the most viewer friendly marathons in the world. It will be broadcast live Saturday (2/24) starting at 7:00 p.m. EST on the Olympic Channel and online through NBC Sports Gold.
Road to Worlds
Six athletes take the track this weekend at the USATF Indoor Track Championships in hopes of representing team USA at the World Indoor Track Championships.
What could be more exciting than watching hours worth of curlers sweep the ice at the Pyeongchang Olympics? Seeing BTC sweep the USATF Indoor Track Championships this weekend! Our athletes agreed (somewhat reluctantly) to exchange their curling brooms for track spikes as they seek National titles and spots on the World Team travelling to the UK in March.
This Saturday and Sunday, BTC athletes will be chasing US titles and for the opportunity to represent team USA at the World Indoor Track Championships in Birmingham, UK (March 1-4). Although not all six athletes can be named US Champions, as they will be racing against each other, there is a possibility all six will be seen dawning the USA team kit in two weeks.
In the Women’s 3,000m, Shelby--fresh off running a 15 second PR and the second fastest 3k time in US history--looks to defend her 2017 title. Marielle, who also set a 14 second PR in the same meet as Shelby, looks to continue her hot start as one of the newest members of BTC. Both women enter with the two fastest seed times, but will have to face reigning World Champion Steeplechaser, Emma Coburn.
The Men’s 3,000m, Ryan and Woody square off against reigning US Champion, Paul Chelimo, and his training partner Shadrack Kipchirchir. Ryan is considered a 3,000m specialist, and looks to return to Worlds after winning the silver medal in 2016. Woody is seeking a strong encore performance after finishing second to Chelimo in 2017.
To close out the weekend, Colleen, Kate, and Shelby will race the 1500m. Colleen and Kate will be fresh and looking to replicate their 1-2 finish from the Millrose Games two weeks ago. Shelby, the reigning US Champion, will be doubling back after racing in the 3k the day before. This race is a sure can’t miss event.
Below is a list of race days and times. All events will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network and can be streamed online with an NBC Sports Gold subscription.
Saturday:
Women’s 3,000m -- 6:28pm ET
Men’s 3,000m -- 6:45pm ET
Sunday:
Women’s 1500 -- 5:42pm ET
Super Saturday Recap
BTC had a huge weekend of racing on the dirt and track led by victories from the Women's Squad in Tallahassee, New York and Boston. Read more for the full recap of all the BTC results from this weekend.
USATF Cross Country Championships -- Tallahassee, FL
The USATF XC Championships in Tallahassee kicked off a Super Saturday of performances for BTC. Emily Infeld, Courtney Frerichs, and Evan Jager all finished in the top 4, with Emily taking home her first USATF national title.
Emily and Courtney entertained pre-race dreams of holding hands across the line, but those were foiled by the stiff competition in Tallahassee. Emily would need both hands to break the tape. The early pace was controlled by our two BTC athletes and former NCAA XC champion, Molly Siedel. The pack was slowly whittled down to 5 by 7k, when Courtney and Emily Durgin started to come under pressure and lost contact. Those two settled into their own private battle, which Courtney would go on to win, duplicating her 4th place finish from last year’s event.
Meanwhile, Emily pressed on at the front, trading surges with Siedel as the pair broke away from the field. With a kilometer to go Emily threw in another big move. At first Siedel appeared able to respond, but up a steep hill with 500 meters to go she eked out a 10 meter advantage. As she crested the hill and sprinted towards the finish line her margin widened. Five years after running her last cross country race, she claimed the national title. She has been on a bit of a different training cycle while at altitude camp, “focusing more on speed but keeping my miles at the highest they have ever been.” Clearly the new training plan worked.
On the men’s side, Evan proved that some Ferrari’s are able to drive on grass. In his first cross country race since high school (more than 10 years ago), Evan was in contention for the win nearly the whole race. He was in the lead pack through about 9k. Even with 1000 meters to go he was still only three seconds back of the two leaders. Although unable to close the gap, Evan closed hard, relying on his strength he has built up through years of steeplechasing, to finish fourth in 29:31.
For more coverage on the USATF XC Championships follow these links:
NYRR Millrose Games -- New York, NY
It may have been freezing outside in New York, but a heat wave swept through the Armory on Saturday. Ryan and Woody got the meet started for BTC by running in the Dr. Sanders 3k. The early pace was fast but settled into a tactical affair once the rabbit dropped off. Ryan ran aggressively for the win, coming up a couple of gears short in the sprint and finished third place in 7:46.65. Woody, in his first race in nearly a year, ran conservatively near the back until one lap to go. Always confident in his finish (some teammates have dared to call him a Sandbagger), he swung way wide to move around nearly the whole field and finish fourth in 7:47.19. Both men are excited to get back to training after hitting the World Indoor Qualifying mark.
The best was still to come at Millrose in the form of the Women’s Wanamaker Mile. It was a day of firsts. It was Colleen’s first time running in the Armory and Kate’s first time wearing a BTC kit. The race was well bunched and tactical until 400 meters to go. With a lap remaining Colleen, perfectly positioned, took the lead and did not look back, although perhaps she should have. Having never broken tape before Colleen said she “just got so excited that I did the one thing I know I’m not supposed to do,” which is to celebrate early. Colleen threw up her arms in celebration which nearly allowed Kate to claim victory. In the end Colleen broke the tape in 4:30.05 with Kate finishing second in 4:30.08.
Colleen, Kate, Ryan, and Woody will all be at the USATF Indoor Championships in two weeks time looking for spots on the World Indoor team.
For more coverage on the Millrose Games follow these links:
Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Invite -- Boston, MA
Not too far away from the Armory in New York City, Shelby and Marielle had a record day…literally. Both women ran a 3k with the goal of getting the World Indoor qualifying standard. They ran the majority of the race behind a pacer at 8:45 pace, well below the 8:50 Worlds standard. After the pacer stepped off, Shelby put the pressed on with the pace and pulled away from the field to claim victory in 8:36.01, setting a 15 second personal best and becoming the second fastest American 3k runner in history (only behind teammate Shalane Flanagan). Marielle, dawning the BTC kit for the first time, finished second in 8:40.20, and also set a massive second personal best by 14 seconds.
After making the World Indoor time standard look like a walk in the park, both women will head back up to altitude to prepare for USA Indoor Nationals in two weeks. While Shelby claims “defending my Indoor National titles from last year and make the Indoor World Championship team” are the main goals for the remainder of the season, she admits that “seeing my name at the top of the American [3k] record board would be amazing; and I hope to get another chance to possibly go for that this season.”
With most athletes competing for the first time in 2018, this weekend was hopefully only a sneak peek of what is to come from BTC the remainder of the year. The athletes will do their best to catch their breath before heading back into thin air and altitude camp in preparation for USA Indoor Championships, February 16-18 in Albuquerque.
2017 Highlight Video
2017 was a great year for the BTC on all levels. Last week we had our year end banquet to highlight performances from our Youth, Elite, Pro and Masters groups from the year and look forward to whats ahead. Our club continues to be focused on fostering competitive running opportunities to runners of all levels. Check out the linked video to see some highlights from 2017!
2017 BTC Highlights
Once again, all parts of the club contributed to taking the Bowerman Track Club to new heights this year. This week was the Bowerman Track Club year end banquet where we highlight performances from the past year and look forward to what's ahead in the coming year. In 2017, the BTC youth program once again had a record number of entrants and sent a club record number of individuals and and teams to the Junior Olympic National Championships in Florida. Additionally, the Masters program posted a solid 3rd place finish at the XC National championships, the Elite program posted a slew of marathon PRs at the California International Marathon and the Pro team brought home 3 medals from the World Championships. Our club continues to be focused on fostering competitive running opportunities to runners of all levels. Check out the video for more highlights!
Rubber to Pavement: BTC Transitions With The Seasons.
Bowerman Track Club finishes up its summer racing series, while others prepare for marathons and a Fall filled with mileage, base training, and Pumpkin Spice lattes.
Fifth Ave Fights and City Nights
Focusing on getting some speed back into their legs after the long grind of a World Championship year, Bowerman women Shelby Houlihan, Courtney Frerichs, Colleen Quigley, and Emily Infeld headed east this past weekend to close out their summer racing series at the Fifth Avenue Mile held in New York City. All moving down in distance, the event was a challenging but fun opportunity to end their seasons in style, flying past Central Park's trees in quick succession. Colleen led the way for Bowerman, taking 9th in a time of 4:20.6, followed by Shelby for 13th in 4:26.3, Emily for 17th in 4:30.3, and Courtney for 20th in 4:31.3. The crew was all smiles after the race, happy to have braved the challenge of a new event. Laughing Courtney said, "I set PB's at every split."
#MarathonManCamp
While the New York Squad finished up in the city, Chris Derrick and Andrew Bumbalough were off in the woods and mountains of Mammoth California (dubbed #MammothonMarathonManCamp on social media), getting themselves ready for the Chicago Marathon coming up on Oct. 8th. Hitting high mileage for several months and drinking in the natural setting of Mammoth, CD and Bumby are excited to finally be in the month out moments of the marathon. Having focused their training mainly on mileage and progressive long runs, Chris and Bumby have begun honing in their pace work now that September has arrived.
Now back in Portland, Bumby and Chris have rejoined the Bowerman boys still in the city to finish up their training and drink some finely brewed Portland Coffee that they have missed for so long. Andrew Bumbalough is excited to have another shot at the Marathon after his impressive debut in Tokyo of 2:13:58. Chris Derrick is looking forward to his own debut in Chicago where he said in confidence, "I just hope to not have a terrible last 10k." With his 10k prowess, I don't think anyone is worried.
Weekend Action
The BU crew doing a tuneup workout on Tuesday.
It’s a promising and international weekend of racing for the Bowerman Track Club with marathon debuts in Tokyo and fast track races in Boston. We’ve got the details for your viewing pleasure.
Tokyo Marathon
Andrew Bumbalough and Betsy Saina will both run their debut marathons in Tokyo on Sunday (Saturday in the US). Betsy is coming off of a career year in which she ran 30:05 to place 5th in the Olympic 10,000m and ran 67 minutes for the half marathon. ‘Bumbi’ is returning to form after an 18 month struggle with two major injuries, hernia surgery and a sacral stress fracture. He has been rebuilding his fitness slowly since the summer of 2016 and ran 28:06 for 10,000m in November in Tokyo, a solid stepping stone to his marathon buildup. First marathons are unpredictable, but both Betsy and Bumbi have had a good block of training to prepare them for the challenge.
When: Saturday February 25th, 7:10 ET
Where to Watch: NBC Sports
BU Last Chance Invitational
Most of the professional men of BTC will be taking to the track in Boston on Sunday evening. Steeplers and rivals Dan Huling and Matt Hughes are in the mile along with a big portion of the deep NJ/NY Track Club middle distance squad. Watch this one with attention as there is a burrito bet* on the line between Matt and Dan. The remainder of the squad (Ryan Hill, Moh Ahmed, Evan Jager, Lopez Lomong, Chris Derrick, and Woody Kincaid) will be in the 5,000m which has the makings of a cracking race. Word on the street is that the race will be rabbited at around 8:00 for 3,000m (13:20 pace). The very solid field also includes sub-13:10 performers Ben True, who edged Ryan and Moh at the Millrose Games two mile, and Eric Jenkins, who won the Millrose mile.
After the Boston meet, Lopez, Evan, Ryan, and Woody will head to Albuquerque for the US Indoor Championships next weekend.
*Burritos are the preferred form of currency for wagers amongst BTC professionals.
When: Sunday February 26th, 3:10 ET (mile) and 4:55 ET (5,000m)
Where to Watch: Flotrack
Andrew Bumbalough Goes to Tokyo For Good Vibes...and His Marathon Debut
Andrew Bumbalough and Betsy Saina make their marathon debuts in Tokyo on Sunday. The marathon has been a long time coming for Andrew. Read about Bumbalough's journey over the years and his goals for the marathon this Sunday.
Andrew Bumbalough is packing his bags for Tokyo in search of some good vibes.
Okay so maybe that is not the only thing he is going to Tokyo for, but it is definitely on his list.
While he is not a superstitious man, Andrew is the first to admit that he prefers running in certain places more than others. There are specific cities and venues that make him want to up his game (or stride for that matter).
The past two years have been long and grueling ones for Bumbalough. Multiple injuries prevented him from training and competing for most of 2015 and 2016. Injuries are hard to deal with in any year, but especially in an Olympic year. Andrew had his eyes set on running the Olympic Marathon Team Trials in 2016, but was unable to compete due to injuries.
One year and two weeks after the Olympic Marathon Trials were held, Andrew is healthy and ready to make his marathon debut at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday, February 26.
Andrew competing in a 10,000m race in Tokyo in November
Andrew is no rookie when it comes to making the long trip across the Pacific Ocean. In November he traveled to Tokyo, along with teammate Chris Derrick, to race a 10k on the track. The 10k was the main focus for the fall and marked his first race on the track in over a year. Despite not feeling “incredibly fit, I was training really well,” Andrew said.
After returning to the States, Bumbalough and coach Jerry Schumacher knew he was ready for the marathon.
The marathon has been a long time coming for Bumbalough. The marathon seed was first planted shortly after he joined the Bowerman Track Club. He and Jerry first realized his marathon potential years ago during long, winter training blocks. He would rack up serious mileage in training plans that resembled that of a marathoner more than the 5k runner Andrew was. He responded well to running higher mileage and marathon inspired workouts.
After a long gestation period, that marathon seed is finally ready to sprout.
Andrew went through a 10 week build up in preparation for Tokyo, running 115-120 miles a week, an increase from the 90-100 mile weeks he ran while training for the 5k. The biggest adjustment for Andrew was not the increased mileage though. He had to learn how to adjust his approach to the long run. While training for the 5k and 10k, Andrew said the “long run was all about effort and getting the time in. Now, in marathon training, the long run is the focus of the week; the most important day of the week.” He ran many different types of long runs. Some lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes; others were shorter in duration but he ran at an average pace of 5:05 per mile.
No long run proved to be more important than an 18 miler in January. It was one of the few long runs he ran at his marathon goal pace. It was not easy by any means, but Andrew recalled it feeling effortless. He could not explain what it was exactly, but after completing this run he had a sense of confidence about the marathon he had not experienced before.
Andrew remains confident as he completes his final workout prior to Sunday’s start. Confidence is a major reason Andrew chose Tokyo to be his marathon debut. He wants to finish having had a positive experience. Unlike the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon, Tokyo’s course is flat and will have a large number of finishers in the 2:11:00-2:15:00 time range. As Bumbalough still has goals on the track, he wants to “have a solid day,” finishing healthy and with confidence that he can carry into the spring outdoor track season.
While this is not Andrew’s first trip to Tokyo, he also hopes it is not his last. He might not be frank about it, but he cannot help himself from wanting Tokyo to be one of those places that he enjoys running in more than others. Can one blame him from wanting to feel good vibes in a future Olympic host city though?
Andrew will be joined by BTC teammate Betsy Saina in Tokyo. This will also be Betsy’s marathon debut. Stay tuned to our Twitter account and website for race news and updates.