I just got back from St Louis. You know how you have those days you never forget in your life, well, April 3rd is a day that will be forever etched in my memory.
I woke up at a 3:50 am to eat my banana and honey bread. All of us Trials qualifiers loaded on buses in downtown St Louis and took the 15 min drive to Washington University at 5:15am.
We stretched and nervously chatted with each other in Washington University’s Gym. There was this intense but excited look on all of the athletes’ faces.
We began to line up by seedtime
at 6:55am. There were hundreds of spectators lining the track. Music was
playing, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing slightly. The temp was a
cool 40 deg.
The gun went off at 7am
and 125 of us did 4 laps on the track. My goal was to run 6 min miles, and I
did exactly that.
Our huge group of runners split
into 2 packs almost immediately. Blake Russell led the lead pack in 5:36 pace
and I was 2nd place in the next pack, running 6 min pace (see photos below… I am
#56).
Start of 2004 Olympic Marathon Trials
As we exited the track, hundreds of people were waving the
American flags and cheering. I was feeling so much emotion at that moment. I was
in 30th.
My second mile was a 5:53 (downhill mile) and I was barely
breathing. That pace felt like a jog in the park. I was no longer running in a
pack. The runners were spread out each having their own game plan.
After the start, the course looped 4 times around Forrest Park.
Each loop had 1 hill that seemed to grow on each loop. And of course there was
a slight down hill too. I thought it was going to be an easy course but on loop
number 3 and 4 I thought otherwise!
Loop number 1 and 2 felt great. I hooked on with three others for
most of loop 2. I continued to feel really strong and hit all my splits right
on at 6 min pace. Our little pack passed many runners. I did notice though that
the temp was heating up ~65 °F) and the wind was starting to blow harder.
Loop 3 began and I still felt really good at that point. There
were thousands of spectators on the course but most were lined up in one area so
the majority of the course you were out on your own in the park. The wind was
really starting to blow. I tried not to think about that and just concentrated
on my race. In mile 16 our pack disintegrated. I was now on my own to the
finish. My last 6 min mile was from mile 19 to 20. I was then in 21st place.
Fans were cheering me, waving the flags and yelling out my
number. "Go Montana" is what I heard often!
At mile 20, I started a 2-mile stretch into the wind. I concentrated on trying
to catch the runners in front of me. I caught several runners and at mile 22 I
was in 16th place. Then at mile 24 came that huge hill. I looked behind me and
there was no one in sight. I was starting to feel really tired at that point and
I knew I was slowing down quite a bit. I really struggled up that hill and lost
a lot of time on it, but I got over it and maintained my position down the back
side. At mile 25, 4 runners blew by me like I was standing still. I was shocked
and that woke me up to how slow my body was running. I changed gears and ran
behind them as best I could. I caught one of them and was now in 19th position.
I was running for my life to the finish line. The street was packed with
screaming fans for the last 400m. I held on to 19th place but the last stretch
zapped the life out of my legs and for the first time ever - I collapsed at the
finish line… how embarrassing!
I tried my best, and my time was 2:40:39. I PR'ed by 3:30, so I
was happy about my race, and I know I should feel fortunate; however, my time
goal was 2:37 or faster, so I am not completely satisfied with my result. The
better news is that I got my place-goal which was to get in the money (top-20).
On to the next race journey... Thank you all for your support and
encouragement!
Nicole
1 Colleen De Reuck 39 Boulder CO 2:28:25 $49,000
2 Deena Kastor 31 Mammoth Lakes CA 2:29:38 $43,000
3 Jen Rhines 29 Ardmore PA 2:29:57 $37,000
4 Blake Russell 28 Acton MA 2:30:32 $18,000
5 Magdalena Lewy Boulet 30 Oakland CA 2:30:50 $16,000
6 Heather Hanscom 26 Alexandria VA 2:31:53 $14,000
7 Sara Wells 25 Edina MN 2:33:15 $13,000
Deeja Youngquist 27 Albuquerque NM
2:34:21 - positive for EPO
8 Susannah Beck 35 Halifax CA 2:34:44 $12,000
9 Jenny Spangler 40 Lake Villa IL 2:36:30 $11,000
10 Linda Somers Smith 42 San Luis Obispo CA 2:37:28 $10,500
11 Jenny Crain 36 Eugene OR 2:37:36 $7,500
12 Cori Mooney 30 Boise ID 2:37:49 $6,500
13 Liz Wilson 35 Eugene OR 2:38:18 $5,500
14 Lori Stich Zimmerman 33 Cedar Creek TX 2:38:44 $4,500
15 Beth Old 29 Douglasville GA 2:40:14 $3,500
16 Nicole Kulikov 28 Ft. Collins CO 2:40:28 $2,500
17 Mary Akor 27 Gardena CA 2:40:37 $2,000
18 Nicole Hunt 33 Deer Lodge MT 2:40:39 $1,750
19 Turena Johnson Lane 28 Statesboro GA 2:40:58 $1,250
20 Kelly Flathers 32 Huntington Beac CA 2:41:16
$1000
21 Jennifer Derego 24 Arroyo Grande CA 2:41:50
22 Christine Lundy 33 Sausalito CA 2:41:55
23 Deirdre Brill 26 Philadelphia PA 2:41:57
24 Christina Wells 29 Woodbridge VA 2:42:01
25 Monica Hostetler 27 Royal Oak MI 2:42:20
26 Katie Blackett 27 Boulder CO 2:42:24
27 Rachel Kinsman 30 Archbold OH 2:42:45
28 Nikole Johns 29 Ft. Collins CO 2:43:57
29 Seana Larson 34 Dexter MI 2:44:02
30 Margaret Angell 27 New York NY 2:44:05
31 Susan Loken 40 Phoenix AZ 2:44:23
33 Tara Wojciechowski 28 Cary NC 2:44:26
34 Shelly Larson 34 Lakeville MN 2:45:01
35 Erica Larson 32 Los Alamos NM 2:45:08
36 Donna Anderson 37 Pawleys Island SC 2:45:27
37 Kate Fonshell 34 Ardmore PA 2:45:34
38 Cathi Campbell 36 Allston MA 2:45:36
39 Robyn Friedman 31 Newton IA 2:45:53
40 Melissa Rittenhouse 27 Sheffield OH 2:45:55
41 Caroline Annis 23 San Francisco CA 2:46:00
42 Zika Palmer 28 Blowing Rock NC 2:46:21
43 Heather May 33 Bloomington IN 2:46:37
44 Kari Mckay 35 Spokane WA 2:46:57
45 Johanna Olson 25 Bloomington MN 2:46:59
46 Diana Bowser 30 Medford MA 2:47:07
47 Janet Robertz 44 Shorewood MN 2:47:14
48 Kelly Keane 31 The Woodlands TX 2:47:28
49 Genevieve Kiley 29 Park City UT 2:47:33
50 Heather Bury 29 Morgantown WV 2:47:44
51 Karen Steen 39 Olympia WA 2:47:51
52 Kim Pawelek 30 Arden NC 2:48:16
53 Megan Daly 25 Palo Alto CA 2:48:19
54 Katy Hollbacher 29 San Francisco CA 2:48:25
55 Katie Koski 31 Two Harbors MN 2:48:39
56 Christy Nielsen-Crotts 28 Council Bluffs IA 2:48:44
57 Heather Hunt 29 Englewood CO 2:48:53
58 Jeanne Hennessy 26 Mahopac NY 2:48:55
59 Mary Coordt 34 Elk Grove CA 2:49:11
60 Farrell Burns 28 Charlotte NC 2:49:19
61 Kimberly Saddic 34 West Chester PA 2:49:29
62 Brenda Graham Gray 42 Rock Springs WY 2:49:30
63 Alysun Deckert 37 Seattle WA 2:50:27
64 Lucie Mays 33 Carmel IN 2:50:44
65 Kathryn Kasischke 27 San Diego CA 2:51:40
66 Kim Miltz 30 Hoffman Estates IL 2:51:55
67 Laura Bloedorn 23 Rochester NY 2:52:03
68 Bev Docherty 45 St. Paul MN 2:52:21
69 Mary-Lynn Currier 39 Unionville CT 2:52:23
70 Rosa Gutierrez 40 Glendale OR 2:52:34
71 Kim Harrity 30 Haverford PA 2:52:42
72 Sharon Stubler 39 Minnetonka MN 2:52:58
73 Tanya Poel 38 Boulder CO 2:53:22
74 Paula Morrison 30 Tucson AZ 2:53:37
75 Stacie Alboucrek 36 Ft. Lauderdale FL 2:54:12
76 Kimberly Hager 32 The Woodlands TX 2:54:16
77 Kari Bertrand 33 Gilroy CA 2:54:39
78 Meghan Mclaughlin 25 Vienna VA 2:54:45
79 Hallie Janssen 28 Portland OR 2:55:02
80 Patty Murray 38 Boulder CO 2:55:42
81 Julia Stamps 25 New York NY 2:55:48
82 Suzy Schumacher 34 Phoenix AZ 2:56:23
83 Megan Holden 34 Shoreham NY 2:56:49
84 Michelle Lafleur 31 Savannah GA 2:57:24
85 Doreen Mccoubrie 42 Malvern PA 2:57:35
86 Mimi Fallon 38 Walpole MA 2:57:45
87 Molly Friel 36 Tucson AZ 2:57:48
88 Wendi Ray 31 Sister Bay WI 2:58:13
89 Rachel Earney 24 Cochrane WI 2:58:30
90 Maria Trujillo De Rios 44 Los Gatos CA 2:58:38
91 Valerie Gearheart 31 Santaquin UT 3:00:10
92 Kim Fitchen-Young 35 Santa Cruz CA 3:00:26
93 Mary Dolan Cote 39 Basalt CO 3:00:52
94 Angela French 45 Lacey WA 3:02:41
95 Tiffany Larson 37 Boise ID 3:03:33
96 Sarah Plaxton 35 Highland MI 3:03:55
97 Leah Moore 27 Atlanta GA 3:04:16
98 Michelle Hannaford 33 Igo CA 3:04:40
99 Molly Taber 31 Somerville MA 3:04:57
100 Cynthia Mauzerall 30 Boise ID 3:05:02
101 Amy Rodriguez 31 Roseburg OR 3:05:46
102 Aimee Larkin 27 Salt Lake City UT 3:05:57
103 Wendy Hall 34 Avondale Estate GA 3:07:24
104 Meghan Arbogast 42 Corvallis OR 3:10:48
105 Kathy Aragon 44 Billings MT 3:19:23
106 Karen Sanford Gall 43 Billings MT 3:21:59
107 Staci Bennett 35 White Bear Lake MN 3:43:33
About 20 runners dropped out.