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Meb Keflezighi finished first in the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon in Houston, while Ryan Hall and Abdi Abdirahman placed second and third. Visit Stride Nation and follow @Stride_Nation on Twitter for more.
USA Track & Field and the Houston Marathon Committee will host the men’s and women’s Olympic Trials Marathon today, starting at 8:00 a.m. The top three finishers in the men's and women's 26.2-miles races will represent the United States at the 2012 Olympics this summer in London.
The start and finish lines are located on Avenida de las Americas in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center, with the men getting underway at 8:00 a.m. and the women starting at 8:15 a.m.
Ryan Hall, who ran the fastest ever American marathon last year in Boston, is the favorite to make his second Olympic team. Don't forget about Mo Trafeh, a two-time U.S. champion at 15 kilometers. Desiree Davila is considered the favorite to win on the womens side.
The weather is not expected to be a factor, with the forecast calling for clear skies and temperatures in the mid-40s.
We'll have live updates throughout the race on this Marathon StoryStream but if you're interested in watching the race on TV, you'll have to wait a little bit.
Between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, NBC will air race highlights.It's tape delayed, but I suppose it's better than nothing.
The 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon gets underway early on Saturday morning in Houston, and it's a race with plenty of intrigue. The goal on both the men's and women's side is simple: finish in the top-three in Houston and you're in the 2012 Olympics, earning a trip to London as a result.
Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein and Meb Keflezighi are three names Stride Nation, our very own running blog -- did you know we have a running blog? It's new and fantastic, -- notes that you should pay attention to.
Hall, the only sub-2:05 runner in the field, won the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trails (but finished 10th at Beijing), beating Ritzenhein in the process (Dathan was 9th in Beijing). Meb, who took silver in the 2004 Olympic Games, had a terrible 2008 trial, suffering through a severe hip injury and the loss of his friend and training partner, Ryan Shay, who died of a heart attack during the race.
And then there's Mo Trafeh. As Tom Ziller notes, Trafeh has big aspirations, plenty of confidence, yet is a relative marathon green horn.
Trafeh hasn't finished a marathon -- he dropped out down the stretch in the 2011 London Marathon after keeping up with the elite lead pack through 12 miles -- but beat Ryan Hall the last time the pair met up in Houston at the 2011 USA Half Marathon Championships, and has a half PR of 1:00:39. That's fast enough to go under 2:10 for a full, if Mo has the endurance ability and has trained well.
Read the full article for Trafeh's quotes. His race strategy is going to be interesting, to say the least.
Stride Nation mentions numerous names on the women's side, noting the race is wide-open, including Desi Davila.
Goucher took 2010 off with the birth of her child but returned her focus to marathons in 2011, finishing third in the New York City Half and fifth at Boston (2:24:52 PR). Desi may very well be the favorite on Saturday, thanks in large part due to her performance at the 2011 Boston Marathon where she finished second, missing out on becoming the first American woman to win since 1985.
The full schedule for the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon can be found here. The marathon will be aired as a tape delayed program -- go ahead, let that big sigh out -- on NBC.
Olympic Trials Marathon Results 2012: Winners And Qualifiers
The Houston Marathon Committee hosted the 2012 Olympic Trials Marathon on Saturday. The top three finishers will represent the men and women on the 2012 United States Olympic team. The 26.2 mile race began at 8:00 a.m. ET for the men and 8:15 a.m. ET for the women. The start/finish line was at the Avenida de las Americas in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.
For the men, 36-year old Meb Keflezighi ran his best marathon time ever to finish the race first and qualify for the 2012 Men's Olympic Marathon Team. Keflezighi with an unofficial time of 2:09:07 with favorite win the the race Ryan Hall coming in second finishing just under the 2:10 mark. Abdi Abdirahman rounded out the top three, also finishing the marathon in under 2:10, making all three qualifiers finish under the 2:10 mark for the first time in U.S. trials history and the first time in which all three men have done it in the same event. U.S. Half-Marathon champion Mo Trafeh fell back after about the Mile 15 mark and dropped out of the qualifying. Dathan Ritzenhein came in fourth place, potentially becoming the Men's alternate for the U.S. Men's team.
On the women's side, Shalane Flanagan came away on top winning the marathon and qualifying for the 2012 Women's Olympic team with a record time of 2:25:37. Desi Davila came in second place losing out to Flanagan for the sixth time in a race where the two women have gone against each other. Kara Goucher rounded out the top three and became the third qualifier for the team with Amy Hastings as the alternate.
Visit SB Nation's Stride Nation for more on the Olympic Trials Marathon and follow @Stride_Nation on Twitter for more on everything running.
Jan 14 11:53a by Alfie Crow - 0 comments