Interview with the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials-Men's Marathon Athletes

By Shannon Martin and Parker Morse

The 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Men’s Marathon was held today in New York City. On a five-lap undulating Central Park course, Ryan Hall won the race in a stunning 2:09:02—Dathan Ritzenhein and Brian Sell took second and third respectively. Hall, Ritzenhein, and Sell will go to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Several runners achieved personal-bests today—an impressive feat for such a difficult course.

NYRR and Mensracing caught up with many of the athletes we have featured over the past few months leading up to the Trials.

Mensracing: Khalid, when we spoke with you a couple of weeks ago, you talked about new orthotics. Did they help you in the race?

Khalid Khannouchi (Fourth-place finisher): Yes, the orthotics helped a lot. My doctor is here—he came all the way from Spain to watch me run.

MR: Nate, your top 10 finish was a surprise to many! Tell us how you feel about your performance today.

Nate Jenkins (Seventh-place finisher): I've thought I've been really fit since January, but I didn't get a chance to race on it until now. Finishing in the top 10 was an "A" goal for me; really, I was thinking top 20 would make me happy. I'm in this to find out how good I can be, and guys like Brian Sell show that if I work hard enough, long enough, it can happen.

MR: Are you pleased with how you finished today?

KK: I’m very happy with my effort. My wife was crying at the finish, but I was smiling because I am proud of how I raced—I am proud of my brothers [referring to his competitors] too. For me, [this race] boosted my confidence just to be able to run without the foot injury on my mind. I feel great and I look forward to continuing my training.

MR: How do you feel about your performance?

Jason Lehmkuhle (Fifth-place finisher): I'm pumped. It was a good race for me. I had a lot of struggles in the last couple marathons, and I feel like I finally managed the energy right. I started to come apart right at the end, but I felt really good at 20 miles. We kept getting updates. I wasn't sure, but on the last lap, coming around, I could see guys coming off, so I thought I had a shot. I passed Dan Browne at about 23 miles.

MR: Josh, today was your first marathon. How did you approach this race?
 
Josh Rohatinsky (Ninth-place finisher): I had to play it conservatively because if you've never done one before, you don't want to go out there and overextend yourself. I felt comfortable the whole time, obviously the last six miles got to my legs, but I'm really pleased for my first one. I'm looking forward to doing some more.

MR: Was there anything about the marathon that you didn’t expect?

JR: No, I guess in the last six miles you expect your legs to go numb, and that's what happened, so it's good, I'm happy with it. You really don't know how it's going to play out, but I'm happy as heck with ninth.

MR: How did the race go for you?

Jason Hartmann (10th-place finisher): I just tried to work my way through the field and run within what I was capable of. I just wish I'd had a bit more real estate; I ran out.

MR: Fasil, how do you feel about your performance today?

Fasil Bizuneh (13th-place finisher): Well…it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for—I thought that I could do better, but at the same time I’m pleased because I achieved a personal best today on a difficult course. This inspires me for 2012—I think in four years, I’ll have a better chance of finishing in the top three.

MR: How did the race go for you?

James Carney (14th-place finisher): I tried. I just didn't have enough. That was the toughest thing I've ever done in my running career. The course was tough; it was all hills for 24 miles.

Interviews conducted November 3, 2007, and posted November 3, 2007.