On the eve of tomorrow’s New York City Marathon, in which five of the top 16 combined seeds are American – a once unheard-of embarrassment of riches – race director Mary Wittenberg can remember when a day like this seemed impossible.
“My first year, eight years ago we stood at the finish line, hit the 2:10 mark, 2:30, three hours. Where were the Americans? Nowhere,” Wittenberg said. “In 2000, we stood in Pittsburgh [at the Olympic trials] in utter dismay. How could the unthinkable have happened? We couldn’t field a full team in [Sydney].
“[Now] we stand at the highest heights American distance running has seen.”
The runners’ times back up Wittenberg. And though the names of pre-race favorites Deena Kastor and Meb Keflezighi of the United States aren’t as recognizable as Frank Shorter and Alberto Salazar, that could change if one were to win tomorrow.
Kastor’s 2:19.36 London win makes her the fourth-fastest woman in history, and Olympic silver medalist Keflezighi is seeded third after running second and third the past two years, both in under 2:10.
Perhaps that depressing May day in Pittsburgh was an epiphany, sowing seeds being reaped now in the form of rising American stars like 10,000-meters Olympian Dathan Ritzenhein, seeded seventh tomorrow in his marathon debut.
“If I didn’t give myself a shot to do something special, that’d be a mistake, a waste of all the training,” the 23-year-old said. “It will have let down the people who’re cheering me on. If I didn’t run my hardest – even if I’m crawling at the end because I gave too much too early – I’d be letting them down.”
Many feel the U.S. resurgence is as much about attitude as aptitude, and as much about support as skill.
“No denigration to earlier generations, but no one would’ve said [what Ritzenhein did],” USA Track & Field CEO Craig Masback said. “There’s a bravado and expectation now. What you want is our marathoners to have the attitude our sprinters have. That’s what we’ve gotten to; these kids expect to win.”
Masback called 2000 “a perfect storm of bad luck,” a nadir that forced the track community into action.
Their response was: 1) form training groups like the Africans use; 2) support said groups financially; 3) toughen the runners via a series of marathons; and 4) educate them better about specific courses.
With all four goals at least partially met, the results have been spectacular. From 1995-2001, no U.S. man cracked the top 10 in New York, but three are seeded in tomorrow’s top 10. After not being able to qualify a full team for Sydney, 119 U.S. runners came into this month with the B standard; 46 of them had the automatic A standard.
“When I came out, I had a part-time job,” said Keflezighi, who worked for $10 per hour even after he set the U.S. 10K record. “Now people have running groups, shoe sponsors. Back then I was running worrying about, ‘I’ve got 20 minutes to get to my job.’ Guys have money now; that’s the difference.”
