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Culpepper, Keflezighi, Browne Claim Olympic Marathon
Spots by Hank Brown
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – (February 7, 2004) - It took awhile
to develop, but in the end, it came down to another classic
duel between Alan Culpepper and Meb Keflezighi. Culpepper
eased ahead of Meb in the final few hundred meters in downtown
Birmingham to take the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in 2:11:42
and the first ticket to Athens, Greece to run the marathon.
Dan Browne claimed the third and final spot on the team.
Culpepper and Meb have staged many memorable clashes in their
careers. At the 2000 Olympic Trials 10,000 meters, they battled
for 25 laps with Meb’s margin of victory slimmer than
the 1-2 finishers in the 100 meters. Culpepper was the victor
twice in 2003 with gun to tape tight duels at the U.S. 12K
Cross Country Championships and the U.S. Outdoor 10,000 meter
championships. Saturday’s triumph for Culpepper will
go down as another cardiac finish and one of the most exciting
Marathon Trials of all-time.
“It took 25 laps four years ago at the 10,000, so I
thought for sure after
26 miles it would spread out somewhat, but of course it didn’t,”
laughed
Culpepper at the post-race press conference. “This is
pretty much at the top of the list - in terms of the amount
of work and the years getting to this point. The Olympic Trials
has its own level.”
It didn’t start out that way. 33 degrees, gusty winds
and spitting snow rudely greeted runners, family members,
officials and media at the start. It was so frigid, spectators
were hurrying into the nearby Wal-Mart to purchase extra hats
and gloves. After a slow opening mile, Teddy Mitchell took
the early lead with several 5:03 - 5:05 miles. A huge pack
lumbered along in 5:15 pace as Mitchell grabbed a commanding
lead.
Just past mile 4, Brian Sell broke from the pack and took
aim at Mitchell’s back. By mile 5, passed in 25:30 by
Mitchell, Sell was only 15 seconds back. The chase pack was
another 13 seconds behind Sell. A little over a mile later,
Sell caught Mitchell with a sub-5:00 mile, and assumed leadership
responsibilities, a role he would not relinquish for another
15 miles.
The first 9+ miles is basically a straight, slight downhill
shot starting in the northeast outskirts of Birmingham. It’s
a relatively quiet stretch, with a few hardy fans waving along
the sides of the road. The bullish wind made its presence
felt and kept the pace well above 5:00 each mile.
This all changed once the course hit downtown Birmingham.
The course turns into a 5-plus mile criterium loop, a circuit
the runners would travel three times in front of exuberant
crowds who would scurry from one end of the course to the
other to see the Olympic hopefuls glide past. It was here
the pace picked up and the racing began.
Culpepper of Lafayette, Colo. described the scene: “The
first time we came in the city, did you notice I got a little
excited I ran 4:47. But I felt like the race was still there,
all 80 guys. It was extremely loud the whole loop. It was
great.”
But Sell was also feeding off the crowds. Mile 10 began a
series of sub-5:00 miles with a blistering 4:52. He followed
that with 4:51. Just like that his lead grew from 21 seconds
to 33 seconds. He passed the half-marathon in 1:06:19 with
the pack falling further behind in 1:07:03.
“The race plan was 1:06 at half,” said Sell matter
of factly. “I was just following the plan.”
The plan continued to work as Sell’s lead swelled about
10 seconds each mile. At 14 he had 50 seconds on the pack,
at 15 it was up to 1:00. At 16, he had 1:10. At this point
the chasers were out of sight and it appeared he might steal
the race.
“Sell ran a gutsy race,” recounted Browne. “I
respect that. But the marathon is a long race. We’re
all fairly new to the event so we were all trying to be prudent.
I heard Sell was over a minute ahead with 10 miles to go.”
Culpepper was also concerned with Sell’s heroics. “We
wanted to go after him because we knew we could run faster,
but nobody wanted to take the brunt of the wind. It was a
weird dynamic. I didn’t know if he was coming back.”
Meb was more direct: “Sell made the race happen. He
wasn’t coming back.”
Just past mile 16, the chase pack had whittled down to six
contenders: Culpepper, Meb, Browne, Eddy Hellebuyck, Scott
Larson and Trent Briney. Keith Dowling was another 10 meters
back with Josh Cox and defending national champion Ryan Shay
still in the picture. Culpepper seemed to be dictating the
pace, a pace which would quicken with the tailwinds. At this
point, Culpepper, et. al. slammed down a 4:48 mile and the
pursuit of Mr. Sell was full speed ahead.
“I was worried basically the whole time,” admitted
Sell. “I felt good until last loop. The wind got to me.”
Briney was the surprise of the group. With a qualifying time
of 2:21:10 he wasn’t supposed to be running with guys
qualifying over 10 minutes faster.
“No, I can’t put it into words,” said Briney
who PRed by 8:35. “Since Chicago last fall my running
has taken off. I was gearing to run 2:18 with the other Hanson
(Hanson-Brooks team) boys. They moved me up a few weeks ago
before Houston. I ran a minute PR and I was talking throughout
the race. So they put me with Clint (Verran) and Brian (Sell).
I was supposed to stay in the back of pack and see what happens.
Yeah, I was scared of that race plan but it worked out well.”
The chase pack went 4:45 on mile 18. Sell’s lead was
only 42 seconds. By mile 20 that lead was cut in half to a
little over 20 seconds. Another mile later the lead was cut
in half again to 10 seconds. It was inevitable.
On 1st Avenue, at 1 hour, 48 minutes into the race, Culpepper
took his first lead of the day. Sell quickly dropped to 4th,
then 5th and saw his gallant effort to make the U.S. Olympic
team run away from him. Mile 22 was 4:51 and Culpepper and
Meb seemed to have the race in control. Browne was struggling
to keep contact, with Briney maintaining his Cinderella role
in 4th.
It took some time, 21.5 miles and 1 hour and 48 minutes,
but it was now another Culpepper-Meb race. Like best friends
they ran either side by side, or shoulder in front of shoulder.
Browne’s task was to hold court in 3rd.
“That was the critical point in the race for me,”
said Browne. “No doubt. My body was getting crampy. I
knew I had 2 good competitors ahead. I ran this race for a
purpose to make the team. I ran this race to honor my West
Point classmates who have died over in Iraq. With 3 miles
to go, I thought of them, and knew I wouldn’t quit.”
There was no quit in either Culpepper or Meb. With one mile
to go they were still connected at the hip. The crowds were
in a frenzy to see who would win and represent the USA in
Athens. At mile 26, Meb pulled ahead by a skinny meter. After
26 long, grueling, cold, windy miles, the dispute was not
settled.
Culpepper described the final mile – “We both wanted
to pick it up, but my legs wouldn’t let me. I felt like
I was going to rip something. I was knotting up. We came up
the final hill and Meb came up next to me. The Meb
got a meter on me at 26. That got me going again.”
Culpepper got it going just enough to push back ahead. “I
wish I knew you were in all that pain,” laughed Meb.
They made the final turn into Linn Park with the Olympic
Trials finish banner in sight. Culpepper dug down one last
time and pulled out another victory, another Olympic trip,
a $60,000 paycheck and another classic duel with Meb.
U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Men's Marathon 80th USA Men's
Marathon Championship
Birmingham, AL, Saturday, February 7, 2004
1. Alan Culpepper, CO 2:11:42 Olympic A standard
2. Meb Keflezighi, CA 2:11:47 A
3. Dan Browne, OR 2:12:02 A
4. Trent Briney, MI 2:12:35 A
5. Clint Verran, MI 2:14:37 A
6. Scott Larson, CO 2:15:03
7. Josh Cox, CA 2:15:18
8. Eddy Hellebuyck, NM 2:15:36
9. Peter Gilmore, CA 2:15:44
10. Jason Lehmkuhle, MN 2:16:27
11. Keith Dowling, VA 2:16:50
12. Kevin Collins, NY 2:17:00
13. Brian Sell, MI 2:17:20
14. Fred Kieser, OH 2:17:21
15. Scott Strand, AL 2:17:44
For full results and more,, visit the USATF website at:
http://www.usatf.org
source Running USA wire
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