Mammoth represented in NY Marathon

We're pretty excited here in Mammoth Lakes, CA, about tomorrow's Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in New York. We've got some pretty awesome dudes entered who trained in Mammoth all summer.

• Meb Keflezhigi (go Bruins) will be running for the chance to defend his silver medal from the Athens games in 2004.
• Ryan Hall (pictured at far left, fastest marathon debut by an American-born man at London this year and a client of mine) is looking to make his first Olympic team.
• Dan Browne (pictured below, 2004 Olympic marathoner and 10k)
• Josh Cox (pictured in above picture at right, of TV's Bachelor fame, a long lost Cox brother, and getting married in December).
• Mike McKeeman (Deena's training partner and cool-guy)
• Antonio Arce (fast dude and a client)

It was fun to have these guys in town this summer (some live here and some came to try the high altitude regimen - let's see if it works). They graced us with their presence at our local running races and were seen flying down he green church road or down in Round Valley or doing core workouts at the gym.

They are all extremely focused and motivated on their own goals and yet work together as a team as if they were competing in a true team sport like crew or soccer. They also socialize together in the evenings, like to sample Yordanos' Eritrian cooking, Doug's homemade pasta or pomegranate salads, or compete against the locals at the Paiute palace casino poker tables. They are a great group of guys and I wish they all could qualify.



Cheering them on in NY will be Ian Dobson (pictured in middle, 5k and 10k Olympic hopeful and a client of mine), Andrew 'duuude' Kastor (3-0 this year in races including the Leuven 800 and Wild Iris Half Marathon, 'go to guy' for the Mammoth Track Project), and his wife Deena Kastor (clients of mine), Sara Hall (Ryan's wife), Cristan Browne (Dan's wife), Bob Larsen (Meb's coach, go Bruins), coach Terrence Mahon and wife Jen Rhines (clients of mine), and Doug Napp (wine aficionado and party host extraordinaire).

The Women's Olympic Marathon Trials will be held at the Boston Marathon next spring. The gals who have trained in Mammoth are Deena Kastor (go AHS Chargers), Kate O'Neill, Jen Rhines.

Me? (My marathon debut was 3:48 in Chicago 2005). I'm lucky these days if I can squeeze one run in per week in between real estate and raising two young girls. But I am excited for our cozy little town with a big ski resort to become better known than just for skiing. The formula of putting high quality long distance athletes together at 8,000 feet in a supportive environment has already produced two Olympic medals in '04 - let's see if it can double the results in '08.

So be sure to watch the 2008 Olympic Men's Marathon Trials online (4:35 am PST) at http://www.nbcsports.com/ !