I was getting on the plane returning home from the Las Vegas half marathon last month, when I found my seat and a spot in the overhead bin for my bag. I noticed the other luggage in the bin included running gear, and assumed it belonged to the woman sitting in the same row. So I asked her about the race, and we struck up a conversation.
She told me she hadn't run, but was at the expo representing some shoe company, but it was clear she was a runner. She seemed very curious about my running, asking a lot of questions. Like most of us, I was happy to talk about my running. But I am also a reporter, so I asked my share of questions.
Eventually she told me she runs a couple marathons a year, and is originally from the Chicago area, specifically St. Charles. That should have been enough for me to realize who I was talking to. But no. We kept chatting and she told me she lives in Colorado Springs and does quite a bit of training there. Yet another clue.
Then she revealed that she was injured, after feeling a pull in her hamstring at the San Antonio Rock-n-Roll race a month or so earlier. She was bummed that it was keeping her from training for her next race, a marathon in Houston in January. I tried to offer supportive comments about my own experience with injuries.
Then I asked which race in January she was talking about, and she casually mentioned, it was the Olympic trials. That led to talk about other mutual acquaintances who had qualified to run in the trials. Believe it or not, I still didn't connect who I was speaking with, until I asked her how she hoped to do at the trials, and she replied that she was hoping to make the team.
And to think I had her pegged as a semi-serious runner, the kind who started running after college and caught the bug. Finally, a light went off in my head and I realized I was talking to one of the best American distance runners around.
Many of you probably realize who I was speaking with at this point. But for those who don't, I should add that I have met, and interviewed Tera Moody previously. So there's really no excuse for my failure to recognize her. The former St. Charles high school stand-out went on to run at the University of Colorado before continuing her career on the roads. She was on the U.S. World Championship marathon team last summer, and has run very well in the Chicago Marathon several times. I won't list her full resume, but she has been the subject of quite a bit of media coverage, and I'm a fan. He're a link to a recent story in Runner's World: http://olympictrials.runnersworld.com/2011/12/10/a-brief-chat-with-tera-moody/
By the time I realized who she was, we were separated by a passenger in the middle seat. Somewhat rudely, we continued our conversation by talking around him. I don't believe he was a runner, and he didn't appear as interested in running as either of us. So, eventually I realized I should leave her alone, and quit bothering the guy sitting between us.
That meant I never got to ask about her experience at the Worlds, or her take on the upcoming trials. Nor did I get to question her about her well-documented insomnia. We did chat briefly about a mutual friend of ours who is shooting a documentary on the efforts of several Chicago area women who trained to qualify and who are running in Houston this weekend. Wendy Shulik's film is called 'Miles and Trials'. Here is a link to her blog. ttp://milesandtrialsfilm.blogspot.com/
The trials are always one of the most exciting televised marathons. It's competitive, and there's lots of drama. There are no rabbits, and it's all or nothing for the top three spots. It's not about cash prizes, or time. You either have a good day, or you go home. It's all about making the Olympics. Both the men and women race this Saturday morning in Houston. NBC has a 2 hour broadcast of the races later that afternoon, and I believe you might be able to find a webcast of it somewhere.
The men's race will be extremely competitive with eight or ten guys capable of making the team. The women's race could be even better. The United States is blessed with the best crop of marathon runners we've had in quite a while. I plan to be watching. And rooting for a really nice lady who grew up in St. Charles.
See you on the roads......
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