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U.S. Track Delegation Tours Akron Courses: Committee Seeks Site for 2008 Olympic Marathon Trials

Posted on: Wednesday, 15 February 2006, 09:01 CST

By Paula Schleis, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Feb. 15--New York has a lot to offer. As do Boston and Minneapolis.

So in a pitch Tuesday to become one of two cities to host the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials, Akron race organizers argued that the event here would be a star attraction whereas in the other larger cities it would get lost among many other activities.

Akron is the third of four cities to be toured by U.S. Track & Field representatives, who will select which two cities will host the women's and men's qualifying races.

The notion that Akron would best appreciate the honor of hosting an Olympic trial appeared to hit home with some on the site selection committee.

"In a place like Akron, this would be a very special event," said Elizabeth Phillips, who helped pioneer women's long-distance running in the 1970s.

Phillips, a Cleveland native who lives in New York, served as the referee for the first women's Olympic Marathon in 1984.

Her fellow visiting committee members were:

-- Jim Estes, who came here in 2002 as coach of the U.S. national team participating in the relay race of the first Road Runner Akron Marathon.

-- Scott Strand, a marathon runner from Birmingham, Ala., who was making his first trip to Northeast Ohio.

-- Kim Keenan Kirkpatrick, a New Jersey native who graduated from Kent State University in 1989.

-- Creigh Kelley of Denver, who served as the announcer for the first Road Runner marathon.

Four USTF members and two of their Akron hosts kicked off a very busy Tuesday with a 6:30 a.m. run downtown, following a 6.2-mile loop proposed as part of the course.

By 10:30 a.m., the entire committee, more hosts and several media representatives hopped aboard a bus for a 2 ½-hour tour of the entire route.

Visit to Stan Hywet

A police escort led the way to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, where the race would start.

Curator Mark Heppner quickly briefed the committee about the estate of Goodyear co-founder F.A. Seiberling and the lodge where Alcoholics Anonymous was founded, then led them to a basement auditorium where the runners could hang out before the race.

Outside, USTF member Kelley wondered aloud if the gate leading out of Stan Hywet was large enough to accommodate a rush of runners without forcing them into an uncomfortable funnel. But his colleagues suggested the 100 to 200 runners could take their time filtering through the gate since it was just the start of the 26-mile race.

After leaving Stan Hywet, the committee was driven along two alternatives for the opening seven-mile leg of the course.

The first was chosen for its scenic beauty, weaving through Akron's historic Portage Path/Merriman Road neighborhood. The shaded streets and residential housing would also offer some protection from the elements during the April 12, 2008, run.

As the bus turned off Merriman onto Eaton Avenue, local race organizer Bret Trier noted with a chuckle: "You can see we're missing the train tracks." That was a lesson learned during the first Road Runner marathon, when a train cut off some of the runners.

The second course option featured a long sweep west on Exchange then back toward downtown via Market. It offers a wider running path and longer sight lines, but Akron host Steve Marks was almost apologetic as the bus began the long, steady ascent on Market between Elmwood and Portage Path.

"This is a controversial alternative," he said, but his concerns were quickly dismissed by the USTF's Phillips and Kirkpatrick.

"You don't want a grueling hill, but you do want a course that's rolling," Phillips said.

Ups and downs

Some runners do better on descents, some shine on the climb, and "you want to provide the better runners with the opportunity to break away from competitors," she said.

Strand, the only competitive athlete among the visitors, said he thought his peers would prefer the residential course.

"It's early in the race when you still feel like looking around and taking it in," he said, unlike later in the race when fatigued racers aren't paying attention to the scenery.

At Market and Main, the bus was met by the first of three groups of race fans cheering and waving signs. Marks identified them as Summa Health System employees and members of the Summit Athletic Runners Club.

Then the committee proceeded along a "criterium loop" that would be repeated three times by the runners. The course traveled south along Main, then returned north along High Street before crossing the All-America Bridge, circling a block near St. Thomas Hospital, then returning to Main and Market.

The downtown loop was designed to be "benign," with little elevation change, race organizers explained.

The USTF's Kelley said he recognized that the course would definitely be faster than the 2002 Road Runner event he attended.

"That was a great route for citizen athletes," he said. But for Olympic runners, a course needs to be fast enough to meet or exceed USTF qualifying times. Currently, the standard is 2 hours and 15 minutes for men, 2 hours and 32 minutes for women.

Kelley and Strand both said they thought the course looked fast enough, but Estes wasn't so sure, saying it looked "a little more challenging" than he'd like.

The bus made a final stop at Canal Park, where committee members walked down to the baseball field for a look at the proposed finish line.

David Hunter, lead designer of the course, pointed out that runners could slip out through the dugout to avoid fans after the race.

Tuesday's visitors will share their observations with the full committee. Then the women will select a site for their trials, and the men will do the same.

Akron's destiny?

The winning cities will be announced in mid-April, but those who believe in fate may take to heart one story told during the bus ride.

USTF representative Kirkpatrick, who once toured Stan Hywet and took home a refrigerator magnet, recalled how a couple of months ago her 4-year-old son had picked up the magnet and asked what it was.

It was the first time in a long time Kirkpatrick had given it any thought.

That very night, she picked up her copy of Akron's application to learn that Stan Hywet was the proposed starting gate.

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

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Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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