Made it

U.S. track and field might not have the largest fan base but I am convinced it is the kindest. Most of you that follow me my adventures know I made a plea to get to the USATF championships. Thanks to the Flotrack community I made it. First, a diehard track and field fan decided to pay it forward by western unioning the money for a plane ticket and giving me free tickets for all four days. This was with no strings attached. Secondly, an avid flotrack follower allowed me to crash and was kind enough to let me stay on the couch within walking distance of the track. More amazing is that he was ok with picking me up at the airport at 2:00 a.m.

I will admit that I was super nervous about the trip and I was constantly texting people to make sure that someone knew where I was. Thursday’s flight was super long and I ended up in San Francisco for about four hours. I ended talking to several parents of athletes who were participating. I was glad the flight came in when it did for nervous parents of athletes can be a powerful riot. After all of us finally arrived in routine and I had checked my phone several times for the 10k results (the races can be seen here on flotrack), I was picked up and settled down at my host house.

I arrived the next day at Hayward field around two and found my seat on the first row of the backstretch. The people around me were all knowledgeable about the sport but tended to have an Oregon bias. I had one of those starstruck moments when Kara Goucher came around for her victory lap.

I found the flotrack team (minus Mark there was 5) and was able to gain a press pass. We had a pretty awesome set up with the usual media tent but also the garage next to 1500 meters (where Kevin D. had set the video feed from the electronic boards) and above at what I will call the “important people” viewing area. This was where all the live audio and videos were filmed for the races but going on behind us was a constant who’s who of track including the whole Clark family, agents and Ceo Doug Logan.

The next morning, I covered racewalking (total of 5 hours this weekend) and ended up eating at the hotel. Sitting a table was Alan Webb who had a hard night dealing with air conditioning problems.

The rest of the weekend went amazingly and I ended commentating with Kevin Selby who knows his stuff. I could not have asked for a better way to experience the championships. My next goal is to make it to the Olympics but this time I will earn my own way. One day, I will hopefully pay it forward to the next track and field fan.