2004 MEN'S U.S. OLYMPIC MARATHON TRIALS
Post-race quotes from Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi, Dan Browne, Trent Briney, Clint Verran, and Brian Sell

Alan Culpepper (Winner)

Alan Culpepper

On whether they lost track of Brian Sell because of all of the vehicles and the narrowing of the road:
No, we never did, because their [red and yellow] Hansons uniforms are pretty easy to pick out (audience laughs). No, everyone along the course was yelling exactly how far ahead he was, so we [constantly knew where he was]...

On how this ranks among his NCAA and USA titles, and on what the critical moment was in the race:
This is pretty much the top of the list, for sure. In terms of the amount of work and years and things that have gone in to getting to this point in my career... After 2000 when Meb and I decided to have the closest race on the track after 25 laps, I thought, 'Well after 26 miles, I'm sure it'll be spread out somewhat.' But of course not, Meb's too tough... It just was an interesting race, it wasn't how I expected it to play out. Any time we wanted to get going, there was some factor of weather or wind or turns, something that was limiting us. All of us suffered somewhat from these conditions, for sure... A critical moment? I don't know. It just gradually unfolded. I kept just trying to stay positive and say, 'Let your fitness take over, let all the work you've done take over, don't let your mind hold you back.' That was when we were picking it up and throwing in some quicker miles. I didn't feel any different than when we were running the slower miles, so that was a good sign.

On the move which six runners pulled away from the rest of the pack:
I did consciously try to use the wind at our back to our advantage, because it felt like on the other miles we weren't catching Brian. We were running same pace as he was, so I thought with the wind at our back was the only time we were going to make it up. I was trying to test myself, to see how I was feeling. It wasn't like, 'I'm going to go off this turn.' It was just the way you get these little feelings like, 'Okay, I'm going to push a little bit and see how I feel.' Fortunately, when we all went, that was when we were all able to then continue to work with each other. We all knew we were suffering in the wind, but we also had the goal of trying to win the race. It's a twofold race: you're trying to win, but you're also trying to make the team. You don't ever want to sacrifice one for the other.

On whether or not he'll run the marathon in Athens:
My intentions are to run the Olympic marathon. I've been on five major championship teams, and each time I've had poor results. I've always said to myself, 'It only takes one good one, at a major championship, for me to reach my goals and to feel successful.' So that's the idea behind the Olympic marathon, for me. I'm 31 years old and I feel like this is the best opportunity for me. So unless something changes, unless something happens in the next number of months that doesn't allow me to get the training in for the marathon, I probably won't even run the [track] trials.

On the crowd support:
The first time we came into the city, I don't know if you guys noticed, I got a little excited, I decided to run a 4:47. I was like, 'Okay, we're on the loop, we're almost done!' (audience laughter). And then I slowed down and realized that everyone came with me... No, [it was just an effort] to get rid of a few folks, because it felt like the whole [field] was still there... So I just wanted to throw in a faster mile and see, but the crowd definitely carried you. It was extremely loud the whole loop, it was great.

On the last mile:
I think [Meb and I] both wanted to pick it up, but our legs weren't allowing us to. That was my feeling. I was like, 'I feel great, I want to get going.' But any time I tried to pick it up just a little bit, I was like I was going to rip something. I was just knotting up, which wasn't how I felt - in my wealth of marathon experience — I felt different than this one. We came up the final hill and Meb got next to me and put a meter on me — that was probably right at 26 miles — we were still together. That just spurred me. Still, with 100 meters to go, I was like, 'I feel terrible!' I was tying up and everything, it was crazy. That's what's so different about the marathon, your muscles are completely depleted of glycogen, so even if you feel great, there's only so much you can do.

On whether or not he expected such a huge negative split:
Yeah, I think Rod DeHaven called that dead-on a couple weeks ago. Something was written on how the race was going to unfold, different people's opinions on that, and Rod said, 'I think they'll be 1:07 [at the half] and have a huge negative split.' And I was like, 'That's ridiculous!' Honestly, I thought it was going to be more of an even race and the excitement of the Olympic Trials was just going to carry the race at a quicker pace at the beginning. I think, had the weather been a little better, [without] the wind, we might have gone quicker from the beginning.

Meb Keflezighi (2nd place)

Meb Keflezighi

On whether his lack of training hurt him late in the race and on what it means to him to make the team:
...First I just want to say I'm happy to be on the team, especially since my coach, Bob Larson, is the [Olympic] distance coach... Around mile 15 I had a little bit of a side ache and that was a problem and I knew I had to push hard to try to make the team. I didn’t break 100 [miles per week] training for this, but I’ve trained for other events like New York and Chicago and I’ve been training for 14 or 15 years and that helped me here. It was tough and now I’m looking forward to Athens.

In response to Culpepper's statement that he was hurting in the last mile:
Damn, I wish I knew how you were feeling... (audience laughs) It was definitely a challenge. With a mile to go, I was like, 'Okay, I've done a good month of training and Alan's in great shape right now and he definitely has the speed.' I thought, 'Don't give up until the end,' but my legs, my quads were just tying up in the cold. I just tried to hang on as long as I could and see what happened at the end...

On whether or not he expected such a huge negative split:
Personally, I expected that, and due to my fitness level, it probably helped me...

Dan Browne (3rd place)

Dan Browne

On being caught in no-man's land around mile 22 or 23 and being about as close to fourth place as he was to second:
That was the critical point in the race for me, for sure. My body was sort of getting crampy, I was dealing with that, and I knew I had two good competitors in front of me who were running well. I've got to be honest, I ran this race for a purpose. I ran this race to make the team. I ran this race, also, to honor my West Point classmates who died over in Iraq. That, to me, was what kept me going. With three miles to go, my body was feeling pretty rough, but I thought of them and I knew I wouldn't quit.

On whether or not he'll run the marathon in Athens:
It's one of those things where you want to go to the Olympics and you want to compete in an event where you think you can do as well you can. At the same time, you don't want to put the cart before the horse. I [have now] reached one of the goals of my season. I'm just going to let the rest of this year unfold, see how training goes. I'd definitely like to [go] to Athens in the best shape of my life... Ultimately I just want to represent the US well. I want to go to the Olympics, and I want to compete for the US the best I can.

On the crowd support:
I really enjoyed all the fans and people who came out to support the race. It made a huge difference for me and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.

On whether or not he expected such a huge negative split:
I expected a little bit of a negative split, but adding Brian Sell in there, when he was a minute ahead, it made it exciting. I was in that race, excited myself, and I'm sure you guys were the same. It was fun, I enjoyed it. It was a challenge.

Trent Briney (4th place)

Trent Briney

On whether he could put into words how he was feeling after the race:
No (big laugh from the audience). But since Chicago of last year in October, my running has just really taken off, it's just been going better and better. I was actually gearing to run with the other Hansons boys who were running 2:18 coming into this race, so I was training at that pace in all of our workouts. That was going so well that they kind of moved me up a couple weeks ago, before the Houston Half-Marathon. I'd been feeling so well, recovering very quickly from workouts, always feeling rested. Which, since I've been at Hansons, that's a first. I had always been more tired than I had been rested. I felt so rested, I was like, 'Well, [I'll try to] go a little bit' at the Houston Half. I ran a one-minute PR down there and I was talking throughout the race, so I was pretty happy about that. Based on that, we said, 'Well, let's put me with Clint [Verran] and Brian Sell and just kind of hang on to the back of the pack and see what happens.' We really didn't know where my fitness level was, so [we decided to] just go in and see what happens. That's not very much of a race plan, I was a little scared of that race plan, but I guess it worked out pretty well.

Clint Verran (5th place)

Clint Verran

On the possibility that he could still go to Athens in the marathon, and how he might prepare for that:
These are three best 10K guys we have, and they've proved that over and over again. Then again, none of these guys have reached their potential in the marathon. Not only are they fast, competitive racers, and sometimes, at the Olympics, it may not be a fast, 2:06 kind of race. It's a tough course in Athens — it's net uphill and hot, so I could see one of these guys stealing the race where it's slow, and then they throw in one of their awesome 10Ks at the end. But, obviously, in a selfish sense, I'm hoping that they'll go out and break 27 on the track this spring (big laugh from audience), just run [something] unbelievable. And I'll have to give them a call and remind them about the pollution in Athens... (more laughter) ...The cobblestones, the uphill course there in Athens, just reiterate that for them. These are great athletes, they're my heroes. Ultimately whatever they decide, it's up to them.

Brian Sell (13th place, after leading for the majority of the race)

Brian Sell

On whether he was worried while he was in the lead:
Yeah, I was worried, basically the whole time. I did feel good until that last loop, our plan coming into this was to run 2:12 pace, 5:02s the whole way through. That's they only way we were going to have a chance against Alan, Meb and Dan... I tried to stick to the plan but the wind got to me.

On what Trent Briney said when the pack caught up to him:
He just said 'Let's go' or something, I don't know. I kind of had the blinders on at that point. Those guys went by me pretty fast...

On whether he had any regrets about going to the lead that early:
I don't really have any regrets, no. The race plan was 1:06 at the half and I ran [1:06:19], with going out in 5:20 like we did. I just went with the race plan and I learned a lot from today, so I'm not too disappointed. I'd definitely like to be up there [on the podium with the top three] but I'm pretty happy with my second marathon.