יום רביעי, נובמבר 07, 2007
A run to the death
"Almost four years had gone by and I’ve had my fair share of successes and disappointments during my professional career. Things were changing with Team Running USA. Many runners had come and gone. It takes a lot of sacrifice, dedication, and focus to leave friends, family, girlfriends, boyfriends, and the like, to live and train for months on end with a group of people you may or may not get along with. I have to admit that it was not difficult to get along with the athletes of Team Running USA. The chemistry on the team was like no other I’ve experienced. Everyone was always positive and supportive. The clashing of egos was never present. But, like I said, times were changing. Eventually I found myself training much on my own as members left the group. Some new people came, trained for a month or so, and then left. The only consistent members training in Mammoth after a while were Deena, Meb, and myself.
Now that I’ve been living and training with TRUSA for 5 months, I’ve come to know and respect my new teammates. We all have similar goals and want to help each other reach those goals. The chemistry of the team, with all the different personalities, has produced and environment conducive to enormous opportunities for each athlete. It is now up to each athlete to take full advantage of these opportunities in order to maximize his, or her, potential."
- Ryan Shay, Introductory Journal Entry, New York Road Runners
I am sure that the running communities all over know of the late Ryan Shay who ran to his death at the recent U.S. Olympic Trials traditionally held the day before the 2007 NYC Marathon. At only 5.5 miles before collapsing, he is probably one of the first elite runners to have collapsed and died mid-race.
It's not only sad, but also overwhelming to all who share the same passion that Ryan Shay had.
But unlike many of us who don't aim to 'win', but just love running and marathoning, Ryan Shay stood a high chance of qualifying, along with U.S.A elites like Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Brian Sell, Abdi Abdirahman, Meb Keflezighi, Alan Culpepper, and Khalid Khannouchi.
A sad day for many marathoners. A sad day indeed. ¶ 10:22 PM
Now that I’ve been living and training with TRUSA for 5 months, I’ve come to know and respect my new teammates. We all have similar goals and want to help each other reach those goals. The chemistry of the team, with all the different personalities, has produced and environment conducive to enormous opportunities for each athlete. It is now up to each athlete to take full advantage of these opportunities in order to maximize his, or her, potential."
- Ryan Shay, Introductory Journal Entry, New York Road Runners
I am sure that the running communities all over know of the late Ryan Shay who ran to his death at the recent U.S. Olympic Trials traditionally held the day before the 2007 NYC Marathon. At only 5.5 miles before collapsing, he is probably one of the first elite runners to have collapsed and died mid-race.
It's not only sad, but also overwhelming to all who share the same passion that Ryan Shay had.
But unlike many of us who don't aim to 'win', but just love running and marathoning, Ryan Shay stood a high chance of qualifying, along with U.S.A elites like Ryan Hall, Dathan Ritzenhein, Brian Sell, Abdi Abdirahman, Meb Keflezighi, Alan Culpepper, and Khalid Khannouchi.
A sad day for many marathoners. A sad day indeed. ¶ 10:22 PM
