After the wild night at the stadium last night, it was nice to be able to sleep in and relax in the morning. The first event was not scheduled to go off until 6:00 tonight, so there was no rush to get going this morning. I headed out to the stadium early (noon) for 2 reasons:
1 - To borrow the 400 lens again from Canon 2 - At 2 p.m. – Vic Sailer (I feel the best track photographer in the USA – if not #1 then definitely in the top 2 or 3) got a few of us invited to a special tour of the Berlin Sports Museum – all we have to do is donate an item. I have from the Sydney Olympics a relay baton used (with the Games logo on it and all) that I will donate. I still have another one at home. I got them when I used to work for the pole vault pit company, UCS, which supplied all of the equipment to those Games and they gave us a bunch of the batons used as gifts.
There is one event scheduled for the early afternoon at the Olympic Stadium – the media 800 meters. Any member of the media can sign up and they run heats of the 800, regardless of talent. No, I am not running – the little running I have done has not prepared me to jump on a track for an 800. The cool thing is they line you up in lanes for a 1 turn stagger (let’s hope the media can follow directions better than the women’s 10k runners), they introduce you over the stadium PA, and they put the results up on the big scoreboard. Maybe in 4 years in Moscow I will run. I doubt I will be in Korea for the next World Champs. I would love to go, but if I am still teaching (yes, that is right, I have a full time teaching job and only do DyeStat work on the side), school would have already started by the dates they have planned. It would be fun to run in the Moscow Stadium – I assume they will use the same one that was used for the 1980 Olympics. I am making no promises about stepping to the line, but we will see.
The museum was amazing. There were only 13 of us there as guests of Horst Milde (the race director of the Berlin Marathon), one of the main people involved with the museum. They showed us a special Jesse Owens display they have, then a small lunch given by the City of Berlin, and then into an area very few people see: the archives of the museum. One room was filled with running magazines from all over the world, dating years back; another was a video/film room - again, going years back. And the highlight was two rooms filled with millions of slides donated to the museum by a former East German. His work not only showed the sports events from the 1930’s up to the 1990’s, but also general life in Berlin during that time. Some amazing photos, all cataloged; when asked how long it would take to find an certain photo, the answer was within 10 minutes a copy can be e-mailed to you. All the rooms were climate controlled to preserve the work. This, without a doubt, is one of the true highlights of the trip so far.
Back at the track for the evening, I decided not to fight the masses to get a head on shot and went down to just behind the 100 start to get steeplechase water jump photos and coming-off-the-turn shots of the 1500s and 800s. It was great to see 3 Americans advance to the men’s 1500 final – when did that happen, if ever, in a World Champs or Olympics? Reading post race quotes from Bernard Lagat at USATF.org, you have to say this man is a true gentleman, and if any person should be a role model, it is him.
“The race went well, because we went out quicker than normal. I was happy it went that way. I was in good position in the beginning, and that's what I wanted. I wasn't outside, like I was in the heat. I wanted to be in good position, not outside, not inside. That was my position in the beginning. When the guys were starting to react with 300 meters to go, I was still in good position. I just wanted to keep it to the finals, and that's what happened.
(With teammates in the finals). That's the best part. Think about this. Lopez Lomong works so hard. I told him, "Let's go together. Let's fight together." I didn't want to leave him. I went like that. I remember coming in the straightaway, I was moving to Lane 1, on the inside. Then I realized it was Lopez, so I moved out to Lane 2. I didn't want to cut out my teammate. When we finished, he laughed. I gave him one look and he moved out. That's what teammates are all about. I'm so glad. Leo (Leonel Manzano) fought so hard. And Dorian Ulrey did a very, very good job. He's gaining experience. He's a college kid. Think about it. What is he going to do five years form now? I love to be in the presence of these guys.”
The other great highlight of the evening was Jennifer Barringer moving up throughout the steeplechase final, finishing 5th and taking almost 10 seconds off her American Record. During the race, Coach Wetmore was a section over from us and watching him you would think she was not running well. But over the last 2 laps, when she started to pick off people and kept charging right through the finish, it was a new national mark.
The 800s were a little disappointing, with Hazel Clark just missing the final and Maggie Vessey just never in the race. Hopefully, she will learn from this experience and two years from now in Korea will be a factor in the 800 final.
For me, the night ended with the men’s 10,000. It is always a treat to see the great Kenenisa Bekele race. I have had the pleasure of seeing him race a number of times and I think I have never seen him lose. He just seems to float when running on the track, and can run hard from the front or can sit and burn you with a final 400 sprint. It is in running cross country, though, that he is simply amazing. The best way to describe his racing is he is like a cat that has caught a mouse. The cat likes to play with it. Hold it down, let it go, catch it again and then when he gets bored with the game, kill the mouse (go for the win). In the 10,000 final here, that is just what he did again - allowing anybody and everybody to throw down what they wanted. In the last few laps, it was down to Bekele and Zersenay Tadese, with Bekele pulling away over the last 400 to set a new Championship record 26:46.31. Behind the leaders, Dathan Ritzenhein and Galen Rupp were hanging in the main pack as long as they could. In the end, Ritz would get 6th in a new personal best time of 27:22.28 - the #4 American ever - and Rupp 2 places behind, looking tired after a long year. Ritz's placing was the best by an American in the 10K at a World or Olympic Championships since Frank Shorter's 5th in 1972 (Munich Olympics).
Heading back to our apartment, my housemate Errol Anderson (a great photographer from New York) and I stopped once again at this tiny Italian restaurant around the corner from our place. The guy cooks great fresh food at a cheap price. We take it back to our place for a hot meal before getting down to finish work for the day.
A few friends have asked, are we going out on the town at all after the days events? To tell you the truth, there has not been any time; that is why I came in a few days early to see things. We leave the stadium at 10:30pm, and by the time we get back and eat, it is almost 11:30pm. Then it is work on photos and other things till about 1:30 am, then back up at 7 and leave for the stadium at 8am. Full days, but I am not complaining.
There is one event scheduled for the early afternoon at the Olympic Stadium – the media 800 meters. Any member of the media can sign up and they run heats of the 800, regardless of talent. No, I am not running – the little running I have done has not prepared me to jump on a track for an 800. The cool thing is they line you up in lanes for a 1 turn stagger (let’s hope the media can follow directions better than the women’s 10k runners), they introduce you over the stadium PA, and they put the results up on the big scoreboard. Maybe in 4 years in Moscow I will run. I doubt I will be in Korea for the next World Champs. I would love to go, but if I am still teaching (yes, that is right, I have a full time teaching job and only do DyeStat work on the side), school would have already started by the dates they have planned. It would be fun to run in the Moscow Stadium – I assume they will use the same one that was used for the 1980 Olympics. I am making no promises about stepping to the line, but we will see. 
“The race went well, because we went out quicker than normal. I was happy it went that way. I was in good position in the beginning, and that's what I wanted. I wasn't outside, like I was in the heat. I wanted to be in good position, not outside, not inside. That was my position in the beginning. When the guys were starting to react with 300 meters to go, I was still in good position. I just wanted to keep it to the finals, and that's what happened. 
race a number of times and I think I have never seen him lose. He just seems to float when running on the track, and can run hard from the front or can sit and burn you with a final 400 sprint. It is in running cross country, though, that he is simply amazing. The best way to describe his racing is he is like a cat that has caught a mouse. The cat likes to play with it. Hold it down, let it go, catch it again and then when he gets bored with the game, kill the mouse (go for the win). In the 10,000 final here, that is just what he did again - allowing anybody and everybody to throw down what they wanted. In the last few laps, it was down to Bekele and Zersenay Tadese, with Bekele pulling away over the last 400 to set a new Championship record 26:46.31. Behind the leaders, Dathan Ritzenhein and Galen Rupp were hanging in the main pack as long as they could. In the end, Ritz would get 6th in a new personal best time of 27:22.28 - the #4 American ever - and Rupp 2 places behind, looking tired after a long year. Ritz's placing was the best by an American in the 10K at a World or Olympic Championships since Frank Shorter's 5th in 1972 (Munich Olympics).
