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The Odlaugs of Illinois have an international flavor.
Erika Odlaug, a member of the US junior team at Dublin, competed
in England and Scotland with the US junior team last summer after
winning the USA Junior Nationals 3000 meters. Erika's dad Theron
works for a Japanese company and will stop in Dublin on an around
the world trip via his company's home office in Japan. Erika's mother
(nee Pat Brennan) has Irish blood in her veins.
A Dad's View of a Daughter's
Race in Ireland
by Theron Odlaug
Before the Trip
In 2001 I had promised Erika to take her and her best friend Amy
on an
ex-US trip during spring break of their senior year of high school.
We
eventually decided on Greece over Japan (where the headquarters
of my
company Fujisawa Healthcare, Inc. is located). However in January
Erika
decided to enter the USTAF Jr. Winter XC Nationals race to be held
in
February in Vancouver, Washington and to opt out of the 2 mile at
the
adidas Midwest Indoor Classic to be held in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chris
Lester was
very understanding about the change. Besides, who could pass up
a chance to
make the US Jr. team, compete in a world championship event and
earn a free
trip to Ireland? Erika had a great time in August 2001when as a
member the
US Jr.Track and Field Team she competed in the 3000m in England
and
Scotland.
We knew if she made the team it would mean that the first weekend
of spring
break would be in Ireland instead of Greece. Pat and I decided that
if she
made the US team we would vacation in Ireland instead of Greece.
I figured
visiting some 6th century Celtic Monasteries could be just as cool
as the
Acropolis. Besides Erika and my wife Pat (Brennan before our marriage)
have some connection to Ireland because of their genes. Maybe some
of that
Irish luck could help Erika in running against those Kenyans and
Ethiopians.
In February Erika places 2nd in the winter nationals to Maria Cicero
of
Boston College and the trip to Ireland is on. Two University of
Colorado
runners, Jorge Torres and Dathan Ritzenheim, also make the team
and we
learn that their college coach Mark Wetmore would go too. Erika
thought
that was great as she could get to know better some of her future
Colorado
teammates during the trip.
In the meantime, I learned that the week before the worlds in Ireland
that
I would be making a business trip to Japan. It would an around the
world
trip for me.
Meeting up in Ireland
Friday March 15
I leave Chicago on Friday morning for the long trip to Osaka. I
would be
there until Thursday.
Did you know that they celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Japan with
a parade
in Tokyo and even Kyoto?
Strange.
Tuesday March 19
Erika leaves Chicago to meet up with her team in Newark for the
flight to
Dublin. She is loaded down with all the neat team gear from USTAF.
Thursday March 21 - en route
After a 13-hour plane ride I arrive in Frankfurt around 3-pm. I
have a 4-hour wait until my flight to Dublin and am a bit nervous
about driving tonight on the left hand side of the road to my hotel.
Erika arrived with the team on Wednesday. Pat told me on the telephone
yesterday that she was already getting into her pre-race "zone"
when Pat dropped her off at the airport. She had to fly from Chicago
to Newark to meet up with the team.
I just checked out an interview with Deena Drossin in Dublin that
is posted on the USTAF website. This race is really a big deal in
Ireland. Their womens distance champ Sonia O´Sullivan will
run in the senior short race so a big crowd is exspected. I also
read that the Kenyan team had a big scare as their visas almost
did not get processed in time, to allow them to make their trip
to Ireland. I am anxious to get this phase of the journey behind
me - onward!
Thursday March 21 - arriving in Dublin
Aer Lingus must also have the meaning "Meat-wagon" in
Gaelic as I felt like
I was in one stuffed in a middle seat on the 2-hour flight to Dublin.
Renting the car was a near disaster as they had no reservation at
the
airport for me, but they did have one at the Avis office in Dublin.
Because of the mix-up they gave me a Volvo wagon for the same price.
The
drive to the City-West Hotel southwest of the city center was uneventful
and only 25 minutes.
I happily walked into hotel lobby at 10:45 p.m. (a 25-hour journey
from
hotel to hotel). The place was bustling and I immediately saw some
of the
Spanish and English team members. That happiness turned sour when
the man
a the desk told me they had no reservation for Odlaug until Sunday
and were
fully booked, but that they could but me in the Quality Inn down
the street
until Friday? "Oh joy" I said.
Before leaving to get to my bed ASAP and collapse I called Erika.
She came
down to the lobby and we had a short visit while I sampled a Guinness.
She
was in a great mood and had an early run with Dathan and Jorge,
had
strolled for a few hours in the city center on the famous Grafton
St, and
was even hanging out for a while in the room of Suzy-Favor Hamilton.
"Name-dropper" I commented. Erika it said was cloudy but
mild and around 55
during the day with no rain. We will see how long that lasts. We
agreed to
meet back at her hotel for breakfast.
Friday March 22 - next morning in Dublin
Wow what a difference a good nights sleep will make. The Ethiopian
team
was also at the Quality Hotel. I saw them warming up in the parking
lot
when I got out of bed. Last year in Belgium between them and the
Kenyans
they had the top 10 places in the Junior Women's Race, all finishing
within
19 seconds of each other. Now that is intimidating.
I don't hear from Erika so I move to her hotel (the City-West)
and have a
cup of coffee in the breakfast room and sit with some of the staff
and
coaches with the British Team. I hope to see British Champ Paula
Ratcliffe
(favored to win the Women's Senior race I think), but to no avail.
At 9:30
I ring up Erika's room and wake-up the other high-school member
on the team
roommate Valerie.-sorry Valerie. While waiting for Erika in the
lobby I
witness one of the Morroccan coaches having trouble communicating
with one
of the volunteers about the timing of the technical meeting. Such
is the
challenges of international events. What is it like at he UN? After
visiting with Erika while she goes for a run I go to the airport
to pick up
Pat and Amy.
Pat and Amy barely made their connection in London as their plane
from
Newark was 3 hours late. One of the passengers who was designated
for a
random screen decided to board before being checked. As a result
they had
to take everyone of the plane, search the plane and re-screen over
300
passengers. Their bags did not make the connection,
After we get back to the hotel Erika is just leaving with the team
to
Leopardsdown to check out the racecourse. We decide to eat in the
hotel
and get to bed early. At dinner Erika told us the course was flat,
but with
one 100m stretch of mud. The start will be in stalls with 3 runners
per
team lined up shoulder to shoulder. She also said the turf was thick
and
it would be easy to sprain an ankle. We discuss what length of spikes
to
use. Erika decides on half inchers in the front and the short ones
in the
back. The heat is on! After going back to our room Pat is very happy
as the
bags have finally arrived.
Race Day
Saturday, March 23
Jet lag sets in with a vengeance. I am wide-awake at 3 am while
Pat
and Amy are still in dreamland. At 4 am I head towards the lobby
with a
copy of a Dave Barry book. I am amazed to find people still
lingering in the pub from last night's party. At 6 am there are
signs of
life as I watch two Kenyans going out for an early morning run.
At 7 am I
am up in the breakfast room dining with team members and staff of
the US
team. Eventually, Erika, Pat, and Amy arrive on the scene. Erika
leaves
with the team for the racecourse at 8:25 and soon after we follow.
Upon entering Leapardstown race course, we are impressed by the
sheer size
of the place but disappointed that we have to cheer from the stands
instead
of on the field. The start line is almost a half mile away and the
closest we get to the runners is about 100 feet. This is a racetrack
for
horses not people in my opinion, especially fans.
At 11:05 as promised in the program the gun goes off and they're
out of the
chutes. It is cloudy, windy and around 50 degrees, but who cares
at this
point? As they pass the grandstands on the first lap, the Kenyans
and
Ethiopians have taken the lead as the Americans find their place
in the
middle of the pack of 112 runners. When they come by for the second
lap
Pat counts that Erika is in 25th and looking strong. On the next
lap the
Kenyans and Ethiopians have distanced themselves from the rest of
the
field, but we are excited and screaming our heads off as we see
that Erika
is in 19th going into the final lap. We wonder if she can hold this
pace.
As the leaders begin to cross the finish line just over 20 minutes
we look
for our girl. Here she comes! Erika is in 17th place and looking
awesome.
She is going all out. She crosses at 21:23 and is the top US finisher
1:10
behind the winner Viola Kibiwot of Kenya. Maria Cicero is 29th with
a
time of 21:50 and Erika's roommate Valerie Lauver finishes in 22:06
in 36th
place. The US team finishes a very respectable 5th place. We are
so proud.
Our daughter is 17th in the World Junior XC Championships.
The next race is the Senior Men's 4k and Jorge Torres does great
with an
11th place finish. Deena Drossin is 2nd to Paula Radcliffe in the
8k
Senior Women's race.
We head back to the hotel and are looking forward to the team bus
arriving
so we can congratulate Erika and give her a big hug as we only saw
her for
a minute after the race.
the day after
Sunday March 24
In the morning I was still feeling great about Erika's race and
even better
after I learned from the USTAF PR guy that it was the best finish
for a Jr.
American woman since 1992.
After breakfast we all went together to an estate south of Dublin
with
formal gardens called Powerscourt. It was really beautiful and Pat
was
happy that she could do some "powershopping" in the stores
there.
We made it to Leopardstown racecourse just in time for the men's
junior
race. The most impressive race of the day for me was the women's
senior
short race. Suzy Favor-Hamilton finished 5th in real all out effort.
Sonia O'Sullivan finished 7th and her Irish team took the bronze
medal.
The way she was cheered by the crowd and sought out for autographs
was
something to see. We were also happy to see Dathan Ritzenheim finish
24th
in his 1st world race with the big boys.
We had a nice dinner at the hotel, while Erika went with the team
and staff
to an event for all the countries participating in the races at
Dublin
Castle. Erika was hoping to make some swaps for stuff with the other
countries athletes.
The rest of the team was scheduled to depart the hotel at 6 am
on Monday
morning for the start of their trips home to the good old USA. Since
Erika
and Amy have spring break now we planned to all stay in Ireland
until
Friday and do some touring of the country.
The 2002 World XC Championships was a fantastic experience for
all of us.
Pat and I agreed it had been a better option then Greece. We have
already
started talking about next year's race, which will be in Lausanne,
Switzerland.
World XC Championships
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