Olympic Trials Marathon Trip

When Orlando was announced as the location for the 2024 Olympic Trials Marathon, one of my running buddies spearheaded getting a group together to go spectate. Allegiant flies direct and cheap from Springfield to Orlando, we found great deals on AirBnb and Turo, and the trip was organized! We made the most out of our long weekend, laughed excessively, and made lifelong memories. Here is a summary of what we did!

Friday, February 2:

• Christian, Sarah, Jessica, and I left Springfield at 11:00 a.m. Our flight and Turo car pick up went smoothly. Jessica lived in Orlando for 10 years so was nominated as our main driver for the weekend.
• We had lunch as Miller's Ale House, which was delicious. Their specials photos were effective because three of us ordered the same thing.
• We found our AirBnb and unloaded. It was adorable, clean, and just what we needed! 
• Jessica drove us by her old house and got to talk to her old neighbor in his yard.
• We went to a Citius Mag podcast live show, which took place right after a Hoka shake-out run. We got free Hoka bags and posters, and ice cream (they also had free Olipop and Goodrs, but we were a little too late for those).
•  We then went to the Brooks Hyperion House, where everyone got two free drink tickets and appetizers (which ended up being "dinner"). The Brooks House definitely had the biggest party vibe of everywhere we went: music, lights, crowds, and the free drinks probably helped. There were also free shirts but they only had XXL left. Jessica and Sarah nabbed hats. Abby met us there, after her flight got in around 6:00 p.m.
• We next tried to pick up Holly from a Mill City party, but she had actually not made it there yet, so we went by the Nike hotel to get her. There we also got Dreamweaver cheer squad shirts for everyone and some free sports nutrition products.

On stage at the Brooks house

Photo station at the Brooks house

Citius Mag live show behind us

Saturday, February 3:

• Abby, Jessica, and I got up early and ran 10 miles.
• We headed to the Trials course! Due to road blockades, we ended up walking a lot further than expected to get to our planned spot, but luckily we'd allotted plenty of time. Because of this, we also walked past the athlete warm up area and saw all of the competitors jogging up close. We also ran into my friend Melissa who was similarly trying to navigate around the road closures.
• We found a good spectating spot not long before the start. We were able to see the race 5 times from our location.
• Kristen, a friend who used to live in Springfield, found us and spectated with us.
• Seeing the race unfold in front of us was awesome! We also had the live stream on Peacock going on Christian's phone so we were able to track what was happening when we couldn't see the runners. Everyone cheered so hard our throats were sore.
• There are too many stories of the day for me to do them justice here! Some of my favorites were: Dakota Lindwurm, one of the happiest runners ever, making the team; training partners Conner Mantz and Clayton Young working together to go 1-2 (I have mixed feelings about Clayton handing the win to his friend though); 4th place Jess McClain being absolutely ecstatic about her race (often 4th is upset); CJ Albertson charging hard for a close 5th; seeing my rabbit and Dreamweaver teammates out there; and 7 months pregnant Meagan Kirchin getting the biggest cheers. My biggest heartbreak was Sara Hall not making the team; I believe she wanted it more than everyone and probably worked the hardest too. She did set the US masters marathon record, but I doubt that was a great consolation.
• We had lunch at a restaurant that I don't remember the name of, after trying to get in at another nearby restaurant. Unsurprisingly, the area was packed. It worked out though, because we sat right next to CJ Albertson's family, then about halfway through the meal CJ himself came in. We eavesdropped on him telling his family his race story. He only missed the team by 10 seconds!
• We went by the Brooks house again, which was still partying and giving out free drinks.
• We next went to a Nike Dreamweaver after-party, with more free food and drinks.
• Then we tried to go to a Hoka party but it was mostly over.
• We had Jeremiah's Italian Ice for "dinner", then went to Publix to buy real food but no one was hungry. After two nights of not eating real dinner we decided we were done with that!

Matching cheer shirts

Women's lead pack

Top two men 0.25 from the finish

High class Italian ice

CJ Albertson is a fan of me too

Sunday, February 4:

• Sarah and I got up early and ran 8 miles.
• Jessica, Sarah, Christian, and I spent the entire day at Universal Islands of Adventure! Abby had to fly out early and Holly met up with others to do free activities. We were at the park from when they opened at 9:00 a.m. to about 5:30 p.m. (they closed at 6:00) and got to ride everything we wanted to except the Velocicoaster, which closed when we were in line. The Harry Potter coaster and Hulk coaster were our favorites.
• We had real dinner at The Hall on the Yard food hall. 

Universal Islands of Adventure

Monday, February 5:

• Jessica and I ran at 4:20 a.m. before our return flight. Some people asked why we didn't just run when we got home, but we both thought that would be harder, plus I had to teach MSU class at noon. I was definitely ready to nap right after class!

I couldn't have gone to the 2020 Trials to watch, because I was too heartbroken over not qualifying - but I still saw the big party in Atlanta and wished I was there. The standard dropping to 2:37 for 2024 made it very easy for me to fangirl this one, because qualifying was never in my realm of possibility. It was the ultimate running fan experience and we all want to go back in 2028!

Holly & I at a host hotel