Where were you 10 years ago? Meb Keflezighi reflects.

10 years ago, the Olympics were taking place in Athens. While that may seem like a lifetime ago for some, for others, it’s a time to pause, reflect and be motivated. Being an Olympian is something only few can claim. Being an Olympic medalist is even more rare and a honor bestowed upon the elite.

One Olympic medalist that we are proud to have on our team and that continues to motivate and inspire runners around the world is Meb Keflezighi. He’s been running for years but continues to defy odds and seemingly gets better with age.

Below is an excerpt from Meb’s recent blog post.

A note from Meb…

I can remember where I was like it was yesterday. 10 years ago, I ran my 4th marathon at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Going into the race, I had the 39th fastest marathon personal best in a field of 101. On paper, I had no shot at medaling in the race, but my coaches and I believed otherwise.

At that time, I had more credibility in running the 10K distance. On paper, it looked like my chances to medal in the 2004 Olympic Games would be in the 10K, yet it was still a long shot. Having qualified for the Olympic Games in both the 10k and marathon, I had a very difficult decision to make. I had already experienced the thrill & honor of being an Olympian at the 2000 Games in Sydney, but this time I wanted to see if I could become an Olympic Medalist. It was very tempting to run the shorter distance, but I chose the marathon.

During the marathon, I felt the hot, humid and hilly conditions would be equalizers that would bridge the gap between myself and the other 38 competitors.

Sometimes you’ve got to take calculated risks to achieve something great and that is precisely what I did. Team Running USA California and myself did well and in my opinion, begun the resurgence of distance running in the US. Today, the US has runners that are amongst the best in the world in every event from the 800 meters to the marathon.

In looking back a decade later, running the marathon at the 2004 Olympics was a great choice for my career. 10 years ago, the marathon was undiscovered territory for me. Winning the Silver medal gave all the confidence in the world. 10 years ago, I thought never thought I would win the New York Marathon 70 days after Athens, I didn’t think I would run a personal best in the marathon at the age of 38 and I didn’t think it would take me 10 years to win the Boston Marathon, but 10 years later I am more than okay with that unexpected delay.

I guess marathoning is like wine; it gets better with age. Some things take longer than we want, but just because they don’t happen in our time, doesn’t mean they won’t. Never give up on your dreams, but also never give up working to make your dream become a reality.

Run To Win,
Meb
www.Twitter.com/RunMeb

www.facebook.com/MarathonMeb

If you can’t get enough of Meb, we’ll be featuring Meb in a video series this fall where he talks about training using his Garmin Forerunner 620. Stay tuned!