And They're Off!

 Track and field at the 2012 Olympics is officially underway! Several preliminary events have already happened this morning but what I'm really excited about are the Women's 10,000m today (3:25pm) and the Men's 10,000m tomorrow (3:15pm). Oh, and that little race--which one is it?

The Olympic Marathon Course

The Men's 20km Race Walk WOMEN'S MARATHON!!!! That's right--it's Sunday at an ungodly hour (for us Americans) so I'll be watching it on tape-delay when I wake up (I'm going to a friend's bachelor party Saturday or you better believe I would wake up early and watch it live). This should be an awesome race to watch.

The organizers have designed a brand new course, one that will maximize views of London's famous sites like Buckingham Palace, Parliament and the Tower of London. It won't be as fast as the London Marathon course, which is pretty flat, because this one includes several short steep uphills and downhills along with tons of turns (including 4 U-turns!). Nevertheless, with an amazing field we should still see some great times.

For the US, our best hope of a medal in this event lies with Shalane Flanagan who took bronze in the 2008 Olympic 10k. Kara Goucher could also surprise us with a podium finish, though I think it's more likely she'll be in the lower top-10. As I reported earlier in the week, Desi Davila has been having some serious issues so--assuming she makes it to the start--I don't think she'll be much of a contender. Perhaps the biggest threat is Kenya's Edna Kiplagat who took gold in Beijing. No matter what happens, it should be a great race.