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Olympic Greats and Hometown Hero Draws Crowds at

2018 Health and Fitness Expo Clinics
Men’s Results

by Julia Emmons

n the Friday and Saturday off to run his best for Boston, to help making the team, and detailed his for all seven races, and he kept to his
before the Credit Union the city heal after the terror the year experience in Montreal and the strict vegetarian diet.

OCherry Blossom (CUCB), before. The pack let him go; confident realities of coming in 4 , missing a Next on the speaker stage was
th
runners flock to the National Building he would fade and crash. Meb did not; medal by a couple of hundred feet. Joan Samuelson, winner of the first

Museum to pick up numbers and race he won in a PR, the first American to Saturday’s speaker line-up kicked Women’s Olympic marathon in 1984.
shirts, and to check out the latest in win since 1983, and the oldest winner off with local hero Mike Wardian, Having run competitively for close
running gear and protein bars. They since 1930. whose astonishing accomplishments to four decades, Joan shared her
come, as well, to attend sessions of the In a pop-up appearance on stage to at ultra distance running include insights on keeping strong and fit as

Expo Clinic and to collect autographs. greet Meb at the beginning of his talk a six-day 156 mile ultra run in the the decades of running take their toll.
This year the clinics and autograph was fellow U.S. Team-mate and bronze Sahara desert carrying his own food; She adjusts her training, cross-trains
sessions included athletes who medalist at the 2004 Athens Olympics, and his recent win in the World by skiing in winter, and eats healthily.

finished first, second, third and fourth Deena Kastor. Deena was on hand at Marathon Challenge which comprised (She proved her point the following
in the Olympic Marathon along the Expo promoting her new book. of running seven marathons over day by running the CUCB 10-miler in
with a widely popular hometown Following Meb on the speaker stage seven consecutive days on seven a CUCB age-group record).
hero. With signatu was Don Kardong, 4th place finisher continents. Not surprisingly, Mike Rounding out the Saturday speaker

The CUCB Expo clinic began mid- in the 1976 Olympic Marathon and centered his comments on this most schedule were reprise talks by Don
afternoon Friday on a high-note founder of Spokane, Washington’s recent victory, detailing the logistics and Meb, which again attracted
with the return appearance of Meb famed Lilac Bloomsday 12K. of how the 32 competitors in the thick crowds as had all the day’s

Keflezighi, four-time Olympian and Enhanced by Don’s ever-present dry Challenge managed to run seven presentations.
Olympic marathon silver medalist, humor, his power-point presentation 26.2-mile races on consecutive days, One can but agree with moderator
and the memorable winner of the covered his early career as a runner, on seven different continents, one of Creigh Kelley’s assessment of this

post-bombing 2014 Boston Marathon then focused on his Olympic which was Antarctica. The answer, year’s CUCB Expo Clinic speaker
and of the 2009 New York City experience at which he finished 4th Mike revealed, was traveling all line-up: “ This one will be very hard
Marathon. Meb’s remarks focused on - two seconds out of a bronze medal - together by chartered plane, sleeping to beat.” Indeed.

this Boston win, which he described only to learn later that the winner was little, and having the races as adjacent
as the most emotional race of his life. performance-enhancing-drug enabled as possible: Chile, Antarctica, Miami,
Then 38, and ranked 16 in star- but was never eliminated from the Madrid, Marrakech, Dubai, and
th
studded international field, Meb took results. He shared the emotion of finally Sydney. Mike averaged 2:45:46

Photo: Dan Kolansky

Race emcee Creigh Kelley hams it up with Michael Wardian at the Health and Fitness Expo.

2018 Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run 71