Emotions at the finish

[DetroiterInIL]

I was at the Schaumburg sectionals - right by the chute. It was a new experience for me to see the range of emotions at the finish. Some people looked totally spent. (OK... a lot of runners did) Some were noticeably upset (a couple stormed away; obviously a bad race). Some looked relieved. Some looked overjoyed. Some still had grim determination on their face (the #2 finisher overall did - guy from Rolling Meadows - really strong kick through the end). If a cameraman ever wants to get true emotion, its a great place to be. Wish I'd had my camera, it was classic.

One caution though: Phil Fairleigh actually put his hand in the air - and the #1 finger way up above his head before he finished. Got me thinking about the year that Ryan Craven signified victory at states by putting both hands in the air before the finish only to have Steve Finley nip him at the tape. It also happened for the top women at the Chicago marathon last year. The leader put her hand up and acknowledged the crowd only to have her closest challenger blow by her at the tape and win.

Phil, if you're still reading these boards - heck of a race - and hefty congrats for pulling off a sectional win. Just be careful though. Not trying to lecture. You had it won - and did win - but you never know... Hence the earlier examples.

Anyone who ran - how'd you feel at the finish?

[Swoosh13]

One caution though: Phil Fairleigh actually put his hand in the air - and the #1 finger way up above his head before he finished. Got me thinking about the year that Ryan Craven signified victory at states by putting both hands in the air before the finish only to have Steve Finley nip him at the tape. It also happened for the top women at the Chicago marathon last year. The leader put her hand up and acknowledged the crowd only to have her closest challenger blow by her at the tape and win.

Phil, if you're still reading these boards - heck of a race - and hefty congrats for pulling off a sectional win. Just be careful though. Not trying to lecture. You had it won - and did win - but you never know... Hence the earlier examples.

The CG coach is very adamant about always running through the finish, I remember his reaction after the Finley/Craven thing. Phil had a pretty decent margin of victory so it's no big deal, but something tells me if he got burned by that he would have been walking home from Schaumburg :D

[itsgonerain]

considering fairleigh had over a 100 meter lead before shutting it down with 800 to go I don't think he was in any danger of being caught

[LFrunr10]

I ran at Schaumburg. Towards the end of the race, I had an idea that that was going to be my last race. When i was nearing the end, all i could think about was all the running i had done the past 4 years and all the good times i've had with my team. I've struggled all year with a back injury so i really had nothing to be ashamed of in terms of my effort, so when i finished, i was unbelievably happy to just be done with it all. and on top of that i actually had a kick for probably the first time this year so that was exciting too.

[Hibbitish]

Looking at results from the past and from my own knowledge, state is a lot like that, except kids are too tired to show any sort of emotion. Usually the seniors are more willing to kill themselves due to the fact it's their last year, but everyone at state shows a huge effort because it's so big. I love that picture in the pictures thread with Silver laying on the ground between two NN kids. It probably felt better later after they figured out they had won, but I could only imagine.

[runningballer5]

I really feel bad for Kevin Schaefer of Maine West missed the 7th spot by 1 sec. Must be hard especially after this past season of track missing the state 3200 by 3 secs. I saw him breakdown after the 7 individuals were announced. Tough luck, hope he comes back with a vengeance in track.