Leading up to her second U.S. Olympic marathon trial, Clara Grandt Santucci knew runners faced a “brutal system” where years of training could be undone by uncontrollable factors on race day.
When a hamstring injury flared up in Los Angeles on Saturday, the former West Virginia All-American was forced to quit mid-race, dissolving her dreams of qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.
“It was pretty heartbreaking to have to step off the course,” she said.
The 13th-ranked runner in a women’s field of more than 200, Santucci felt the hamstring tighten around Mile 9, at which point race trackers timed her at 53:36.
“Up until then I felt I was following my plan very well and felt good,” she said. “I kept going until around 15 miles while it progressively was worsening and slowing my pace. I thought maybe it was just a rough patch that I could work through. Eventually I had to walk and tried running again a couple times.”
After several miles where her splits steadily slowed to 6:01 and 6:07 and 6:18 and 6:34, Santucci knew her body was failing. When her 15th-mile split dipped to 6:50, she caught a knowing look from her husband and training partner Jason Santucci.
“When I saw my husband, we both knew I shouldn’t go any further,” she said. “That was the hardest part—bringing myself to step off and say this chance was over.”
That did not go as hoped… Tough day & recovery ahead. Thank you for encouragement. Got knocked down today but I’ll get back up again.
— Clara Mae Santucci (@cmaerun26) February 13, 2016
The three women’s Olympic qualifiers were Amy Cragg (2:28:27), Desiree Linden (2:29:00) and Shalane Flanagan (2:29:26).
Santucci, who finished seventh in the 2012 U.S. trials and narrowly missed out on an alternate’s spot, is 28 years old, leaving her with two or three more Olympic cycles.
“I know I’ll be back and the support from my family, friends, sponsors, and everyone is amazing,” she said. “Those that know me best know there is much more to come and I’m determined to make it back better.”
After recovering from the injury, Santucci plans to resume her 100-mile-per-week training regimen and embrace the brutal system again for a shot at the making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In a text message Sunday, she wrote: “2020 almost can’t come soon enough.”
Weiss finishes 101st: Ravenswood Middle School teacher Jeff Weiss posted a time of 2:48:11 on Saturday and finished 101st on the men’s side.
His personal best (2:17:22) was set at the St. Paul Twin Cities Marathon in 2011.
The three U.S. men’s qualifiers were Galen Rupp (2:11:13), Meb Keflezighi (2:12:020) and Jared Ward (2:13:00).