Upload a Photo Upload a Video Add a News article Write a Blog Add a Comment
Blog Feed News Feed Video Feed All Feeds

Folders

Featured (444)
Misc News (754)
IAAF (2)
TF360 (16)
2014 Results - Amsterdam MarathonOct 19th 2014, 6:12pm
Weekend Schedule/Results 10/19/14Oct 18th 2014, 4:10pm
 

 

Kastor Still Running Strong

Published by
RunnerSpace.com/RoadRacing   Oct 16th 2014, 3:18pm
Comments

Deena Kastor: Dancing With the Cruel Mistress

Published by RunBlogRun on October 16, 2014

When a runner is in love with our sport, you can tell.  There is a sparkle in their eyes, there is enthusiasm in their voice, and there is joy in their heart.  They know and accept the physical, mental, and emotional roller coaster that periodically accompanies their pursuit of road racing in general and the marathon in particular. They know the marathon is a cruel mistress who can reward you in one race and punish you in the next. They know there are no runners who forever evade disappointment, that it strikes everyone.  They don't lament the inevitable and often-unpredictable setbacks that are engrained in competitive running. They recognize and react positively to the occasional disappointment and embrace it as part of the challenge and irresistible allure of our sport.

Deena Kastor is in the midst of a 30+ year love affair with running.   Spend any time with the Olympic medalist and you will quickly learn that she is an upbeat personality who adores her life and her pursuit of running at the highest level.  A key ingredient to the positive attitude she brings to her world class career is a peaceful acceptance of the unanticipated humbling moments which can rise up to test the mettle of any road racing athlete.  

Over an elite running journey which has spanned over three decades, Kastor has experienced the exhilaration of pinnacle performances as well as the despair of unexpected failures - even on the biggest stage in our sport.  Leading into the 2004 Games in Athens, Kastor enjoyed a flawless training run up to the Olympic marathon.  She spent a month before the Games on Crete with her husband Andrew, prepared in a relaxed setting, and even utilized an ice vest on race day to reduce her core body temperature to battle the race day heat.  Her gallant come-from-behind performance earned her the bronze medal.  She still calls her epic Athens performance "the perfect race."  4 years later, following another catastrophe-free build up, Kastor - by then the American record holder in the marathon at 2:19:36 - felt ready to ascend to the Olympic podium's top step in Beijing.  "I could see that gold medal being draped around my neck," she recalls.  Instead disaster struck.  Barely three miles in to the race, the defending bronze medalist sustained an osteoporosis-induced broken foot that sent her sobbing to the sag wagon.



Read the full article at: www.runblogrun.com

More news

History for RunnerSpace.com/RoadRacing
YearVideosNewsPhotosBlogs
2024 1      
2023 4 1    
2022 2      
Show 17 more
 
+PLUS highlights
+PLUS coverage
Live Events
Get +PLUS!