The reason certainly isn't that it was a stunning success. 😏
The reason is Eric “The Bolt" Holt! 😉
This video is literally the only one that came out halfway decent that day, so I saved it for tonight because in about one hour a local NY Section 1 “kid" is getting on the starting line of the men's 1500m at the USATF National Championship in Eugene OR, with a legitimate shot at grabbing a Team USA spot for this year's IAAF World Championships in Budapest later this summer.
Eric Holt went to high school in Carmel NY which is the neighboring town to Brewster, where my son Kevin attended and ran track.
Eric was one of the top ranked high school distance runners in the country as a senior, the same year Kevin was a skinny lil' upstart "alpha” freshman getting thrown in with the Big Boys for some 'baptism by fire' early in his career.
The photo below is Kevin on the start line with Eric for the 2013 Somers Lion's Club Invitational Mile, and about to pay some "rookie dues". 😏
Eric was one of the top 10-12 high school distance runners in the country in 2013 and went on to a solid but unremarkable NCAA career at Binghamton University, at the end of which virtually everyone told him it was time to go get a job, and that he'd never make it on the pro track circuit.
Nevertheless, he persisted. 😁
Fueled by pure guts and a whole head full of "No, you can't." contrarianism, he kept training and eventually hooked up with an upstart new NY pro track team called Empire Elite Track Club coached by two legendary NY distance guys, and long story short, worked his ass off relentlessly to get to tonight, where at age 28 he's on the verge of earning the right to represent the United States of America in international competition.
Eric is the quintessential "underdog" story, a really cool, awesomely weird kid (watch the interview video below), and was a big early role model for Kevin. First thing Kevin said when I texted him about the race in the above video and the possibility of Eric making Team USA was how cool it would be to see a guy he ran with back in high school at Worlds or the Olympics.
So a big, big PCS Nation shout out to Eric "The Bolt" Holt tonight out in Eugene OR. Have a great, safe race. Anyone who remembers around 10:05 tonight, shoot some good speedy vibes his way.
Speed Gods...bring the nasty tonight. 😉
The video below is Eric's interview with NBC Sports after winning the 1500m in the video above.
Randall's Island Re-Visited, With Reason