From Walpole to London: Last Day of the Games

Well the Games of the XXX Olympiad are now complete. What a memorable two weeks of action from London.

My games concluded this morning at the men's marathon, personally my favorite event of the entire Olympic program. Like the women's race a week prior, I helped Lewis Johnson with pre-race interviews for NBC. In between, I was able to chat with some of the athletes, agents and coaches, many of whom I have known for a few years.

Following the completion of the interviews, I went to the press tribunes near the Start/Finish line where I watched the action unfold both in front of me and on the small monitors they have for broadcasters. Sadly, two Americans were forced to drop out due to injury. But, Meb Keflezighi was able to finish fourth, a huge accomplishment for someone who was largely overlooked in the lead up to the Games.

For a full recap of the marathon, check out my story for Race Results Weekly: http://www.letsrun.com/2012/rrwmarathon-0812.php

In the evening, I spent time with some of the loggers going out to dinner and watching the closing ceremonies. Together we reminisced about the fun times, sleep deprivation (only three hours sleep last night), and events witnessed. But most of all we talked about the jokes or fun times amongst our little family. To cap it off, on our way back to the hotel we stopped at the University of Central London where the Closing Ceremony was being shown on a jumbotron in front of a thousand people. Everyone singing to The Who and watching the cauldron extinguish cheered in applause.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting up with my friend Emma and her sister Kate, who are going to be my tour guides around the city! Fun fact: Kate was a 2008 Olympian for Great Britain, and Emma was a standout runner herself at the University of New Mexico.

Well that's all for tonight!