With great achievements come great honors. This weekend was a big moment for me. Even though, there was a lot of traveling, it was a great opportunity to meet and interact with several runners, fans, officials, meet directors and sponsors.
Meb hanging with Elvis and Elvis in Vegas!
It started with the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon. On Friday, I flew from San Diego to Las Vegas. On the way, it was great to be recognized by the ticket counter person. Then, I ran into some of the Rock N Roll staff and to a teammate of mine from UCLA. I also ran into my sister’s (Dr. Bahghi Keflezighi) co-worker who was heading to Vegas to get married.
Once I got to the hotel, I had an hour and ten minutes to spare before I go to the Nissan and Runnersworld Booth to sign autographs. Hmmm, what should I do … Well, you guessed it, I went for a run. 50min for the run followed by 20 min to stretch and get ready for the appearance. Luckily, I do not have hair to take care of, so it does not take me long to get ready 
The autograph session was great and it was packed. A lot of marathoners came and congratulated me and got their autograph. They also asked few questions and took quick photographs. Amazingly enough there were some athletes that had just run the New York City Marathon and were already to go for another one. I told those that were doubling they were tougher than me. I also met someone who was doing his 19th marathon for the year. Yes, marathoning is the thing. Well, congratulation to all of the finishers of the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon, all 23,704 of you. That is great!
Well, I wish I could have stayed in Las Vegas to enjoy the city and relax a little. However, I had to catch a 5:30pm flight to Indianapolis to participate in the USATF Annual Meeting.What a great event! I landed in Indianapolis about midnight and by the time I got to the hotel and settled in it was 1:30am. But I got up early enough to attend the USAT&F Breakfast Award. The awards breakfast recognized many deserving people ranging from athletes, officials, and organizers. I was awarded the Robert E. De Celle, Jr. “Outstanding Male Long Distance Runner” award. The audience in the room gave me a standing ovation. It is a big honor to be recognized for the hard work and for the lonely miles that are put in when no cameras and spotlights are on you. I know how difficult and challenging the journey to get here has been, so I am celebrating a successful journey, not just the final result. I’m not sure if everyone understands this and I hope they are just as happy for the journey as they are for the recent results I have shown.
On Saturday night, it was my pleasure to welcome everyone to the Jesse Owen’s Awards Dinner and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. This is great event for the athletes and for fans of track and field. Jesse Owens is an inspiration to all of us, as athletes, humans and Americans. He is a great legend and has a great legacy. Jesse Owens’ legacy is so great that the 2009 USA World Championship team had “JO” on their jersey when they competed in Berlin, where Mr. Owens made history. I wish I could have had the opportunity to be part of the 2009 World Championships, but it just was not meant to be.
At any rate, the dinner was awesome. A lot of fast people, from the past, present and future were in the room. It was at this dinner that Alberto Salazar and I met for the first time since I won the NYC marathon. He kindly called and left me a great congratulatory massage. Alberto has been a big part of my relationship with Nike from the beginning and for me to stay with Nike for the last 10 plus years. Alberto won the USATF coach of the year award for his work with Kara, Galen, Amy Begley, and Dathan.
Speaking of Coaches, my coach and mentor of 15 years, Bob Larsen won the Robert Giegengack award, the award goes to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the development and success of USA Track & Field and the larger community of the sport. It is an award and recognition that Bob deserves. I know he is proud of me for my achievements, but I am also very proud of what he has done at so many different levels of coaching (from high school to community college, college, professional and Olympic team coaching).
Here some of the outstanding athletes that I had the opportunity to interact with. It was great to meet with these fast guys and gals, some of whom I knew or met from previous Olympic teams and world championships teams. Joana Hayes, Lauren Williams, Alison Felix, Tyson Gay, Maurice Greene, Steve Holmes, Alberto Salazar, Lo Lo Jones, Joetta Clark, Hazel Clark, Colleen De Ruck, Dan Browne and Mammoth Track Club teammate, Deena Kastor. This was great company to be with and I thank USATF for having this amazing event and letting me be part of it. I also ran into some other great athletes just around the area of the lobby or in the airport. I also had a few minutes with Khadevis Robinson (more videos to soon follow). KD puts in perspective what it may be like to run a marathon, from an 800 meter runner’s viewpoint. In the meantime, here’s a short video clip I shot that night of my friend and Olympic Gold Medalist, Jon Drummond.
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