2012 olympics marathon trials houston

A long time ago the Ancient Olympic Games were first a series of competitions held between representatives of several city-states and kingdoms from Ancient Greece.

They included lots of brutal combats and chariot racing. Now the Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports with thousands of top athletes from all over the world. Indications are that Houston won the bid due to finances.

Houston bid for both and also indicated that it would be willing to host just one race if that was the decision of the committee. This money covers event logistics, prize money and athlete travel. Ed Torres, one of two athlete representatives on the committee that selected the host site, stated in a LetsRun. Apparently a major drawback to Boston was timing. The schedule in , with the London Olympic marathon scheduled for two weeks earlier than it was in Beijing would have made it close to days between the trials and the Olympics.

Money was another consideration. But this time, even though we were just as enthusiastic about holding a Marathon Trials race in Boston, we wanted more support. In the end, obviously, money talks. Winning the bid is huge for Houston and the Houston running community. Houston is no stranger to strong marathon running. But then in , the race changed and did not offer prize money, it appeared that it would drop off the national scene.

In , Chevron came on board as the marathon title sponsor, thus the official name of the race is the Chevron Houston Marathon. While most of the comments from elite athletes about Houston winning both bids have been very positive, some have pointed out the financial impact that a winter marathon trials race will have on them. They can also supplement their income by earning prize money based on their performance in the race.

Runners often run a fall and a spring marathon for the appearance fees. For Olympic qualifying these runners usually give up a payday to run the marathon trials, which has prize money but no appearance fees. With the marathon trials in January American athletes are likely to skip appearing at both a fall and a spring marathon in order to be properly trained and recovered for the trials and the Olympics. But this is Houston, and it looks like it will be a bit more warm than, say, New York or Boston.

Last year's Houston Marathon -- which will be run Sunday to complete the runners' weekend in the city -- was damp, but the temperatures were mild. Rain looks to be unlikely for Saturday, but temperatures could creep up above idyllic 40s into imperfect 50s. I think the competitors will be without complaint about the weather either way.

NBC will broadcast the trials on tape delay Saturday afternoon.