One year ago, on Marathon Monday, 38-year-old marathon runner Mebrahtom “Meb” Keflezighi stood at the finish line, cheering like so many others, not racing due to injury. And moments after he left the stands because he was cold, tragedy struck. On that infamous day in 2013, Keflezighi reacted the way everyone else did. He grieved with the city, but like David Ortiz, told Boston to stay strong.
They were words that Boston certainly heeded in the ensuing days and months. And in the Eritrean-American, deemed over-the-hill by race experts and no threat to finally break the 31-year drought of Boston Marathon American champions in the men’s race, Boston witnessed the perfect champion.
Though Keflezighi has never lived in Boston, it has to be said that his story reads very much like an exact definition for what the concept of Boston Strong stands for. He overcame the tragic death of a teammate in 2007, and a broken hip that same year – both in the same race. Usually a career-altering injury for a distance runner, Keflezighi, like Boston, kept going. And it lead him to Monday, where he fittingly broke the American drought on a day when recovery was the most prominent theme in the 118th Boston Marathon.
Still, to fully understand why Keflezighi was a truly perfect champion this year, it’s necessary to go back and look at his full story.
Originally from Eritrea, Keflezighi and his family immigrated to the United States. His life in Eritrea had been hard, yet he persisted. Eventually, Keflezighi ended up at UCLA, where he continued to foster his bourgeoning reputation as a dominant distance runner.
Olympic success followed, with a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Games in the marathon. Keflezighi’s career was on a fast-track to success.
Much of that was reversed in 2007-2008. In his running, Keflezighi was plagued with injuries, including a terrible hip injury that cost him a chance to compete in the 2008 Olympics. More than that, there were other much more distressing events. His family business, a grocery store in San Diego, was continually robbed and eventually went out of business. Also, his friend and running partner, Ryan Shay, collapsed and died during the New York City Olympic trials in 2007.
Hobbled by injuries, and enduring terrible tragedy, this would appear to be rock bottom for Keflezigihi. His resolve was tested, but it never broke. Slowly, he began his comeback. Calmly, he got himself back into shape, overcoming injuries and redeveloping the world class endurance that had made him a silver medalist. The culmination of his efforts came in the New York City Marathon in 2009, when Keflezighi broke a 27-year winless streak for Americans:
Fast forward to 2014 in Boston. Once again, despite an impressive showing in the 2012 London Olympics, where Keflezighi finished fourth, barely any previews even mentioned him. He was old, after all. Old runners don’t normally stand a chance at the elite level. And if any previews did mention him, it was as an afterthought. Take Deadspin’s preview, one of only a handful to even give him any mention.
On his chances, they said:
Likelihood of Victory: Sadly, not great. His supporters will tell you that he typically fares well on difficult courses (hence, his slow PR and success in hilly or warm conditions), and was a top marathoner as recently as 2012. But after a disastrous 2013 (DNS at Boston; sad but gritty 2:23 at NYC), it’s getting harder to ignore the miles on his legs and advancing age.
But talking about Meb’s times and places misses the point completely. He’s one of our sport’s greatest ambassadors, and regardless of where he finishes, he’ll be the one with thousands of fans and smile on his face at the end.
Now, understand that this shouldn’t reflect badly on Deadspin. If anything they get props for even mentioning him pre-race as a contender, since most (including this publication) did not. Yet it still summarizes the conventional wisdom about Keflezighi: he’s an admirable runner, but he won’t win.
Once again, Keflezighi was counted out. Cue the video from earlier on Monday:
Ultimately, Boston’s first American male marathon winner since 1983 had to be Meb Keflezighi. He embodies all that is Boston Strong, and even had the names of last year’s victims written on his race bib, running in their honor. He was resilient in the face of tragedy in 2007, and the near collapse of his career before coming back to win New York in 2009. And he overcame the odds again this year, when the experts counted him out (where have we heard that before, Boston?)
In the end, it had to be Meb to break the American drought in Boston. For a city that overcame so much adversity, Meb Keflezighi was a perfect, and fitting champion.
Image via Nick DeLuca
