Big Pimpin' Up In NYC

To hell w/ building the suspense..............YES I sit here w/ my much coveted Millrose Games medal in my collection{technically it will be separate from my other medals just like my Nationals medals which I've always set aside from the collection to signify their importance},I think enough gigabytes have been taken up this week alone in stressing what it meant to me to have a Millrose Games medal to call my own.

For a day that technically was only 57 seconds long there is SO much to report so here goes,unlike last year there were NO travel worries to throw off my day,I met up w/ fellow B team mate Daryl at Trenton and we were joined on the New York bound train at Hamilton by Dave,Scott and Chuck.
I sheepishly recanted my tale of being"in the zone" to Daryl,when I gotten up in the morning around 8am,I was so focused that I misread the clock and began getting ready to leave at 9am not 10am,I know I didn't want a repeat of last year but jeez!!!!
We arrived at Penn Station at 1.50pm and headed over to the Affinia Hotel to pick up our credentials and meet up w/ the rest of the team.
Last year the team met Eamonn Coghlan there,I missed out due to my travel troubles so I was keeping an eye out just in case he showed up this year......
As we stood around talking amongst ourselves Bernard Lagat came over and said hello,I've met Bernard b4 and he's just that personable,he was happy to shoot the breeze w/ us and we were more than happy to reciprocate,somebody joked that Chuck should give him an application form for the club.....hey in a few years he'd be eligible for Masters track!!!!
I told the would be"President Of The Boards"I had bittersweet feelings towards this evening,as Eamonn's biggest fan I was sorry to see his record of seven Wanamaker Miles go,but if someone had to take it I couldn't think of a more worthy miler than Bernard,a feeling I felt Eamonn shared,Bernard thanked me for that,after all I know a little something about records being broken recently.

At 3pm we made our way over to Madison Square Garden, we had roughly an hour and 20 minutes to warm up,stretch and get ready,there isn't a great deal of room at MSG but as "old pros" at this we've found the space it takes to do that and b4 no time had elapsed the final call for Men's Masters 4x400m relay went out,this was it.
As if there wasn't enough drama now as we waited in the holding paddock it looked like only four of the five teams would run,Central Park had only two of their four athletes and we were being lead out to the track,their foursome only just managed to take their places as the lead off legs were called to the starting line.
I had been at pains to convey to my fellow B teamers that we could get third and medal here,from the time the B team idea had been launched two and a half weeks ago I had believed in my heart of hearts that we could beat Mass Velocity,I just had to convince Nick D,Daryl and Dave likewise,judging from the way Nick D lead off my words had not fallen on deaf ears!!!

Nick D did a steller job and lead through the opening lap b4 CPTC and our A team passed him,at the hand off on the back straight we were third,more than I might of dared to hope.
Daryl hung tough over the second leg,given the tight turns on this track I was worried DJ's height might hinder him.....no worries,DJ has been on our Penn Relays team for the last three years and knows what it takes to produce on the big stage,and ok so there's a difference between running in front of 40,000-50,000 at Penn and maybe only a few hundred at Millrose,however is there a bigger stage than Madison Square Garden and the Millrose Games?
As the lead two teams of CPTC and GPTC A began to distance themselves from the field Dave took the baton from Daryl and began the third leg,rewinding slightly Shore AC's lead off had pulled a hamstring on the opening lap and effectively taken them out of contention,and as each leg passed we distanced ourselves from Mass Velocity,were my dreams about to become reality?

As Dave made his way up the home straight I took my place on the outside lanes of the track,the anchor legs of CPTC and GPTC A had taken off and now as a strong finishing Dave drew closer to the final exchange zone I began to lead him out b4 taking the baton,given Dave's height and the fact our exchange was on the turn there was a slight reach issue as we made the exchange...baton in hand,transition from left hand to right successfully negotiated I set off down the back straight,who knows if I'll EVER get this chance again not only to run here but also medal.
I had no idea where the Mass Velocity anchor leg was,I couldn't hear footsteps and I couldn't look up at the jumbotron to gauge what my advantage was,b4 I knew it I was coming off the bottom turn w/ a lap to go,145m between me and my dream.
I could hear the announcer describe the battle for first between CPTC and GPTC A,talk about close GPTC A in 3.44.7,CPTC IN 3.44.9.,I came off the final turn and in an unbelievable sense of dajavu in reverse Shore AC'S anchor Bob Andrews was a few meters ahead of me,a role reversal from 08,despite the fact Bob still had a lap to go I made a point of passing him,another ghost exorcised and the memory of our 08 tussle which he and Shore AC prevailed by the slimest of margins 3.52.04-3.52.54.banished.

Third in 3.53.0. some seven seconds ahead of Mass Velocity's 4.00.2. ......we'd done it,four years after I'd more or less gatecrashed the party and gotten to run on the track b4 the meet began,and two years removed from a heartbreaking 4th place on our Millrose debut not only had I won my much desired Millrose Games medal but the club had won the Masters 4x400m relay too,needless to say there were alot of hugs,handshakes and high fives going on in the warm up area between us.
Following a round of photos and a cool down somebody,Ray I think collected the medals,when he handed me mine he said"it's w/ great pleasure I present you w/ your Millrose Games medal"Ray of all people knew what this meant to me and as I explained to Ray it was his comment post Swarthmore after he'd opted to run Millrose despite a wedding rehearsal dinner that nite in Chicago about"being in Chicago,having a few beers w/ my Millrose medal" that had lit a fire underneath me.
Post medal photo I sought out Ray and Scott{along w/ me we're the only still running survivors from 06,Chuck has since moved into an organisers role....and we thank him for that}and we shared a moment, as we huddled together as I thanked those guys for allowing me to run in 08 when I probably shouldn't have been allowed to and we rejoiced in the fact we'd all finally gotten our Millrose medals,gold for Ray and Scott,bronze for me.

The feelgood factor didn't end w/ the men,our women's relay just missed out on a medal in their race but had broken the W50 American Record,the third time they've broken an American Record in 10 months.
W/ everyone heading off in different directions there were only a handful of us left to actually watch the Millrose Games,I'm a fan of track and field as well as a participant so I was planning to stick around,and providing the meet went off on schedule stick around to the end,the Wanamaker Mile.
As I sat beyond the finish line I couldn't believe my eyes,having seen Eamonn introduced to the crowd along w/ Ray Flynn,Marcus O Sullivan and Jim Ryan I thought I might've missed my chance to talk to him.......some 20 meters away Eamonn sat to watch the races,this was too good to be true.
Ever the Boy Scout,I'd brought Eamonn's biography w/ me....just in case,I quickly made my way over to my hero and asked if he would sign my copy of his book.
We shook hands and chatted for a few minutes,I explained to Eamonn how great his influence was upon me,he was the reason why I wanted to run here as I proudly showed him my medal Eamonn wrote on the inside cover of his biography"To Kevin,I hope you enjoyed the book.Delighted the Wanamaker Mile inspired you.Best wishes Eamonn Coghlan"

WOW! Does it get any better?I don't think so,a Millrose medal and a signed copy of Chairman Of The Boards,Master Of The Mile,I even got to tell Eamonn of my pre big race ritual at Franklin Field,where I kiss the plaques of Jumbo Elliot,Ronnie Delaney,Marcus and Eamonn for good luck,just as I did post 8x200m repeats on Wednesday.
So perhaps it was a fitting end to the evening that Bernard Lagat won his eighth Wanamaker Mile to overtake Eamonn,Bernard may now be the President Of The Boards,but Eamonn will FOREVER be the Chairman,and me,I'm just the kid from South East London who saw his dreams come true at the greatest sporting venue in the world.................Big Pimpin' Up In NYC indeed!