By Joseph Hoyt
Chasing the rabbit was never a part of Alysia Montano’s race plan.
Instead, the seven-time U.S. champion ran her race, jumped out early – in front of everyone except Kendra Chambers, the race’s pace-setter – and never looked back, winning the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, .80 seconds at Friday night’s Prefontaine Classic.
“You run your race regardless,” Montano said regarding the pace of the race. “People rely so much on rabbits, but I think, ‘What have you been doing at practice this entire time? Would you not be able to race 800 meters without a rabbit?’ That’s not their job to do it for you specifically.”
Kate Grace finished second in 2:01.20 while former Oregon distance runner Laura Roesler came in seventh in 2:02.30.
When the runners broke the stagger and jockeyed for the inside, Montano took the lead. Being the one the rest of the runners were chasing was the plan.
“I like going out quick and holding on,” Montano said. “That’s what I’ve trained myself to do and that’s what I want to do.”
Grace came in with a different strategy. Depending on her position, she had two options for when she would make her move and burst toward the front of the race: She wanted to have a more gradual speed increase, starting with around 300 meters left, or she wanted to use Hayward Field’s Bowerman curve as a slingshot on the final stretch.
When Grace hit the 300-meter mark, she wasn’t in optimal position to make a move. So, she elected for option No. 2, using the final curve to get outside and climb toward the front.
Grace’s timing was good enough to take second, but not enough to surpass Montano.
“I felt like I was closing on (Montano), but I just didn’t do it soon enough,” Grace said. “She was still running pretty strong, but I did feel like I was closing the gap. Maybe if it had been a 900 race or something, I don’t know.”
Roesler said the fast pace of Friday’s race was a good learning experience in preparation for the U.S. Olympic Trials starting July 1 at Hayward Field.
“I just felt really tired the whole way,” Roesler said. “I didn’t really stick my nose in it. They just went out really hard, ya know?”
After the win, Montano took her victory lap, stopping to sign autographs for every fan who asked for one. She estimates she signed about 100, using a quick flick of her wrist to go from one fan to the next. Before she was finished, though, she’d add her signature mark: an illustrated daisy to dot the “i” in her name – the same type of flower pinned to her hair throughout her winning race.
“This crowd is always so awesome, so I tried to get everyone their autograph,” she said. “Everyone who asks for an autograph deserves one.”
Montano said that she’d never be seen racing without a flower in her hair. After the race, however, she always looks to give the flower to a fan. Tonight’s lucky fan had a fitting connection to the winner.
“I gave it to a little girl named Rose. Hello? Rose had to have my flower,” Montano said. “It was so fitting.”
Montano’s relationship with the fans is mutually beneficial. At the age of 30, she’s discovered there is more to racing than crossing the finish line first, and the fans are the ones who helped her discover it.
“For me now if I don’t make the (U.S. Olympic) team and I don’t win, I know I’m bigger than the two laps,” she said. “It’s changed me in that way, in terms of my influence on other people and their influence on me. It’s cyclical.”
