We hope everyone tuned in to at least ‘some’ kind of Olympic Trials as we’re so addicted that we had to be there LIVE! Shanna and Morgan headed north to Eugene, OR (nicknamed Track Town, USA) to watch the meet, party and mingle with the stars of Track and Field. The Trials were held at historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon which has an electric atmosphere that inspires incredible performances. You must experience this in person during your lifetime!
Morgan arrived in Eugene first on Tuesday, giving her a 7-day stretch for non-stop adventure which began with a proposal from Sergio, her boyfriend of 7 years!!! The two met running in college so it was fitting that he proposed on the world-famous “Pre’s Trail.” The two remained the talk of Track Town throughout the Trials and you can read Morgan’s recap of the “Pure Guts Engagement” on her blog “Running [Dharma] Bums” here.
Wednesday afternoon Morgan was on special assignment for SMACK! Media clients RockTape and SHEEX. She hand delivered goodies and Good Luck notes to the RockTape Rock Stars Damu Cherry, Tiffany Williams and Lashinda Demus who went on to win the Women’s 400 Hurdles and will represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in London! Morgan also got some killer pictures and interviews with athletes so stay tuned!
Morgan and Olympic Trials Champion Rock Star Lashinda Demus
The lovely Rock Star Damu Cherry and the fast ladies of Star Athletics
Morgan interviewing the Rock Stars!
Morgan also met with SHEEX Sleep Ambassador, Hyleas Fountain, the day before her Heptathlon competition. Hyleas said she cannot travel without her SHEEX which help her sleep and perform better. Her SHEEX certainly worked their magic because Hyleas won the Heptathlon and will also represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in London!
The SMACKANISTAS could not be separated for long and on Friday they got together for an “easy” hour run (at sub-7 minute pace) and a huge breakfast at Off the Waffle (Bacon and Goat Cheese with Maple Syrup–it’s really good)! Mason (President and CEO of Nuun Hydration) joined them and even jumped into their silly photo antics!
Is that the largest PUMA running shoe you’ve ever seen?
The ladies and Mason re-hydrated with some Nuun Maragaritas before heading to the Track Meet where their competitive (and silly) spirits kicked in. Nike hosted a self-powered treadmill contest outside of Hayward Field. To power the treadmill you had to run as fast as possible for 30 seconds and the treadmill would record the runners speed and distance. Apparently Morgan and Shanna both have the same “game face” but Shanna was the clear winner in this race!
The Official SMACKANISTA Game-Face
Shanna wins! Morgan needs more Nuun!
Let’s not forget that the point of being in Eugene was to watch the incredible Track Meet! These athletes train for four years to have a shot to make the one of the most talented Olympic Teams in the world! Highlights include Morgan’s friend Mohamed Trafeh leading the Men’s 5K for 10 laps, and watching her High School teammate Chaunte Lowe win the women’s High Jump to qualify for the Olympics! Shanna was pumped to watch good friend and CU teammate Dathan Ritzenhein place 3rd in the Men’s 10K to make the Olympic Team. It was a great week for Colorado alumni as two Lady Buffs (Univeristy of Colorado), Emma Coburn and Shalaya Kipp, also qualified for the Olympic Steeplechase, and another former Buff Jenny Simpson made her 2nd Olympic Team in the 1500!
After the races, the SMACKANISTAS joined Mason at the hottest party in town–the Totally Trials Fashion Show hosted by Oiselle, one of our favorite women’s running clothing lines! The event featured a red-carpet photo entrance, tasty treats and drinks, Picky Bars and Nuun on every table and was attended by Olympians (Alysia Montano), our running heroes (like Lauren Fleshman) some of our favorite bloggers (Sarah OUAL, Emily Sweats, Kevin Liao and Pat Price) and of course the entire Oiselle crew. The fashion show was incredible (watch it on youtube) and we can’t wait for their new line to come out.
The most ridiculously unbelievable part was that Oiselle had MC Hammer DJ’ing the party, along with his son Booby Hammer (yes that’s really his name)–the SMACKANISTAS and Mason danced late into the night!
While Shanna had to get back to Boulder on Saturday, Morgan hung out for one more day and joined the ladies of Team Oiselle, as well as her blogging friends Mollie de Turner and Jen Bingham, on a fun and rainy long run!
When the trials were over most who attended were tweeting with the hashtag #totallytrialshangover, which is a testament to how much fun the week was, how much running/partying/spectating were crammed into each 24 hour day and how sad we all are that this won’t happen again for another 4 years!