"It feels great...This was the point of training. I knew I had the ability.... We did it!" photo courtesy victah sailer

After spending more than two weeks in Europe, including two trips to London to work out the arrangements for next year's London Marathon, Khalid returned home. Sandra quickly went off to the Dominican Republic to visit her family for Thanksgiving and I found Khalid cleaning up the house when I arrived. The basement is back to normal now that repairs of the damage caused by Hurricane Floyd have been completed. The thing that struck me most about talking with Khalid was that one could never tell that he was now the world record holder in the marathon.

He gave me the following chronology of his day at the Chicago Marathon:
Khalid woke up about 2 hours and 15 minutes before the race and went for a "little jog." First about 3 minutes at about 10 minute pace, then a little stretching. He repeated that sequence 3 or 4 times and returned to the hotel. He ate a plain bagel and had a few sips of black coffee and then put on the clothes that he had laid out previously. About 20 minutes before the race, he left the hotel and ran easily to the start, taking about 4 minutes to get there. The wheelchair race started just after he arrived and then there was about 7 minutes until the main start of the marathon. The temperature was about 35 degrees and the wind chill factor was about 27 degrees, not running weather, according to Khalid. He had worn gloves during the warm up and was too cold to take them off. Where are they now? "In the house somewhere, they're nothing special." Except, of course, they are now part of that winning picture.

Due to the weather, the race started at a slower pace. The lead group, led by three rabbits, passed through the half way point just below 1:03, with Khalid a few seconds back. He was just trying to keep relaxed. When the pacers dropped out, the pace slowed a bit. Khalid had been confused about the whereabouts of Moses Tanui. Of course, Tanui, who was 30 seconds back of Khalid at the half marathon, is famous for his great comeback in Boston a few years back and Khalid also knew that two of the rabbits were Fila teammates of Tanui, noted for team tactics. At about 17 miles Khalid, looking around, saw Tanui just behind him and did a double take, which Khalid says you can see on the videotape. He thought to himself that now this was going to be a fun race. Tanui ran with the lead pack, which included last year's winner, Ondoro Osoro, for about 1/2 mile and then surged ahead. Khalid felt he could keep up with Tanui, but also felt that it was too early and there were some good runners in the pack with him, so he let him go.

One of the most interesting things Khalid told me was that after 20 miles he could no longer read the clocks at the mile markers because tearing from the cold wind blurred his vision. So while he knew from comments made by spectators that a record was possible, he ran those miles blind to the time. At about 22 miles he went after Tanui, and no one went with him. Gradually getting closer to him, he kept telling himself to relax. He felt more and more motivated as he closed the gap, seeing more of the blurred image he knew was Tanui. Spectators along the way were cheering wildly for him, motivating him even more, yelling the spread between him and Tanui. When he caught and passed Tanui with 1.5 miles to go, he did not accelerate, still concerned about Tanui's finishing ability, but kept his pace steady. He was feeling tightness in his calf and didn't want to take any chances. Khalid passed through the tunnel where Osoro had caught him the year before, careful because it was even darker than last year. He stayed steady through the two hills that lead toward the finish, and after the second longer hill was done, he knew he would win and came to the finish running as fast as he could. He could make out just the 2:05 on the clock and knew that he had broken the record. He and Sandra hugged and cried at the finish. This was a dream come true for them, hard work come to fruition.

When Khalid was telling me about reaching the end of the second hill and heading for the finish, I could feel the excitement in his voice. It made my adrenaline flow just hearing it. Anyone who has watched Khalid finish a race, as we have many times on ESPN, knows he is the most exciting runner in the last half mile of a race. My wife and I were at the New Haven 20K when Khalid was heading for what was at the time the fastest ever 20K run. We were about 600 meters from the end as he came by alone. As my wife says, it was like his feet never touched the ground - he was just gliding by.

Where are the clothes he was wearing?
As I mentioned, the gloves are in the house as well as one of the shoes (New Balance 110s, the ones he always wears.) The other autographed shoe and his New Balance uniform are in the Running Hall of Fame in Utica, New York. The shoe at home might join that group at some point.

Citizenship:
Things are looking up again after Charles Schumer got involved. But there is no important new information. The organizers of the London Marathon have graciously said that they would postpone Khalid's run there for a year if he did get his citizenship in time to run the trials in Pittsburgh.

What does Khalid drink while training and racing?
Well, here is that magic information you get from one of the world's best athletes only once in a long while. Water. Just water. Khalid says that when you get too concerned about what you need during a marathon, and then you don't get it, it will mess with your mind. He lost two of his bottles during the marathon due to the cold, which he says, left him with immobile hands and jaw during the race. But losing just water didn't faze him, as there was plenty of water along the course.

About the training leading up to Chicago:
Khalid felt that this year's training wasn't as good as last year, when he would run workout after workout faster than ever. This year he did more long runs, starting preparations a little earlier, about 4 months out. His favorite workout is the 12x1000 on the track.

Next year's races: 
Khalid is unclear at this point what races he would run prior to London in April, but a half-marathon in Europe about 4 weeks before the marathon is likely. He would then remain in Europe for the remainder of the marathon training. Khalid is looking forward to running the London Marathon. He feels it is one of the great marathons and an important one to win. He was disappointed last year when his injury kept him from the starting line. Starting December 8th, Khalid will be observing Ramadan. During this period, it is difficult to train properly and he won't think about racing until 2000.

Most importantly, some final comments from Khalid: 
I would like to thank God for guiding me through a safe training. My wife Sandra has been more supportive of me than I could have hoped for, especially during the harder times. When I was injured and depressed at the end of last year, she continued to encourage and support me and believed, as always, that I could break the record. The people at New Balance were the first to show their confidence in me and have been behind me through the ups and downs. My running partners and friends have been great. I would especially like to thank my fans. Through the discouraging times last year and early this year, I continued to received countless emails, wishing me well. Spectators at races give me so much of my strength. I understand that my running has been a source of inspiration for some and through God I hope I can continue to help all of my fans to be the best they can be. We are all part of this world record and I hope the future will bring more good things.