Korman: Over a year since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, I talked with Ray Flynn, former Irish track Olympian and current athletic manager and director, about how runners are navigating the changed landscape of their sport in the face of the pandemic.
Flynn: Now, competition wise, it stopped because obviously it got really bad. It’s taken a while to get back up to normal. So we started off small, where there were some competitions, there were no crowds allowed and the athletes all had to have negative PCRs before they could even go to the competition. So they tried to preserve a bubble, and actually it worked pretty well. It was pretty difficult, but I think that they- because of these strict protocols- it allowed for some competitions to take place. And I feel like in general, we came through it pretty well.
Korman: Of course the Olympics did go on this summer, but with very strict isolation practices in place. For example, athletes had to travel to Tokyo without their families and compete in empty stadiums. As preparations went underway to host the games in Tokyo in the middle of the pandemic, many spectators wondered if these strange circumstances might hinder the athletes mentally and emotionally, and therefore physically.
Flynn: Well, if you asked me that question before the games, I would’ve said it would be a huge challenge. But actually, human nature surprises all of us, and the athletes actually came through it just fine. The people that missed out were the spectators and the families, but the athletes themselves rose to the occasion and they performed admirably well and just as well as in any other Olympic game competition.
Flynn: So I feel like athletes who- for the most part- are good enough and qualify for the Olympic games in so many ways are so focused that they’re- believe it or not- they’re less about the ambiance of the crowds. I mean, I’m not trying to oversimplify it, but I think that they’re there to compete, and to be the best that they can be, and to be the best in the world, and qualify for the finals and win medals. And I think they’re less- they’re more concerned about achievement, and less about the crowds. That’s in my opinion. And that’s why I think it showed that the results were just as good and better as any previous Olympic games. So I would say, give them an A-plus in that regard. And it was a shame it would be more if you qualified for the Olympic games that your family couldn’t get to see you, and that was the sad part and the unfortunate part. But the athletes themselves did just great.
Korman: With the biggest global event finally reinstated, the running world is looking forward to getting back on track. At the time of this conversation, marathon season was in full swing here in Boston for the revised 2021 Boston Marathon, where the city anticipated the return of thousands of runners.
Flynn: We’ll have Chicago Marathon, a World Marathon Major, this Sunday, and the Boston Marathon on Monday. And I think in Chicago there will be 25 or 30 thousand and probably 20-something thousand in Boston. They’re lower numbers than before, but I feel like we’re working back up towards the optimal number that we can have in these competitions.
Flynn: When it comes to indoors, I’m actually the director of the Millrose Games in New York City for the last, since 2012. And we will have that competition, and it’ll be the 114th Millrose Games, it’s the oldest in the world. And the protocol at the Armory where we stage it in New York City will be vaccination only. It means that the crowds can only- even the people who buy tickets and the athletes- they will have to be vaccinated. So I feel like science is the answer, this is the way moving forward. And we will and should require everyone to be vaccinated, and hopefully there’ll be people getting booster shots by then. I think we’re on the other side of it, or we’re getting towards it. But safe protocols is the answer, and I think that’s how we do it.
Korman: For the everyday runner who likely will never see the inside of a professional track meet, the pandemic oversaw many people with nowhere else to go instead getting outside and taking up running.
Flynn: In hindsight, it’s a little bit magical because it forced people to stop and smell the roses, and reflect, and exercise and get their bodies maybe a little bit more healthy than they ever had before because nobody had any time. And COVID gave them the time to respite, and, you know, human nature- I keep going back to it- is resilient because we think we can’t survive these kind of things, but we did. The world didn’t stop. I mean it did, but it’s back.
Korman: Although most of these new runners probably won’t race competitively- let alone professionally- people like Flynn who have spent a lifetime in running welcome these happenstance newcomers into their sport. Reporting for Northeastern, I’m Karissa Korman.
KARISSA KORMAN 