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Craig Engels was running out of chances to meet the 2020 Olympic standard in the 1500 meters, and one of his best opportunities—the competitive Diamond League series final—was almost within reach. Engels sat one spot below the meet’s qualification cutoff, and he had just one race left to move up: the Meeting de Paris. Many runners would have channeled the high stakes and ticking clock as extra motivation, and the cards were in Engels’s favor. He was training in nearby St. Moritz, Switzerland—just a few train rides away from Paris—and he was in the best shape of his life. It seemed all he had to do to make the final and presumably hit the standard was show up.
But when the runners approached the Paris track, Engels was 4,000 miles away, trying on a suit to go with his trademark mullet and mustache. He had skipped the race to attend a friend’s wedding in Nashville. As Engels posed for photos with the other groomsmen, Uganda’s Ronald Musagala crossed the Paris finish line, and Engels’s chance at the Diamond League final seemingly disappeared. “Everyone around me was like, ‘Dude, you’re dumb,’” Engels says. But was he? The following month, he ran in the race anyway—as an alternate after another athlete dropped out—torching his way to a 3:34.04 PR and beating the Olympic standard by almost a full second.
Many of the world’s top runners seem to let the sport take over every facet of their lives, often at the expense of something resembling a fully lived life. Galen Rupp, by all accounts—he hasn’t posted on social media in a decade—maintains a hyperfocused existence of marathons and family. McDonald’s enthusiast Usain Bolt cut the simple joys of chicken McNuggets out of his diet ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games. The modern elite athlete is synonymous with 4:00 a.m. wake-ups, few nights out, and no days off. Vacation—what’s that? And forget about risky hobbies like rock climbing and snowboarding. “They’re always saying ‘no’ to things,” says Engels, who broke his clavicle snowboarding in 2017, of most professional runners. At 27, he’s determined not to miss out on anything.
But Rupp and Bolt have something Engels doesn’t: Olympic medals. After a hot start to his 2021 season, a nightmare scenario at the Olympic Trials left Engels off the team headed for Tokyo. He was crushed. Thinking back to all the days off, the missed races, the goofing around, Engels began to question whether his commitment to run/life balance was holding him back. He always thought he could achieve everything he wanted in running without giving up the spontaneous vacations, the prolonged Instagram comedy bits, or his retro hairstyles. Those things made him unique. And if he sacrificed all those things at the altar of Olympic glory, would winning be worth it?  Craig Engels was running out of chances to meet the 2020 Olympic standard in the 1500 meters, and one of his best opportunities—the competitive Diamond League series final—was almost within reach. Engels sat one spot below the meet’s qualification cutoff, and he had just one race left to move up: the Meeting de Paris. Many runners would have channeled the high stakes and ticking clock as extra motivation, and the cards were in Engels’s favor. He was training in nearby St. Moritz, Switzerland—just a few train rides away from Paris—and he was in the best shape of his life. It seemed all he had to do to make the final and presumably hit the standard was show up.
But when the runners approached the Paris track, Engels was 4,000 miles away, trying on a suit to go with his trademark mullet and mustache. He had skipped the race to attend a friend’s wedding in Nashville. As Engels posed for photos with the other groomsmen, Uganda’s Ronald Musagala crossed the Paris finish line, and Engels’s chance at the Diamond League final seemingly disappeared. “Everyone around me was like, ‘Dude, you’re dumb,’” Engels says. But was he? The following month, he ran in the race anyway—as an alternate after another athlete dropped out—torching his way to a 3:34.04 PR and beating the Olympic standard by almost a full second.
Many of the world’s top runners seem to let the sport take over every facet of their lives, often at the expense of something resembling a fully lived life. Galen Rupp, by all accounts—he hasn’t posted on social media in a decade—maintains a hyperfocused existence of marathons and family. McDonald’s enthusiast Usain Bolt cut the simple joys of chicken McNuggets out of his diet ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games. The modern elite athlete is synonymous with 4:00 a.m. wake-ups, few nights out, and no days off. Vacation—what’s that? And forget about risky hobbies like rock climbing and snowboarding. “They’re always saying ‘no’ to things,” says Engels, who broke his clavicle snowboarding in 2017, of most professional runners. At 27, he’s determined not to miss out on anything.
But Rupp and Bolt have something Engels doesn’t: Olympic medals. After a hot start to his 2021 season, a nightmare scenario at the Olympic Trials left Engels off the team headed for Tokyo. He was crushed. Thinking back to all the days off, the missed races, the goofing around, Engels began to question whether his commitment to run/life balance was holding him back. He always thought he could achieve everything he wanted in running without giving up the spontaneous vacations, the prolonged Instagram comedy bits, or his retro hairstyles. Those things made him unique. And if he sacrificed all those things at the altar of Olympic glory, would winning be worth it? |
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