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By Allie Hansen

As Alex Taylor crossed the finish line at the 2018 California International Marathon, he turned to see his finishing time. Frustration washed over him. Taylor had missed the qualifying time for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials  - Marathon by only nine seconds, finishing at 2:19:09. Nine seconds between him and a ten-year goal. 

When Taylor traveled to Minnesota in June 2019 to attempt to qualify again at Grandma’s Marathon, his life had changed significantly. His wife, Amy, had given birth to the couple’s second child just two and a half months before the race. Despite the challenges of trying to train while caring for a newborn, everything came together for Taylor on race day. 

“When I was able to speed up and not slow down when I hit mile 23, I think I knew that I might qualify,” Taylor said. “It was really cool because I finished the race really strong. The fact that it took a ridiculously long time to happen made it more special.” 

The 40-year-old Taylor has faced several setbacks throughout his career. In 2013, Taylor got a hamstring injury where he was set back for around a year and a half. He later got a sacral stress fracture in his spine in 2015. The injury hindered his training for months. 

“I had to resume training at a lower place in terms of mileage and effort,” Taylor said. “I had to work to gradually get back into higher mileage and even then I was still slower than I was before which took some time getting around.”

While facing an injury is hard enough, injuries also take a toll on runners’ social lives. Taking time off from running to heal means taking time off from friends. 

“Most of our communication and interaction is when you’re running,” Boston Athletic Association teammate Brian Harvey said. “So when you are injured, you actually end up not communicating a lot with your friends. So it makes it even harder. Because not only are you not doing the thing that you love, which is running, but you also don’t have as much interaction with your friends.”

Fortunately for Taylor's running career, he had access to an AlterG anti-gravity treadmill and a swimming pool he could use to get back into shape without irritating his stress fracture. With this training and several visits to a physical therapist, Taylor eventually overcame his injury and currently has no issues with it anymore. 

Taylor is now devoting his time to training for the trials. Unlike many other runners, he only runs around 85 miles a week. He has found that running less mileage is essential to prevent injuries at his age. He is aware that the race in Atlanta will bring challenges, but he has proven in the past that he knows how to overcome obstacles. 

“No marathon ever goes exactly perfect,” Taylor said. “But the training for this one seems to be a lot easier so far and I haven’t had any injuries so it seems to be going well.”

Leading up to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Marathon, Atlanta Track Club partnered with the Grady Sports Media program at the University of Georgia to profile some of the competitors in the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials. The authors of these stories are undergraduate students enrolled in the program and have been lightly edited by the Club. See all of the stories at https://www.atlanta2020trials.com/news/uga-trials-project.