Last Day

We made it! That was a long trip, but so much fun. I’m so glad we have Skype to see each other. That makes it bearable to be away. I’m on the plane now and am so excited to see everyone.

Last night was a great finish to the meet for the USA. We won both relays, got a silver in the 5k, had our first finalist in the 800m in 12 years (he nearly medaled, but couldn’t quite hold on in the last 30m), the gold medalist in the women’s long jump, a finalist in the javelin, three runners in the 5k final, and three runners in the women’s 1500m. That’s the best showing for the US in distance running in decades. I met lots of great people and had a good time in Berlin. After the meet, there was a closing ceremony on the track that we all got to be in. I got two photos by the finish clock.

I tried going to church on Sunday morning, but got the notice in the picture here. The marathon course went right by the Tiergarten church and they had to cancel services. So, I wandered around the park until the marathon began. Kara Goucher got 10^th. That’s the best finish for an American in a really long time. She did that even with throwing up at mile 9.

At the airport, a lot of people asked for autographs. One of them asked me to sign the photo he had of me. It turns out it was a photo of Jeremy Wariner (silver medalist in the 400m). Other than the hair, I don’t really look like him. I also smile a lot more than he does. Yesterday, someone near the hotel ran after me as I was heading to the train station. He was calling out, “Mr Hardee!” I had to disappoint him when I told him I was not him (gold medalist in the decathlon). He’s up in first class on this flight and if you saw us together, you would realize could look a little similar if I was 5 inches taller and had 70 pounds more of muscle.

Berlin was a great place to see. There is so much history there. It’s strange to walk around seeing damage from the war in the churches, remnants of the wall, the concentration camp and then to see how different the country is today. The German’s have done a good job memorializing with respect. The confusion and lack of love for people because of religion or race is not evident anymore. I really enjoyed being with the Berliners and seeing how much they enjoy life now.