Galen Rupp, Saturday's Olympic trials marathon in Los Angeles was something of a coronation, a race that allowed America's best distance runner to conquer the one distance he had never tried.
And he appeared to do it without breaking a sweat or into a smile, breezing through the record heat to win easily in two hours 11 minutes and 12 seconds.
For Meb Keflezighi, America's most experienced, decorated and seemingly happiest marathoner, the race was a celebration. In gutting out a second-place finish in 2:12:20, he became the country's first three-time Olympian in the event, an accomplishment he celebrated by dashing the final 200 yards carrying an American flag and wearing a wide smile.
"This," the former UCLA runner said, "was a victory lap for me.
Jared Ward, who finished third in the 2015 L.A. Marathon, grabbed the third Olympic berth in 2:13:00.
Amy Cragg (2:28:20), Desiree Linden (2:28:54) and Shalane Flanagan(2:29:19), the three fastest qualifiers, were the top three finishers in the women's race. For Flanagan and Linden, who went 1-2 in the 2012 trials, this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will mark their second as U.S. teammates.
The temperature was 66 degrees when the mixed field of 366 runners approached the starting line at Gilbert Lindsay Plaza near Staples Center, making the race the hottest in U.S. trials history. And it would be 12 degrees warmer by the finish.
But Rupp didn't seem to notice, growing stronger the deeper he got into his first marathon.
"In the beginning of the race, I was just trying to conserve as much of my energy as possible," said Rupp, the second man to win the U.S. Olympic trials marathon in his debut at the distance. "I didn't know what to expect those last few miles.
"Everybody I talked to told me it's going to feel easy at the start. But it's going to hit you at some point and it's going to hit you like a ton of bricks."
The bricks never came.
Rupp was running comfortably just off the lead when Tyler Pennel began to push the pace midway through the third of four six-mile loops around the USC campus and Exposition Park. And when Rupp and Keflezighi were the only two runners to cover the move, the crowded pack began to break up.
"Tyler made that race," Keflezighi said.
A short time later it was Pennel who fell off when Rupp lowered the hammer, covering three of the next five miles in 4:47. The final burst, in the 23rd mile, was the one that broke Keflezighi.
While the warm weather didn't seem to bother Rupp, it almost wrecked Flanagan's day.
She and Cragg train together in Portland, Ore., where Rupp also lives, and for most of the race they fed off one another. Dressed identically in sunglasses, white visors and running tops, black Nike shorts and white shoes, they ran side-by-side for the first 24 miles, with Flanagan helping Cragg through a rough patch in the middle of the race when the pair pulled away.
So when Flanagan began to fade, needing more than 12 minutes to cover the 24th and 25th miles, Cragg tried to return the favor.
"I asked her, 'Hey, are you OK? And she was like, 'No, I'm not,'" said Cragg, who noticed Flanagan's face was bright red as the two women approached the final aid station. "There were a couple of times where she [said], 'I'm not sure I can do this.'"
With Linden closing quickly, Cragg eventually had to leave her partner. A mile later, as she approached the finish, she pulled her visor off and waved to the cheering crowd.
She then wrapped an American flag around her shoulders and waited for Flanagan, who staggered across the line and collapsed into her arms before being taken away in a wheelchair.
"I worked so hard the last four years to move up one spot," said Cragg, who actually improved three places after missing the U.S. team by finishing fourth in the 2012 trials.
For Keflezighi, the race and its aftermath proved emotional.
"I had a few issues going on," said Keflezighi, who had cramps early in the race then felt like he was going to throw up in the final miles. He said he was also thinking about a woman he described as his "second mother" who is in failing health and a close friend in Dallas whose infant son recently underwent heart surgery.
"You just draw energy and be the best that you can and dig deep," he said.
Two hours later Keflezighi was brought to tears when his new teammates were asked at the post-race news conference what they thought of the four-time Olympian, at 40 the oldest American to qualify for the Games' marathon.
"Meb is an incredible athlete. And that pales in comparison to how wonderful a person he is," said Cragg, a former training partner.
"Meb," Linden added, "is the epitome of a hero. He's what we strive to be."
Although the biggest prize the runners were chasing was a seat on the U.S. charter flight to Brazil, they also picked up some spending money Saturday, with the winners earning $80,000 each from a record purse of $600,000. Second place was worth $65,000, $10,000 more than third.
But Keflezighi said he felt rich even before they handed him the check.
"I'm more than thrilled to be on the team," he said, breaking into another wide smile. "The fourth time's the charm."
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