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Rio de Janeiro • It doesn't matter how many times he's told the story. It's not old, and to Jared Ward, it never will be. Decked out in his customized Ralph Lauren garb at the Opening Ceremony on Aug. 5, Ward looked on as Team USA athletes lined up to ask stars of the U.S. men's basketball team for a selfie.
The 27-year-old former BYU cross-country and track star didn't ask for that. When Kevin Durant, the newly minted member of the Golden State Warriors, walked by, the American marathoner from Kaysville balled up his hand and raised it toward Durant's 6-foot-11 frame.
"Can I get a fist bump?" Ward asked.
Durant obliged, and complimented Ward, who doubles as an adjunct statistics professor, on his signature mustache. After another U.S. athlete approached Durant for a selfie, the NBA superstar located Ward once again. "I really like that 'stache," Durant said.
"Made my day," Ward said, still beaming from that experience a week later.
Inside the Olympic Village, where athletes still eagerly wait to represent their countries' colors, Ward casually strolls along, easily blending in with the crowd. Sporting an ocean-blue top with the Team USA emblem over his heart, Ward's wait is among the most torturous. The men's Olympic marathon is the morning of the Closing Ceremony on Aug. 21. Only competitors in the men's mountain bike event must sit idle as long.
Turns out, the waiting game is its own marathon.
Ward arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 4, 17 days before his scheduled competition. His arrival was so early that, other than the throw-away day of travel, Ward's training program continued here in the environment where he'll compete for a medal. It's all new territory for the Davis High product. The farthest he has ever traveled to run a marathon was in Chicago.
There are inherent luxuries of arriving early. Ward has been able to figure out the rest and recovery process here, plus nailing down his pre-race diet. In a foreign country, he said, that's more important than the casual observer would guess. And Ward admits "the allure" of the Opening Ceremony was just too enticing to pass up.
His race preparation was customary up until Saturday. Ward logged his usual 120 miles over six runs during the week. The first run ranges from 12-14 miles, while the second, what he calls a "recovery run," is six to eight miles. If he wasn't taking laps around the track surrounding the Olympic Village — "you do have to weave through the traffic," he said — he took an hourlong bus ride to train at a track on a Brazilian naval base near Flamengo Bay with BYU coach Ed Eyestone.
The training runs have been a breeze. It's figuring out what to do for the next five days that's eating at Ward. At home, he's never off the clock trying to keep up with 4-year-old son Paul and 2-year-old daughter Ellie. He's missing wife Erica, who is pregnant with their third child and due in a few weeks. She also serves as his massage therapist.
"It feels different to not have a kid running around my legs or wanting to be held," he said.
Ward says his plan for the rest of the week includes finishing the two books he brought with him — although he admits he probably should've packed more — watching Olympic events on the TV in his apartment in the village and chowing down on a peanut butter sandwich, preferably while chatting with Erica and the kids on FaceTime. As for training? This week it's mostly rest.
And luckily, he's taking in plenty of events with his athlete access in Rio.
Ward caught USA basketball's opening win over China. He took in fencing and rugby. He saw American diving tandem Sam Dorman and Mike Hixon win silver. His highlight was attending a Brazil vs. Germany handball match. The feverish home crowd caused the stands to bounce. Upon walking out of the arena, it took some time for his hearing to return.
Ward also saw Olympic history on Friday: Another world recored shattered by American swimmer Katie Ledecky in the 800-meter, and an upset of Michael Phelps in the men's 100-meter butterfly, the first time Phelps hasn't won gold in that event since 2000.
The women's Olympic marathon on Sunday allowed Ward to study the course a week before it's his time to lace up his running shoes. The Olympic marathon on Aug. 21 will be just his fifth 26.2-mile competitive run. Ward said nerves have never been a huge issue for him. In fact, there have been races where he wanted to be more anxious in order to try and harness that energy properly.
"The gun goes off — the race is the same," he said. "Some obvious differences are that we're at the Olympic Games, and there's more hype and more media and more invested in it. You mess this one up and you have to wait four years to have your chance to try and do it again. There's some inherent more pressures there, and it'll be interesting to experience. I really don't know what it's going to feel like."
Although Erica and the kids won't be attending, Ward will have a support crew in Rio. His parents will be along the course, as well as two former BYU teammates. A former neighbor in Provo has made the trek down. An uncle from Texas, too.
Ward's wait is nearing its end. He won't be attending any events the 48 hours before his race. He'll be in his apartment, kicking back, probably with a peanut butter sandwich in hand, anticipating the biggest race of his life.
Homeward bound on Aug. 23, Ward already has his post-run decompression spot picked out.
"I might need to go down to one of those beautiful beaches and just hang out for a minute," he said. "These legs after the marathon, they'll be looking for a nice spot on the beach to lay down, I think."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Olympic marathon man
Jared Ward
Age • 27
Sport • Marathon
Hometown • Kaysville
High school • Davis High School
College • BYU
Running career • Four-time All-American at BYU (outdoor 10,000 meters twice, cross country, 5,000 meters). Chicago Marathon, 2013 (2:16:17), Twin Cities Marathon, 2014 (2:14:00), L.A. Marathon, 2015 (2:12:56), U.S. Olympic Team Trials, 2016 (2:13:00)
Men's marathon in Rio • Sunday, Aug. 21, final day of Rio Games