Jordan Chavez

I love to drive, it clears my mind, allows me to be alone, and challenges me to not only be comfortable with myself but to push through some discomfort in order to get where I am going. That might be an hyperbole of sorts but nevertheless I like to drive and I have done a lot of it this summer. Nearly 8,000 miles a lot. From Virginia to Texas, Texas to Colorado, Colorado to Texas, Texas back to Colorado, Colorado back to Texas, Texas to Colorado again, then to Idaho, and to Oregon, up to Seattle, back to Oregon, and the list goes on until I find myself back home in Southlake, Texas. Most of these drives were extremely spontaneous, but this specific one was planned months before. For a runner, there is no greater stage than the Olympics, and I wanted to be there to witness the moments when these athletes made it to that stage.

The Olympic Trials were being held in Eugene, Oregon — TackTown USA. Hayward Field is known across the globe to runners, fans, and possibly the casual sports fan. It is a shrine to track and field in the United States, and was really the epicenter of the running movement in the United States on every level fro

m jogger to Olympic athlete. So, seeing as there were spots to Rio on the line and everyone who is anyone in the track and field world would be there, I felt compelled to find my way to Eugene. I be

gan on my way on July 5th, leaving from a small town in Idaho nestled up against the mighty Teton mountains. At this point the trials had already been in motion for a nearly 6 days, but most of the early events would be preliminaries, and the final 4 days of competition myself and my two good friends

Justin and Brandon would witness would be filled with drama.

There isn’t too much to say about these photos I am about to include, I will let you experience each one for yourself. The reason I love these particular photos so much is because a lot of them show emotions in such stark contrast. It is real sobering feeling you have when you witness these races. You feel pure joy for those who accomplish their lifelong goals, but it almost makes you guilty to feel such emotion when you glance over and see someone completely crushed when so many years of work came down to just fractions of a second. Thankfully, I was blessed to see all of these moments from the best seat in the house: the track (and occasionally the infield). I hope you enjoy these photos and any feedback, good or bad, is appreciated.