Ed Eyestone is not one for hyperbole. A cleareyed coach and two-time Olympian, he will casually describe his athletes’ 23-mile training runs in a way that makes it sound as if they had gone for brisk walks. He understands that hard training is a part of the profession and that marathons are inherently challenging, so why oversell the struggle? But ask him about the marathon course at the Paris Olympics, and Eyestone speaks with a sort of reverence that borders on fear. “This marathon,” he said, “will have a debris field in the final miles.”Over the past two weeks, thousands of Olympians have tackled the seemingly impossible.

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Persons: Ed Eyestone, ”, “ Organizations: Paris Olympics