The year 2016 is finally here, the year that so many athletes have been patiently training for. It has been no different for me. Since the 2012 Olympics, I have set my eyes on returning to the Olympics and racing the marathon there. However, the "Road to Rio" hasn't been an easy road. The marathon not only requires a tremendous amount of work, but also a lot of planning, preparation, execution and a little luck. My campaign to getting back to the Olympics started in May of 2013 at thr Mass General Hospital when I went into surgery to remove a mass in my knee that had been bothering me since my first marathon in 2011. The surgery went well, but the recovery from it took many twists and turns along the way. There were some good days but some very bad days that made me question if I'd ever return to running a marathon again. I remember doing a long run with occasional training friends Eric Ashe and Brian Harvey and mentioning that I was at ease with never running a ma