Noah Droddy’s first appearance on national TV is like one long photo bomb. He pops up at the starting line of Hayward Field, out of focus on NBC’s live broadcast of the men’s 10,000-meter final, his long black hair hanging over his shoulders as the cameras zoom toward America’s best distance runner, Galen Rupp. Droddy looks directly into the camera, wearing sepia-tinted sunglasses, a backwards blue hat, a black mustache, and the facial expression of someone about to ask, “Hey, man, could you pass me a beer?” He was called a “hero,” “majestic,” the “most American athlete to ever live.” It didn’t matter that Droddy, 25, from Boulder, Colorado, crossed the finish line in last place. Mostly people just wanted to know: Who the heck was this dude... Droddy was in fact sipping a Pabst Blue Ribbon two days after the race, inside a bar three blocks south of Hayward Field. “It’s the cheapest beer on the menu,” he said. “Plus, it’s hydrating.” ...like Noah Droddy. Runners who are a bit different, a bit rebellious, who maybe don’t belong. Who have sweet mustaches.
