USATF Olympic Trials Press TeleConference: Men's Trials NY, Women's Boston

Wejo,

Thanks.

Can you perhaps provide live feed for the Mens and womens 10,000.

pleeeeeeeeeeease

For the past 3 months we have been told that the delay in an announcement was the fault of the USOC. Now when they make the announcement New York can not give us the eact course or even what day the event is going to be run. It sounds like the delay was New York trying to get their shit together.

I take it that they are not running the same course or the same day because of sponsor conflicts, either for the sponsored athletes or USATF/USOC?

We have received what we to believe to be reliable information that the 2008 US Men's Olympic Marathon trials will be held in NYC in the fall of next year as has been widely anticipated.

The unanticipated news is that the separate men's trial race will apparently be held on Sunday in the morning before the traditional ING NYC Marathon on the traditional NYC marathon course. The NYC bid to host the trials discussed having the trials on the Friday before the NYC marathon on a loop course in Central Park but apparently that idea has lost favor.

By having a separate men's trials race on Sunday, everything will be in place to ensure that the race is carried on live local TV in NY. The professional women's race is slated to start at 9:35 on Sunday and we believe the men's Olympic trials race will start much early around 7:15 or so, perhaps so that it will finish before the women start the traditional NYC Marathon.

The official announcement of the Trials site will come this Thursday in Indianapolis.

*******Kimosabe speak with forked tongue****************

As we speculated here on the board about 347 times----- a loop course in Central Park the friday before the NYMarathon for the men and Boston for the ladies!!

Isn't central park going to be very hilly for a marathon? I can't think of a loop that wouldn't be somewhat obscene for them to run for 26 miles.

It'll probably be pretty much the same course they use for the MORE Marathon in NYC. Five loops of five miles and change would cut off the really dreadful hills at the north end of the park.

That's correct. The said it would be basically the USA 8K champs course in reverse, w/ the finish at Tavern on the Green.

I may have some involvement in measuring it, and certainly w/ pre-validating it. It will be nice to have the OT course within driving/train distance.

Wiil NYC and Boston put on races over these courses during the next 16 months.Might be cool to get your Q on the Trials course.

JimG wrote:

I may have some involvement in measuring it, and certainly w/ pre-validating it. It will be nice to have the OT course within driving/train distance.

Please forgive the noob question JimG, but are you a NYRRC official and what does this pre-validation entail?

I ain't Jim but I know the measurement terms. Pre-validation means to measure a course before raceday by somebody that didn't originally measure the course. I'm not sure how Jim could be part of the original measurement & be a pre-validator...conflict of interest. The pre-val is done to ensure the course is long enough.

Thanks...you certify a course

then you prevaladate it

(then the race is run)

then I would imagine you post-validate it

and each group to do these must be unique.

4 loops in downtown Boston? I don't get it.

JimG is the famous editor of Running Times and a course measurement guru... unbiased 3rd party to validate the measurement

scotth wrote:

I ain't Jim but I know the measurement terms. Pre-validation means to measure a course before raceday by somebody that didn't originally measure the course. I'm not sure how Jim could be part of the original measurement & be a pre-validator...conflict of interest. The pre-val is done to ensure the course is long enough.

If he measured the course for the 8K then validated it for the marathon, it would be two different events. No conflict there as I can see it.