USATF New England Grand Prix 2010

Bump

Slate C sucks because of the Bridge of Flowers race. Its a good race....but its not a good race as a NE Grand Prix race. Plus I am not sure I like the idea of splitting up the men and women for the 5k. I kind of like watching the women race down at Rhody.

I picked slate A and Baystate Marathon for a few reasons. I like the races better, they are spread out in the year, and no races right after the Boston marathon. The only other slate that looked good was slate B.

What? No Ollie Road Race?

I like slate D, Yankee Homecoming is one of my favorite races of the summer and Lone Gull sounds like a good race.

Of course I am no longer a USATF-NE member so I don't get a vote. This Grand Prix series is always great...I wish I still lived in New England.

Ollies?? I am glad they did not even bother to bid for the race. To many issues and this last year was the final straw when they screwed up the course and it was short.

There were no 5M/8k bids this year.

The Ollie race did not bid because the top end of the organization that runs the event is rethinking how the race should be part of their overall programs. The format of the 2010 race, if there is one, is not final, and they didn't want to bid without all details finalized.I'm amused at how bitter some comments on the 2009 race were (mostly from those who have not had the pleasure of putting on an event like that on a day like that in the city of Boston), forgetting the several thousand dollars in team and individual money that has come to competitors in the years it was a NE championship. Plus a pleasant venue and plenty of food and beverage.There were no other 5 mile races interested in bidding; fewer races want to throw lots of money at runners nowadays. Steve Vaitones

Falling Over wrote:

Ollies?? I am glad they did not even bother to bid for the race. To many issues and this last year was the final straw when they screwed up the course and it was short.

Steve,They screwed up the simplest part of the process...providing an accurate well marked course. the most important thing to almost every runner. Throwing out lots of money to competitors does not make up for these kinds of short comings. I find it sad that this is how races are valued...by how much money they can handout. Fewer races are willing to shell out the $600 to host a NE Grand Prix race. quote]Steve Vaitones wrote:The Ollie race did not bid because the top end of the organization that runs the event is rethinking how the race should be part of their overall programs. The format of the 2010 race, if there is one, is not final, and they didn't want to bid without all details finalized.I'm amused at how bitter some comments on the 2009 race were (mostly from those who have not had the pleasure of putting on an event like that on a day like that in the city of Boston), forgetting the several thousand dollars in team and individual money that has come to competitors in the years it was a NE championship. Plus a pleasant venue and plenty of food and beverage.There were no other 5 mile races interested in bidding; fewer races want to throw lots of money at runners nowadays. Steve Vaitones

Falling Over wrote:

Ollies?? I am glad they did not even bother to bid for the race. To many issues and this last year was the final straw when they screwed up the course and it was short.

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I missed the Ollie Road Race for the first time in many years this year. I always had a great time at this event and always a loaded field. It is a shame that there isn't a 5 miler in the mix.

I will be up in MA this coming summer and hope to run Stowe 8 miler and Yankee Homecoming. Never run Stowe but have heard great things.

I like slate C and Bay State and the banquet at the end of the season. I think it would be like the Academy Awards—Steve Vaitones in a tuxedo.

Tom

It's tough to use "cash out" as a point in favor of a GP race, because while it does help the elite types, 90%+ of the runners aren't going to see that. Unless you're one of the Moulton bros, Nate Jenkins, or Pat Tarpy and a team like BAA "A" you're probably not running for the money.

What people like in Grand Prix races.

1. Easy in and out travel to the race

2. Adequate parking

3. Adequate bathroom facilities

4. A solid course (see neg points about Bridge of Flowers), it doesn't have to be pancake flat, but needs to avoid dirt roads and crazy features.

5. Nicely positioned around bad weather times. New Bedford's really the earliest you can go, summer is hit or miss.

6. Nicely positioned around major local non grand prix events. (Boston, Falmouth, a little less likely to schedule around Chicago or NYC)

7. Not too close to each other. No 3 races in 4 week bunches...just too tough to schedule.

8. Not on holidays.

others value food and beer. but usually my stomach is messed up, so bagels and bananas are fine for me.

I tried to vote using my USATF membership number but it said this as a response:

You must be a member of the USATF New England Association in order to view this page.

what does this mean? how do i join this? how many buckaroos and ill pay?

Go here to join:

http://www.usatfne.org

pull down products and services.

Speaking of money, I put a high value on team prize money because we use that to fund our club activities and not just divide the money among scorers. Our GBTC philosophy is that everyone is a member of the team, not just the scorers, so should benefit by the team's success.

On the other hand a $200 pay day for a good runner is not a life-style changer.

So I like the $750 for first place in the Bay State Marathon for our winning women's team and the $250 for the men. $1000 channeled from a big race to a club makes a big difference in what the club can do for its members and its part in promoting the sport.

So vote, and consider slate C.

Tom

We really are so spoiled in New England at the club level. That is often overlooked by individuals when they are upset about inaccurate courses, races being too close together, etc. The fact that we have such a competitive club system that allows ANYBODY to be a member of a club, and feel part of that comraderie, competition, and opportunities is tough to find in other parts of the country. We have a Grand Prix series for cross country, roads, and some spectacular indoor and outdoor all-comers meets that attract people from all over. No system is perfect, but we really have a good thing going here with USATF-NE and the clubs that embody the membership.

I certainly agree that we have a good thing going in New England, but there is a reason. New England has been doing this for longer than any other part of the country.

Tom

Derderian wrote:

I certainly agree that we have a good thing going in New England, but there is a reason. New England has been doing this for longer than any other part of the country.

Tom

Tom, being a Western Mass. resident and competitor, I appreciate your endorsement of Slate C...it spreads things out around New England a bit better than some of the other slates. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted most of them in your backyard, so some props to our end of the Commonwealth are appreciated.

A comment about Bridge of Flowers 10K - sure the hill is tough, but everyone faces the same challenges in the same race, any race. After the hill, though, you get to work a lot of elevation change in the other direction, i.e. down, for some miles to the finish. It's a nice feeling.

New England Grand Prix rocks!

The on-line voting is complete. Here are the results:

1. The Non-Marathon Slate C received the most votes. That slate consisted of:

Jones Group Realtors 10 Mile, 10M, Amherst MA, Sun, Feb. 28, 11:00 AM

New Bedford Half Marathon, 13.1M, New Bedford MA, Sun., Mar 21, 11:00 AM

Bedford Rotary Memorial 12K,12K , Bedford NH, Sat., May 22, 9:00 AM

Rhody 5K (MEN ONLY) ,5K ,Lincoln RI , Sun., June 6, 9:30 AM

Stowe 8 Miler, 8M, Stowe VT, Sun., July 18, 9:00 AM

Bridge of Flowers 10K , 10K , Shelburne Falls MA, Sat., August 14, 9:00 AM

Providence Ronald McDonald House Women's Classic (WOMEN ONLY), 5K, Providence RI, Sun, Oct. 3, 10:00 AM

2. The Marathon selected was the BayState Marathon, Lowell MA, Sun., Oct. 17, 8:00 AM

3. Survey Question: 54% voted for having an awards banquet and 46% voted against.

And once again my least favorite race of all time, the Rhody, makes the list...

Oh well. I love the Jones race. It would have been nice ot have something new from New Bedford (which has been in the grand prix 6 of the past 7 years) but it's a good race.

Joe, our committee had only the races that bid to work with. There are so many variables of race distance, time of year, space between races, but still only 17 races to choose among. But these will be the more highly contested races in New England in 2010.

But there are so many races an only a small number designated as quality competitions by the Grand Prix brand that there might be a need for a second designation, but not a series, such as "Silver" or "AAA" rated races.

Maybe some people in the rest of the country don't realize that on some weekends a runner can choose among 30 races in NE but with no way to compare them to each other except perhaps by looking at the previous year's results.

Tom