Olympic Marathon Trials drama - Orlando organizers say they'll only change start time if they are compensated to the tune of 700k

That $700k is an extraordinary claim that needs extraordinary proof.

Given the industry is filled with low lifes like Max "kickback" Seigel do not take anyone at their word.

Hey alternatively how much does Orlando lose if it's cancelled altogether, they should probably consider that.

Is that $700k a kickback from all the hotels in the area because they get a second night stay booked?

Imagine if they force it at noon anyway and because of the conditions we get lots of previous "unknowns" which actually would be really interesting for the sport

Hey remember Sarah Sellers at 2018 Boston, finished second to Des? Sarah really used that momentum and has done a great job with a 2:25 too so shuffling things around can't hurt for fresh faces.

If the local cops were told we need the roads closed from x to y time frame and they've made arrangements to do so and now the race wants roads closed from f to u time frame, couldn't the cops be pushing back on the LOC also?

I can't see how a marathon could say hey we want roads closed at this time but if the temps are too high and then this time. How would that fly? Too much behind the scenes stuff would have to happen on short notice.

Set the time and be done with it. A noon start is junk, but junk it is and it started to be junk when Sieg-hiel called it Orlando instead of Chattenooga.

I can see how a change in start times could be a big hassle for local organizers in terms of having to go and change all their permits and get all the vendors to agree to a different time frame. If the special events permitting is inflexible on start times, they may have to get all new permits, which would be a big hassle. For most vendors, a change in start times is not going to be a big deal as you are not going to have traffic control equipment, tents, stage, etc. swept up and sent to another location on the same day. But a good vendor contract would include a fee for time changes. I really doubt any sponsors would be dropping the event because it is going to start earlier. That would just be weird.

The $700k demand seems to be mostly a ploy to prevent the time change so the organizers don't have to do extra work. They should get some extra cash for the time involved in making the change, but $700k is just about like asking for USATF to pay twice for organizing costs.

And let's just cut to the chase. Houston needs to be the permanent home for the trials. Houston delivered a world class trials in 2012 and has hosted many outstanding US half championships. It is centrally located with a huge airport. Race day logistics are a breeze for both athletes and coaches/families. Weather is usually excellent. Good spectator turnout. Event production cost is reasonable compared to NYC or Boston.

Does anyone in or around Houston want to touch this event? After this year will any city in the US submit a bid?

Update: Organizers have put out their own statement essentially blaming USATF, saying they are athlete centric and will move to 8 am but need to get compensated as it will cost them a ton of $$$.

Capitalism, baby. Max Siegel is the CEO of a private organization, meaning whatever demands he makes are a product of the free market. start your own Olympic Trials marathon if you want. If you were the inventors of Facebook then you would've invented Facebook

Closing roads in a large city like Orlando is a big deal. It should be done in a way to minimize problems for drivers. The idea of having different start times depending upon the temperature is nonsense.

Ok . Having read the most recent letter, maybe Weldon's interpretation of it was correctly. It does look lilke they are claiming they'll lose a ton of money for some reason. I'd love to see a breakdown of their losses and how much of it is simply whatever they value it not being on live tv.

I mean a beer garden or something might pay more for a 12 noon start but that doesn't come close to 700k.

But regardless, I'm on their side. Siegel consistently does whatevder he wants - puts Trials wherever he wants them, flies private jets - and the USATF board not only lets him do it, they grossly overpay him for things like that. Now he's getting push back for once.

It blows my mind that a man who makes $3 million + a year wouldn't realize that weather was going to be a very important factor for the Olympic marathon Trials. I mean within minutes of it coming out that Orlando was the host we were deep into a 10-year weather history research for Orlando.

if the free market determines that $3 million a year is a fair salary, then such condescending remarks about how much he earns is entirely inappropriate

What would it take to fire Siegal or force resignation? Or a full removal of the board as well? Seems like 99% of USATF dues paying members despise the leadership.

Hire Keith Brantley to mediate this. He's a Florida Man, 1996 Olympian, knows all the players and is respected in the community.

God forbid fat americans can't drive their massive cars around for a couple hours

A) Max Seigel does not care about athletes at all. The reason it has a noon start time it to make it a more palatable TV experience. (8am Eastern is 5am Pacific) This part is pretty basic. Could have easily been accounted for by having it further north for better weather or west for better timing

B) $700k seems high, but probably not completely unreasonable, I honestly don't understand all the implications and neither do you but big city marathons cost millions to put on and there are a lot of factors:

-Permits probably have to be resubmitted with a fee to resubmit plus an employee work time cost.

-A noon race can probably be set up the day of, an 8am race probably has impact on equipment rental. Some places won't deliver before a certain time or charge more for outside normal hours. It's possible that most of the equipment would need to be delivered the prior evening and some set up would need to be done then as well for an 8 race vs 12. That might require getting an extra day rental for a lot of stuff.

-Cheer zones fan areas etc. would likely lose a lot of business. Lot more people will show up at 10 for a noon marathon than at 6 for an 8 am marathon. They estimated up to 100k people watched part of the marathon so a small decrease in the number of people there and spending less time can have a big impact on potential vendors. If 10% of those people have 1 less $10 beer that's already $100k. You creep up on $700k really quick.

Looks like I was way off base. Siegel should be out over this issue. We need someone understands the sport and puts the athletes and competition first in his role.

Nonimpact. Doubtless Orlando was chosen because it is full of track fans and this isn't even a consideration because everyone will be out watching the race at whatever time it is held. Though, I guess they need to know whether brunch drinks or mid afternoon drinks should be served at the post race party.

Anyone that EVER thought that a Noon start time in Orlando was a good idea has either A. Never run outside before ever. or B. Never have heard of the state of Florida.

Everyone that thought that would be a good idea from the start should immediately be fired and have nothing to do with this event. Taking them all out of the equation would make it much easier to host the event.

again, USATF is a private organization and they have created the market for themselves. If you would like to create your own Olympic Trials Marathon, by all means go right ahead!
"as it will cost them a TON of $$$"

I wonder what would happen if every top runner refused to race? Would they go ahead and take the 76th top runner in the nation?

No, because the 76th guy doesn't have the Olympic "B" standard of 2:11:30. Moreover, the top athletes will grit it out in the heat for a change to run on the biggest stage. They won't sit it out just because it's hot.