American Track and XC Will Die in the Next Decade

This. Won’t stop dummies like the OP from making same stupid statements. All for attention really.

americans are so infantilised they need everything in a clear commercial, hierarchical structure or they're lost.

the european club model is terrifying to them, hence the thread title/rationale equating the loss of commercilisation with death

its quite sad really but when you're propagandised as aggressively as they are it's not surprising

Running goes through ebbs and flows of popularity. Right now with stuff like the tracksmith 5000, interest is actually rising in competitive track, albeit slowly. Interest in casual participation is shrinking though. More and more destination races are dying or scaling way back. Every destination race is someone's home town race so this isn't good.

There are almost no new serious road races that aren't a marathon or half. Any good 5 or 10ks or any distance but the half and marathon probably has a lot of history.

I see what you are saying. Eugene was the worst WC in history and NBC had to have Snoop Dogg and Terry Crews at the last minute to get viewers.

This is the opposite of what's actually happening right now, as participatory road races are booming (see below for citation).

And while I can't point to documentation for this in the same way, while some publicly-traded or VC backed event owners like Wanda/Rock 'n' Roll and Ventures/Gannet may be pulling back, numerous other (I would argue more savvy and sustainable) operators have continued to create new events of all distances like the Around the Crown 10k in Charlotte, Polar Opposite Peachtree (10k, Atlanta, first edition to be held this upcoming January 1), or even Disney's Springtime Surprise Weekend (10 Mile, 10k).

There has absolutely been a great shakeout going on in the road race industry (beginning almost a decade ago, but accelerating during and immediately following the pandemic), and some historic road races have gone away, but in many cases they've been replaced by new (and in some although not all cases, better) events.

runningusa.org

September Update from Jay Holder, Running USA Executive Director - Running USA

Leah Etling

Director of Marketing and Communications for Running USA, Leah has been part of the team since 2009, when she was recruited to join the organization due to her award-winning background in endurance sports journalism (APSE, CN...

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I think there is something to this. Track isn’t declining, in terms of participation numbers at the youth or high school levels. Nor in the global competitiveness of US elites. Marathon participation and the number of people hitting time standards for Boston (or the other majors) is also booming.

I think there is one thing in decline though, and that’s opportunities for men who run 5ks in the 14s. They aren’t nationally competitive on the track, and may get squeezed with reduced roster sizes in D1, and are losing those national road races that you mentioned.

I do sort of think this applies less to women, and I’m not sure what to do about it or what impacts it has on other areas of the sport.

Every WORLD RECORD in EVERY EVENT is basically on YouTube... Record progressions.

For all the kids just getting into track or trying to figure out what their hobbies could be they can more easily discover athletics & training than was possible before.

This available information; training, competition at every level, discussion, it's all online.

Coaches are also more learned, athletes are stepping their game up, we can also see their workouts, interviews, history, development.

Elite levels, records, High School, NCAA, Olympic Gold seem more attainable. Get it!

Thanks for the heads up. Selling all my stocks Monday at 9am.

I hope the reduced roster size just leads to a bigger club scene, but in reality it may just lead to fewer men interested in following the sport.

As others have said, there is nothing new here. The exception is to expect track Et al. to fit into new categories of popularity and monetization. The mistake is trying to fit something ancient and, basically, immortal, into neat modern categories. Track existed at the dawn of civilization and it will exist at the end.