No notification in my email that the masses race is cancelled and as of right now they are still taking new entrants. It looks like the whole thing was planned but usatf as a con to gain money for entrants to the masses races.
This is an interesting point that the mass race is still moving forward. That means permits and volunteers are all in place. Something smells fishy around here.
I was on an Oregon association phone call a few nights ago regarding JO track and the topic of the canceled North Carolina A&T nationals came up. Someone asked if Eugene and Tracktown might step up to take the event? A representative from Tracktown on that call bluntly stated, “No!”. I’m not sure if that’s because such events are money losers for the local organizers in general or if USATF bullspit is too much to bear?
There are three main things involved in hosting something like this:
The organizational issues - do you have sponsors, hotels, permits, paperwork, logistics and local support in the hosting community?
The volunteer and staffing issues - do you have the people on the ground who can run an event like this?
And of course, the money to pay for all of the above? A world-class event is not cheap.
So this makes me wonder which aspect was too much for USATF to handle? Where did it break down? Maybe talking to the local side of the event (not just USATF) will help get you to a more "real" and honest answer since WA and USATF will likely be keen on downplaying whatever happened...
You are correct.
But it's not like Tracy Sundlun - CEO of San Diego 25 - isn't aware of that. He's extremely experienced and was the founder of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the creator of the National Scholastic Indoor Track & Field Championships
To be honest, I'm not sure USATF has much of anything to do with this. I'd actually love it if their management failures did have something to do with this. I mean if they were competently run, they could help prop up events like this but I imagine this has little to do with them. One thing is clear - whoever is to blame - this is a big embarrassment of the USA. Copenhagen 2026 is alredy Rock n Rolling - pardon the pun.
Toni Reavis is out in San Diego and knows Sundlun so hopefully he can get to the bottom of this or Ken Stone. I'll have Jonathan Gault make a few calls as well.
Wondering if the World Athletics/Dentsu dynamic is in play here? Maybe San Diego 25 had some sponsorship $ lined up for the mass races, but WA/Dentsu said ‘not so fast’?
If there’s one thing an LOC knows up front you can’t do, it’s undercut the sponsors of World Athletics.
This is really a shared failure on World Athletics to give the event to a host who was not partnering directly with the USATF, didn't have a realistic financial model and did not show cash on hand to get this thing off the ground.
No notification in my email that the masses race is cancelled and as of right now they are still taking new entrants. It looks like the whole thing was planned but usatf as a con to gain money for entrants to the masses races.
This is an interesting point that the mass race is still moving forward. That means permits and volunteers are all in place. Something smells fishy around here.
Is it moving forward?
Without the world championship, the allure of the race is gone.
Around that time in SoCal there is
-Surf City 10 miler
- Long Beach marathon and half
-San Jose Rock N Roll Half (norcal technically)
- Surfers Point marathon/half in Ventura
I would run any of those over a race that was going to coincide with the world championship but now isn't. I expect the masses race to be cancelled too and a notification that sorry - money is gone, nothing we can do.
If LA or somewhere in the area picks it up, the same weekend, great, if not its going to seriously hurt the event. Also, planning a masses race and planning a championship are 2 different things. A new host needs to get started like yesterday. I thought it would be cool to go race in San Diego since I lived there for a few years, but now I'm thinking of changing my travel plans to somewhere else there is a race that weekend.
Major global events in the US don't really work. Period.
Copa America was a disaster. Final delayed 2 hours because fans who had tickets couldn't get in and fans who didn't could.
San Diego pulls out of this.
Wouldn't be surprised if WC 2026 is an outright disaster and an emergency meeting is declared to determine if LA28 is really a good idea........
Was WC94 a disaster? Atlanta 1996? Salt Lake 2002?
I won't deny there were problems with the Copa America final in 2024, but were they all that different from the Champions League final in 2022?
I expect WC2026 to go very well. The LA Olympics will probably have some challenges due to the venues being so spread out and traffic/lack of public transport being much more of an issue than it was in London or Paris, but it'll be fine too.
No notification in my email that the masses race is cancelled and as of right now they are still taking new entrants. It looks like the whole thing was planned but usatf as a con to gain money for entrants to the masses races.
This is an interesting point that the mass race is still moving forward. That means permits and volunteers are all in place. Something smells fishy around here.
No, the mass race isn't "still moving forward." The cancellation just hasn't been announced yet.
Major global events in the US don't really work. Period.
Copa America was a disaster. Final delayed 2 hours because fans who had tickets couldn't get in and fans who didn't could.
San Diego pulls out of this.
Wouldn't be surprised if WC 2026 is an outright disaster and an emergency meeting is declared to determine if LA28 is really a good idea........
Was WC94 a disaster? Atlanta 1996? Salt Lake 2002?
I won't deny there were problems with the Copa America final in 2024, but were they all that different from the Champions League final in 2022?
I expect WC2026 to go very well. The LA Olympics will probably have some challenges due to the venues being so spread out and traffic/lack of public transport being much more of an issue than it was in London or Paris, but it'll be fine too.
The difference is the USATF leadership. The CEO of USATF, Max Siegel, is interested in lining his pocket first and the event after that. Only if Max is allowed to personally benefit or profit in some way does he allow events to go forward. His tenure has been wrought with blunders and disasters while he makes out like Louis XVI before 1793. Runners should decide no more.
This should be the blunder that causes his resignation. Anyone with a conscience in his position would resign after a disaster of this magnitude.
Wouldn't be surprised if WC 2026 is an outright disaster and an emergency meeting is declared to determine if LA28 is really a good idea........
The 2026 World XC Championships in Florida may have problems, but the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles has nothing to do with this. Your idea that the International Olympic Committee is going to have an emergency meeting to discuss moving the Olympics out of Los Angeles is totally crazy.
This is an interesting point that the mass race is still moving forward. That means permits and volunteers are all in place. Something smells fishy around here.
No, the mass race isn't "still moving forward." The cancellation just hasn't been announced yet.
Thanks. I'll see if I can change my travel plans to somewhere there is a race that weekend. Racing at altitude isn't ideal, but it looks like there is a big race in Boulder.
No, the mass race isn't "still moving forward." The cancellation just hasn't been announced yet.
Thanks. I'll see if I can change my travel plans to somewhere there is a race that weekend. Racing at altitude isn't ideal, but it looks like there is a big race in Boulder.
Thanks. I'll see if I can change my travel plans to somewhere there is a race that weekend. Racing at altitude isn't ideal, but it looks like there is a big race in Boulder.
I think it's more likely than not that a new host isn't found for 2026 and the 2026 version of the Road Racing Championships will be cancelled.
The 2026 championship is in Denmark. Unless they're at war with the US over some scheme to steal Greenland, that event shouldn't be expected.
The 2025 championship is the one cancelled, the one that was supposed to be in San Diego. Its almost certainly due to some incompetence on USATF's part. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even start planning until now and go - uh sounds hard, lets not.
I think it's more likely than not that a new host isn't found for 2026 and the 2026 version of the Road Racing Championships will be cancelled.
The 2026 championship is in Denmark. Unless they're at war with the US over some scheme to steal Greenland, that event shouldn't be expected.
The 2025 championship is the one cancelled, the one that was supposed to be in San Diego. Its almost certainly due to some incompetence on USATF's part. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even start planning until now and go - uh sounds hard, lets not.
It was a typo on my part regarding the year. I meant to write: "I think it's more likely than not that a new host isn't found for 2025 and the 2025 version of the Road Racing Championships will be cancelled."
Doing anything in corrupt one-party states like California is a nightmare of red tape and regulations.
And as a resident of California I can tell you that the likelihood of finding road surfaces safe to drive on (let alone to run on) is very low. This is a place where, despite some of the highest tax rates, you can practically hold trail races on some of the city streets.
