I get your sentiment. I've had less interest this year than any year since I started paying attention in the '80s. During the Olympics last year, I was already reduced to just watching highlights on YouTube instead of trying to catch full events live. This year, I'm not even catching all the highlights, and if I do, just the last lap is fine. I also haven't entered any of the LR prediction contests in the past couple years and didn't look at all the NCAA results yet.
In my case, it's not the peds (peds are in and always have been in all sports). The times just make it not comparable to the past and I lose something from that because track has always put a big emphasis on time. It doesn't help that commentary will always overhype times even when they know times have been inflated due to shoes (and bicarb. . .). I don't like diminishing the past and going on as if everyone is actually a better athlete now when, if given the same advantages, past athletes would be right up there.
I pay more attention to trail/mountain running and cycling now, where times just don't matter as much. I also followed cycling starting from the (early) '80s. I stopped for a while after Landis got busted, watched Armstrong's two comeback years out of curiosity, and then didn't come back to following the sport until 2019 when I tuned in the Tour de France toward the end as Egan Bernal was winning.
The races are just that much more interesting, with different tactics involved and especially different parcours and elements. . . flat, MOUNTAINS, crosswind echelons, descents. The athletes are more diverse in body types and abilities (climbers, time trialists, sprinters. . .) and it just makes for richer sport. Because you are following what happens through more than a handful of gerbil laps, you also see much more personality in the different riders and develop favorites more readily. Compared to track running, you don't have people diminishing past greats (like Merckx) all the time.
I also followed cycling starting from the (early) '80s. I stopped for a while after Landis got busted, watched Armstrong's two comeback years out of curiosity, and then didn't come back to following the sport until 2019 when I tuned in the Tour de France toward the end as Egan Bernal was winning.
*apparently I was lucky to miss the Froome years. Seeing some Sagan highlights was probably the main thing drew me back to following cycling.
I get your point and have a bit difficulties with the shoes. But I do understand that top sport is theatre and to keep the sport interesting things have to progress somehow. Otherwise its not interesting to watch. for the big mainstream crowd. They want to feel they are there on the moment history is written. I would prefer a more pure approach. I always loved running because its honest compared to cycling where a high end bike can give you a big benefit. To me the shoes brought something similar to the game. unfortunately.
I understand OP's sentiments. It feels like times may not be comparable across eras due to tech. We are probably approaching peak tech in terms of shoes and track construction material and now though. I just don't see a super super shoe or a new track surface or banking condition that leads to more than miniscule improvements. So I can watch track today and compare times to recent years.
If you believe everyone is doping though, there may be no end in sight to what pharmaceuticals can do. If you think everyone is doping, the sport isn't all that interesting. If you think only a minority are and that a lot of them get caught, its interesting.
Poor analogy, but still, I get your sentiment. Thing is, they all are on equal footing with each other on the shoe thing. Regarding PEDs, who knows wtf is going on in secret from one competitor to the next. That hasn't really changed, though. So all-in-all, if you put the stopwatch away and just view the action, nothing has really changed regarding the actual enjoyment of watching a race, except the greater involvement of pacers and pacing technology, which some like and some don't.
^ This is spot on. Well said.
Except for the fact that the stopwatch is now emphasized more than ever. Everyone jumping up and down over times. Seems like an AR is broken every other week nowadays. Top 10 world, national, and high school lists have practically been rewritten in the last 5 years. At my D1 alma mater, a top 10 time was really hard to come by. Rarely occurred. Now, there are only 2 pre super shoe times left in the 10000m and none in the 5000m. Some really good runners on those lists that should still be on there IMO. Allowing super spikes is like the MLB allowing composite bats. There’s a reason the MLB doesn’t allow it. Maybe track should take note.
I get your point and have a bit difficulties with the shoes. But I do understand that top sport is theatre and to keep the sport interesting things have to progress somehow. Otherwise its not interesting to watch. for the big mainstream crowd. They want to feel they are there on the moment history is written. I would prefer a more pure approach. I always loved running because its honest compared to cycling where a high end bike can give you a big benefit. To me the shoes brought something similar to the game. unfortunately.
Only in your dreams is there a big mainstream crowd for distance running . None of them have heard of Young or Blanks, and maybe just a few for Fisher.
Implement the Adebe Bikila rule: you must race barefoot.
Not sure why this is the go-to argument for super spikes. Shoes were invented thousands of years ago. Spikes were invented in the 1850s. There are no times on any lists anywhere that were run when shoes or spikes weren’t available. Up until super spikes, the only advantage to wearing shoes was to protect your feet and traction. Throughout the years, the only developments were limited to making them weigh less and be more comfortable. There is very little difference (in terms of aiding performance) between spikes from the 1950s and spikes from the 2010s other than, maybe, a few ounces.
If Adebe Bikila and Zola Budd can do it, then so can we. For the purity of the sport.
The human foot is perfectly engineered to run barefoot.
Have you ever been spiked on the foot or leg? I have and finished the last 1400m of a 1600m in one shoe running still a quick time.
And in college, one of my xc spikes split open before the conference championship. We decided to just put duct tape on the shoe! I ran horrible. I should have just ran barefoot!
When I do strides in grass barefoot, I can reach much faster speeds.
Implement the Adebe Bikila rule: you must race barefoot.
This is the Great Reset running has been waiting for. A whole new era of different track surfaces and WRs await us, it'll be just like in the stone age and the ancient Greek games. Naked.