Yes the championship track 10,000 finals have been good lately, but there is almost no grass-root competition to support it, so it's just a couple of time trials to qualify, and a set piece event. XC at its proper position in the Summer Olympics would immediately become iconic and THE T&F Gold medal all the stars wanted.
Decathlon and Heptathlon are virtually nonexistent outside of championships. Do you want to eliminate them from Olympics?
Yes the championship track 10,000 finals have been good lately, but there is almost no grass-root competition to support it, so it's just a couple of time trials to qualify, and a set piece event. XC at its proper position in the Summer Olympics would immediately become iconic and THE T&F Gold medal all the stars wanted.
Decathlon and Heptathlon are virtually nonexistent outside of championships. Do you want to eliminate them from Olympics?
A Aussie competitor said on Inside Running Podcast.
That ridiculous It's a Knockout gimmicky course?
I guess they just absolutely skimped on paying for proper TV production so that could be fixed, but the course itself is beyond redemption. So bland, and the obstacles aren't enhancements of natural features, they're just artificial and ridiculous.
This will be the gradual end of World Cross if so.
I know it won't happen, but they should obviously swap out olympic 10,000m for Olympic XC.
Yes the championship track 10,000 finals have been good lately, but there is almost no grass-root competition to support it, so it's just a couple of time trials to qualify, and a set piece event. XC at its proper position in the Summer Olympics would immediately become iconic and THE T&F Gold medal all the stars wanted.
Your last paragraph is pretty wacky. What does grass-root and set piece have to do with an Olympic event? It takes one race time to qualify for the trials and a race to qualify for the team. XC does not belong in the Summer Olympics and would hardly become iconic if it did. A lot of 5/10 guys would take a pass on Olympic XC and just having World XC is good enough.
what does grass-roots have to do with the olympics lmao, no wonder the sport is dying in the middle of a running boom
it blows my mind that anyone thinks that an XC race doesn't have a place in the olympics. have you seen some of the events that are held? it would be absolutely iconic if executed well, and if medal numbers are constrained the the 10,000 is ripe for chopping
10,000m track races outside of the championships are awful, awful time trials that amost no one cares about - they need to die out.
Cross country is a fun sport to do and a boring sport to watch. It is rarely a contest between the best runners who could be doing it. Most of those who could be the best don't bother with it. It is the offseason and they would rather just be training.
It's also heavily rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture, not really a big deal outside those countries. Most of the interest comes from the American school system. Which again is generally participatory, noone goes to watch their meets except their parents.
XC has no appeal to runners participating in this running boom. In the Olympics, it would be less appealing than MTB and slightly more appealing than racewalk. With highly predictable medals a leading cause: all random Africans. IOW a ratings flop.
WA and Tally LOC treated WXC26 a little 4th of July gunny sack race. Indie TV producer was Phil Knight's freind from Vancouver BC. All volunteers except the $400k/yr cops.
Business/Manufacturing industry has gone over sites for centuries and concluded the Southwest has the most stable weather. Which is essential becuase of weather related slowdowns, ramp up time, interruptions, Sow Days, Hurricane Days, Tornado watehes etc. eat up months in the biz/mfg cycle. So PHX is a good choice. Mt Sac has a two 2-mile long overseas airliner airport, only 1 mile away, millions of hotels in the area. Be fair now, does your part of the country have the weather we want?
Cross country is a fun sport to do and a boring sport to watch. It is rarely a contest between the best runners who could be doing it. Most of those who could be the best don't bother with it. It is the offseason and they would rather just be training.
It's also heavily rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture, not really a big deal outside those countries. Most of the interest comes from the American school system. Which again is generally participatory, noone goes to watch their meets except their parents.
Huh? Wanna tell that to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda?
Apparently, that is Coe's recommendation. As quoted in the LRC article, the organizing committee sent an email after the event stating the following:
At the VIP dinner last Friday, Lord Coe recommended that World Athletics permanently hold the World XC Championships here in Tallahassee. Last night, Amanda Heidecker, the co-chair of the Championships, confirmed Lord Coe’s recommendation, telling us he privately said he was being completely serious, because this committee was the best he’d ever worked with.
I believe Coe is serious, but I wonder if his words are meant to be a threat to other organizing committees while the bidding process is open to host the event in 2029 (link below). It seems to me that Coe is basically saying to other cities: "Give me what I want, or else I'll keep this event in Tallahassee."
I enjoyed my time in Tallahassee last weekend, but I wouldn't want every edition of the meet to be there. Part of what made the experience so fun was its novelty. I think it would get stale if the meet was there every time.
It's similar to Eugene. I love visiting Eugene to watch meets on occasion, but it's a pain to get to, and I don't want to go there for every national meet. I'd rather see those meets move around and have different places to visit.
I feel even more strongly about world meets. They shouldn't be in the same place every time. Other countries should get a chance to host.
I think Tallahassee is different. It’s a big city in a major state. It’s not like a tiny town in the middle of nowhere with no housing (so even a motel 6 or some sh!tty hotel is $400 a night). It’s centrally-ish located in Florida with a ton of housing and transportation.
Did Tallahassee get relocated... or did Florida get relocated?
I'm not surprised Coe wants it there permanently. He seemed very enthused at the medal ceremony after the races. Shaking hands with and congratulating lots of officials before he finally went up to to present the men's senior medals.
There's nothing wrong with the venue that can't be tweaked. Plenty of room to adjust the course and obstacles if needed. Lots of space for more hospitality tents and food trucks. Relatively quick walk from starting line to obstacles. Good central area where the sand and water were this time, only 20 yards apart. Double laned access road allowing approach from both sides. Ample parking and easy exit as long as you aren't silly enough to turn and follow everybody else smack toward one single lane gravel path. Lots of reasonably priced hotels along I-10. I stayed 10 miles west of town.
Coe wants a January fixed date. He specified that, as opposed to prior in March. I think everyone is ignoring that variable in Tallahassee's favor. It's never going to be awful weather at that time of year. We got an extreme in 2026 and even that wasn't too bad.
Selfishly I hope it does go permanent because it's a convenient one day drive for me from Miami. Hopefully more of the Adelsons will be locked up before the next visit to Tallahassee.
Is Coe insane - quite possibly (or just another Nike shill)? He did a lousy job of getting Europe to attend, Africa is basically eliminated (Kenya is next on the chopping block). South America barely attends, and only a handful of Asian countries. He wasn't a cross-country guy himself, but the sport seems to be on its deathbed as far as I can tell. Neither of the senior races was exciting - Kiplimo and Ngetich simply ran away from the fields, and likely neither will be allowed in again. The Junior races left Ethiopia short-handed, thereby gifting the US a medal. Heck even Britain (his home country) sucks these days.
Personally I see Coe (much like Infantino in Soccer/Football) as a corrupt demagogue selling the sport for his own personal gain - but then both organizations have a history of this malfeasance. Both should be kicked out of their roles - there is a reason Coe was passed over for Olympic head.
The eurocross was more exciting, even on the go cart style track.
Tally was the worst in history. Attendane the lowest. AP asked the local bathroom supply company, city sewage dept, etc. WA, USATF (occupied by TTUSA clowns), Tally City PD, county always exaggeate.
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renowned defender of bringing poop-out hill back to Mt. SAC
USATF keeps hiring local Indy & midwest people and losing then after only a year when they find out USATF is only a Nike Eugene Outlet store office with actual no authority whatsoever.
Cross country is a fun sport to do and a boring sport to watch. It is rarely a contest between the best runners who could be doing it. Most of those who could be the best don't bother with it. It is the offseason and they would rather just be training.
It's also heavily rooted in Anglo-Saxon culture, not really a big deal outside those countries. Most of the interest comes from the American school system. Which again is generally participatory, noone goes to watch their meets except their parents.
Huh? Wanna tell that to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda?
don't confuse yourself that just because they always win means it's a big deal to them.
They always win simply because they have so many good runners. The big deal to them is road racing, where they can win big $$$. Nobody wins big $$$ at XC.
No point coping, fact is it's an old English sport preserved by the school systems.
It was a flop at Tally. Not the fault of the LOC at all. International Politics, International Boycotts, fear of Grand Slam Track violence and fights, etc. The Tally locals did a great job overall.
Selfishly I hope it does go permanent because it's a convenient one day drive for me from Miami. Hopefully more of the Adelsons will be locked up before the next visit to Tallahassee.
What a totally American thing to say. A one day drive? Mate, imagine trains that could have your time? Drive for a day? Your country is so poor it's laughable. You get treated like mugs by your government. Poor public transport, guns on every corner, healthcare so expensive you're scared to be sick and no leave entitlement. Now you're having to drive for an entire day to watch sport?