Extreme impatience indicates immaturity. You're confusing this sport with one that matters on a wide scale. USATF is guilty of a lot of things but not putting enough into this race isn't one of them.
Extreme impatience indicates immaturity. You're confusing this sport with one that matters on a wide scale. USATF is guilty of a lot of things but not putting enough into this race isn't one of them.
Add 5 minutes. They start the women 5 minutes earlier than the rest of the field but they forget to add 5 minutes to their times. They do this every year.
Different Perpective wrote:
It's like having the first round of the NFL playoffs not televised and reporting the score hours after the game is completed.
No, not at all. Completely wrong, actually.
Amy is on a roll.
So Nelson has lost two National Champs by under two seconds, heart-breaking for him.
Not if he's realistic. It represents a great improvement, he isn't going to get to the very top of the sport overnight. Plus they're pretty minor national championships.
Kate O'Neill no longer runs for Nike? FREDTERP
Right, and welcome to February.
fruit, Was she dropped.
Just my .02 but when I look at baseball scores does it say Derek Jeter adidas or Derek Jeter New York Yankees? Jose Reyes Nike or Jose Reyes New York Mets?
Tom Brady Reebok or Tom Brady New England Patriots?
While were at it, when the NFL has a problem or needs some advice, Do they ask Joe Paterno?
Does the NBA list Jim Calhoun and Coach K as their advisors?
No, she quit. Do you really think someone would turn down Nike sponsorship, especially a former Olympian, to pimp an internet social networking utility?
Tell us something we don't already know, Ray. How willing are people to line up to sponsor teams in a 3rd tier (at BEST, more like 4th or 5th tier) sport within a professional league setting, especially in this economy? Arena football and lacrosse draws a fanbase to frequent competitions (for now) but road running and track basically do not, even when it's free. USATF does a lot of wrong but I'm not sure how they can be blamed for not wanting to elevate distance running above its status as a cult sport. BMX and NASCAR were cult sports that saw organic fan growth and were therefore able to push more towards a professional circuit. The powers that be in distance running dropped the ball for too long (since the '70s) and now it's a little late to try to think about fixing things when so many other sports have filled the void. There's just a ridiculous amount of competition for the sportsfan's attention today. Maybe RRCA should be the organization to take professional road racing to the next level? USATF doesn't care and I honestly can't come up with a good reason for them to change their attitude.
Pretty negative Charlie.
US distance running is making strides (no pun intended)
But an Olympic medalist in the marathon in 2004 and 2 in the top 10 in 2008....
You gotta start somewhere.
We need some positive energy and aupport - instead of all the negative vitriol on some of these posts.
I say grounded and candid, which I consider better than naive and unrealistic. I've made the point that we CAN'T depend on the peanuts that USATF kicks down our way, we need to operate basically independently and take advantage of truly beneficial opportunities that USATF does present from time to time. Positive energy and support are great, but we do need to be selective in what direction we send it because we don't have the luxury of having so much that we can afford to waste much on useless endeavors.
1Anthony Famiglietti - Knoxville, TN 30 M43:36:0052Tim Nelson - Portland, OR 25 M43:37:00143Fasil Bizuneh - Concord, MA 28 M43:52:00124Dan Browne - Wcap, MA 33 M43:56:0065Jorge Torres - Boulder, CO 28 M44:05:00156Ian Dobson - Mammoth Lakes, CA 27 M44:06:00107Brett Gotcher - Flagstaff, AZ 24 M44:09:00268Jason Lehmkuhle - Minneapolis, MN 31 M44:09:0019Andrew Carlson - Flagstaff, AZ 26 M44:11:00910James Carney - Boulder, CO 30 M44:13:00811Ed Moran - Boston, MA 27 M44:27:008712Mo Trafeh - Duarte, CA 23 M44:30:0014713Sean Quigley - Philadelphia, PA 24 M44:33:003114Josh Moen - Minneapolis, MN 26 M44:34:001115Ed Torres - Boulder, CO 28 M44:35:003416Matt Gabrielson - Minneapolis, MN 30 M44:36:006317Charlie Serrano - Simi Valley, CA 24 M44:40:002318Forest Braden - Spokane, WA 25 M44:41:002819Mike Sayenko - Bellevue, WA 24 M44:41:001720Antonio Vega - St Paul, MN 25 M44:45:003521Trent Briney - Flagstaff, AZ 30 M45:02:006122Paul Jellema - Rochester Hills, MI 24 M45:08:001823Fernando Cabada - Boulder, CO 26 M45:09:001624Luke Meyer - Ridgefield, CT 25 M45:10:003325Mike Morgan - Rochester Hills, MI 29 M45:12:004526David Jankowski - Rochester, MI 24 M45:28:006027Ryan Sheehan - Rochester, MI 25 M45:36:004328Josh Eberly - Gunnison, CO 28 M45:40:0023329Matt Loiselle - Toronto, ON 24 M45:41:002530Jason Hartmann - Concord, MA 28 M45:55:007031Juan Trujillo - Eugene, OR 23 M46:01:0023732Andrew Smith - "Toronto, On Can", OR 29 M46:17:005233Anthony Gallo - Flagstaff, AZ 29 M46:19:002734Luke Watson - State College, PA 28 M46:20:005735Matt Levassiur - Alamosa, CA 27 M46:21:003936Chris Pannone - Whitehouse Statio, NJ 22 M46:23:005437Chris Lundstrom - Minneapolis, MN 33 M46:24:0010438Roland Lavallee - Bellingham, MA 30 M46:27:0018239Kevin Cook - Tallahassee, FL 25 M46:29:005040Michael Kilburg - Rochester Hills, MI 23 M46:34:0015041Oscar Ogwaro - Charlotte, NC 20 M46:43:006242Brad Lowery - Brookings, SD 26 M46:47:003243Chad Johnson - Rochester Hills, MI 32 M46:47:0010844Mark Olivier - Groton, CT 23 M46:51:009945Esteban Trujillo - Eugene, OR 23 M47:14:005546Celedonio Rodriguez - Flagstaff, AZ 28 M47:30:005147Joseph Gray - Lakewood, WA 25 M47:32:004248Daniel Kanyaruhuru - Charlotte, NC 24 M47:34:009049Matt Hooley - Madison, WI 26 M47:44:004850Thomas Morgan - Blowing Rock, NC 27 M47:55:00
You are correct. However one team does it right.
HANSONS-Brooks Distance Project
One sponsor for the team. It is clean an easy to market. The don't accept welfare from NYRR. They don't allow athletes to run for another sponsor. They all wear the same ugly uniform. They are recognizable. I was hoping that McMillan Elite was going to follow suit.
Exactly what I had in mind as I made my comments. They are a prime example of how to make a successful go of it despite the system. Unfortunately the number of people willing to invest millions of their own money into a similar model as a start-up today are few if any. It would probably have to be a former elite runner (Frank Shorter?) who made a good living from the sport and after retiring from the sport and invested wisely so as to have a plump nest egg as well as a realization that the payoff would come years down the road, if ever, and it may not come in the form of dividends that one could use to buy groceries or pay for a house or a car.
Charley Varrick wrote:
Unfortunately the number of people willing to invest millions of their own money into a similar model as a start-up today are few if any.
Because people who want to invest their money do so in companies/start-ups that make money or have the potential to make money. People want to see a return on their investment.
If someone wants to give millions to start a training program, they are giving money to a charity. Sure, they may help a runner make the Olympics, but don't confuse that with a return on their investment.
Absolutely. Not all returns need to be in the form of cash, stock, or assets, though. The Hansons are seeing a nice return, no doubt they are happy with the results even if it has cost them a lot of money. Most people looking to invest in sports, however, want to see more than that which is why they go for pro league franchises.
So you know and I know and so do most people involved in elite level distance running. So what do we do about it? There are many little things that can be done but they're not. The problem in this sport is that we need a group of people interested in doing whatever can be done to further the sport without just looking out for themselves. The sport needs to go through even tougher times to get better. USTAF needs to stand up to the druggies, to the agents, to the road running community, to elite athlete coordinators, to the big shoe companies, to the useless flotsam that they keep on their boardsand as heads of their committees. And last but by no means least, they need to demand/seek/improve press coverage for their sport at all levels. The reason for this thread is evidence of a lack of professionalism from the top down.
Charley Varrick wrote:
Tell us something we don't already know, Ray. How willing are people to line up to sponsor teams in a 3rd tier (at BEST, more like 4th or 5th tier) sport within a professional league setting, especially in this economy? Arena football and lacrosse draws a fanbase to frequent competitions (for now) but road running and track basically do not, even when it's free. USATF does a lot of wrong but I'm not sure how they can be blamed for not wanting to elevate distance running above its status as a cult sport. BMX and NASCAR were cult sports that saw organic fan growth and were therefore able to push more towards a professional circuit. The powers that be in distance running dropped the ball for too long (since the '70s) and now it's a little late to try to think about fixing things when so many other sports have filled the void. There's just a ridiculous amount of competition for the sportsfan's attention today. Maybe RRCA should be the organization to take professional road racing to the next level? USATF doesn't care and I honestly can't come up with a good reason for them to change their attitude.