Entries look very low (1 or 2 full mens team and 2 or 3 full women's teams).
Why is this event needed when the USATF Club Championships exist and are the TRUE club championships?
Club nats seems to be more for amateurs. This is for pros.
But this meet shows you why in part why our sport isn't more popular. College guys are at BU, pros here, amateurs at a different meet. Everyone - not the governing body - decides what event is best for them.
If we had fewer events but more events that everyone had to run, then we'd have more compelling races. Like imagine if everyone was forced to be here. THen next year at BU. I know it will never happen.
I'm old enough to remember when all the top runners ran in the National Cross-Country Championships in November- typically a week after NCAA (and the NCAA champion usually ran.
Fewer races brings the best together more often.
But then, our top runners ran many more races than the present day pros do.
Entries look very low (1 or 2 full mens team and 2 or 3 full women's teams).
Why is this event needed when the USATF Club Championships exist and are the TRUE club championships?
The idea appears to be to work toward a little pro xc season, where Usatf and worlds would be the finals.
Current situation would be this meet, plus a couple in Spain/Europe make the little season. That still gives the participants enough races to use xc as the 10 k world (Olympic?) qualifier.
A pro xc series of varying length on courses like vcp, Panorama, Stillwater, Zimmer, Gibson, Lehigh, Mt sac, Holmdel, Bowdoin etc is an interesting idea. In theory it could even piggy back on some of big college and hs meets to ensure crowds. It would be fun to see pro times on courses everyone knows at 3mi, 5k, 6k, 8k, 10k times.
I LOVE this idea. USATF, are you paying attention? (of course not).
1. Keep USATF out of it. They have zero experience in running events and only get in the way.
2. Why on a Thursday in Austin in November? Because there is never more industry money in any one place in the United States. Billions of dollars. If you think I’m exaggerating then you shouldn’t be commenting about things that you don’t understand.
3. Jesse understands that Pro events are the future and believes that if you build it they will eventually come.
1. Keep USATF out of it. They have zero experience in running events and only get in the way.
2. Why on a Thursday in Austin in November? Because there is never more industry money in any one place in the United States. Billions of dollars. If you think I’m exaggerating then you shouldn’t be commenting about things that you don’t understand.
3. Jesse understands that Pro events are the future and believes that if you build it they will eventually come.
I get that but I think the question was: Why Thursday morning?
I get the week day event but it probably gets dark too early this time of year to have it at 5:00.
But then under the lights would be very cool! And this course seems suited to that.
Because The Running Event (industry trade show) was going on Tuesday-Thursday and held their Indie 5k around the outside starting 30 minutes before the women went off. Busses took everyone out to Camp Mabry. The lack of spectators had to do a lot with the race starting before a lot of industry folks were even done (they started late) and then it also being a bit chilly and rainy so many folks just opted to hop back on busses and get back to the hotels/work. I didn't run that morning and stayed until the top ten guys finished before hopping on a bus back. There weren't many people left when I did. Better weather would've changed things a lot from a spectator standpoint.
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