After they screwed over the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and forced them to move their champs to a Thursday night (school night). Hopefully Grand Slam goes under.
Wasn't the whole point of GST that Racers would commit to professional contracts to race twice at 4 events and in return would have the opportunity to win $100k? Arguably GST are in breach of contract for long distance Racers.
Condensing to two days - sure, fine, no preference either way but I get it and can support it.
Cutting the long distance athletes to one race because back to back days isn't good for recovery and would encourage slow races - I get that too. Understandable.
Cutting the prize purse in half?? Giving distance athletes fewer opportunities for points towards the athlete of the year bonus?!? F*** that. It's clear they want a sprinter's league and are only including the distance races to get a few more fans in the stadium. They're already screwing over the racers I'm paying to go watch in LA halfway through the inaugural season. Might cancel my tickets over this.
Oof, that's a tough break for the long-distance guys. Maybe they can add time bonuses to give them a chance to earn some extra money in the 3k?
Anyone could've told MJ the 5k was gonna be tactical. I don't blame the racers because it's the logical move, their prize money depends on placing well in both races so nobody's gonna kill themselves running a hard 5k when they have another race 48 hours later.
Because if you ever needed a GST gut/health check only 2 meets into it's opening season you just got it.
He saves 100k by eliminating 2 races alone. He will save another what, 100k, 200k? on the operational costs of one day (think venue hire(?), equipment hire, insurance, all the stuff you don't think about in running an event). Cut out an extra day of accommodation, catering for these athletes and probably two because I guess he's also going to scrap the previously mandatory "be there two days prior" deal. All up, does he save 350-400k in getting rid of one day? It's really that damn expensive.
But sadly the gut feeling is it's too late. To have to cut costs halfway through your first season says 1) we are running out of money and 2) we don't have an avenue to mitigate this rapidly evaporating cash we once had. Ugh.
I personally don't know if I should feel somewhat vindicated or depressed about this. I always felt guilty for writing on these boards from the very start about the painfully obvious issues with the format and execution of this venture but now it's actually beginning to teeter, the only thing I can think of is "if this implodes, there are going to be no more swings at bat for the sport in terms of this sort of funding again for a very long time". That really sucks. Right now it's hard to believe this makes it past the LA meet. I'd like to say that's unbelievable but in reality it's tragically not.
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
-Women's side LD was working OK though the 5K wasn't too additive IMO, Men's side was a disaster with some entertainment value, but not of the right sort
-Thus love just simplifying to one race where these guys can forgo jogging at least after the first four to five minutes
-Friday's tickets sales indicated it wasn't worth going 3 days as people have work/obligations, the scene was much better on Saturday/Sunday
-I still don't need the sprint hurdlers sprinting, but whatever
- 2 days is better, if I didn't have my nephew/niece b-day party I'd go to Philly for both and even cough up for lodging if i couldn't find somewhere to crash.
What loser would choose a kids birthday party over a track meet? Diddy? Saville? Glitter?
Jonathan and I are working on an article on the news. But why does anyone think this will impact the jog fest nature of it? It might even make it more likely to happen. There is now a lot of prize money for one race so you aren't going to take any chances in serving as the sacrificial lamb.
They should have had one of the races be rabbitted. One not-rabbitted.
It depends on who's in the race. With Agnes Ngetich, we can be assured the women's race will be at an honest pace throughout. On the men's side, Fisher learned his lesson in Miami and showed he's willing to push the pace earlier if he's concerned about there being better kickers than him in the field.
Yes im not saying they will run 7:30. But I think it will include a last few laps if not 4-5 at 4 min pace or faster. In other words it will resemble a championship 3,000. No 14:30 times or 8:30 3Ks. Someone will get it going early and unlike where Grant just ran away I think a few guys will go with it because now it matters monetarily.
I get a little bit of the outrage in cutting the money for distance runners, but now they are able to Sound Running, DL, Gold Level meets etc without the I can’t I’m doubling at GST excuses. I think many runners will be freed up.
Because if you ever needed a GST gut/health check only 2 meets into it's opening season you just got it.
He saves 100k by eliminating 2 races alone. He will save another what, 100k, 200k? on the operational costs of one day (think venue hire(?), equipment hire, insurance, all the stuff you don't think about in running an event). Cut out an extra day of accommodation, catering for these athletes and probably two because I guess he's also going to scrap the previously mandatory "be there two days prior" deal. All up, does he save 350-400k in getting rid of one day? It's really that damn expensive.
But sadly the gut feeling is it's too late. To have to cut costs halfway through your first season says 1) we are running out of money and 2) we don't have an avenue to mitigate this rapidly evaporating cash we once had. Ugh.
I personally don't know if I should feel somewhat vindicated or depressed about this. I always felt guilty for writing on these boards from the very start about the painfully obvious issues with the format and execution of this venture but now it's actually beginning to teeter, the only thing I can think of is "if this implodes, there are going to be no more swings at bat for the sport in terms of this sort of funding again for a very long time". That really sucks. Right now it's hard to believe this makes it past the LA meet. I'd like to say that's unbelievable but in reality it's tragically not.
Probably both, but you can also feel hopeful. The positive spin is they are figuring it out even if that accentuates the negative. While we like distance running the investment and format for most were not cutting it. The third day felt bloated and not as much of an atmosphere (coming on a Friday). I still have my concerns but I think this is a good paring down. If you put together two well-attended, decently watched days of action with stars (if not superstars) that’s not bad.
Build in a bonus structure to pay out based on who's leading the 3k at the end of each lap? Would incentivize faster pacing if part of the remaining prize pool went to that bonus (assuming the total payout is cut in half).
Jonathan and I are working on an article on the news. But why does anyone think this will impact the jog fest nature of it? It might even make it more likely to happen. There is now a lot of prize money for one race so you aren't going to take any chances in serving as the sacrificial lamb.
They should have had one of the races be rabbitted. One not-rabbitted.
In the men's 3k, I agree it's likely that we'll still see a slow race. But, I think having just one race does increase the odds that someone will be willing to try to break it open with a mile to go rather than wait until the last 400, because they won't be worried about saving themselves for the next race or tired from a prior race. It just becomes more like your typical championship distance race, as opposed to trying to conserve energy in order to maximize your points over two races.
They could make it interesting and speed things up with $5K bonuses for first person to 1K and 2K within a certain time.
Basically, the long distance men screwed the long distance women. Grant Fisher should be ashamed.
Grant ran away from the field with a mile left. How much further out does he need to lead from? If he smokes the field from the first lap will it really be any better? No.
Great decision. Kudos to MJ and GST for listening to the fans.
Making the long-distance group 3K only alleviates the concern about those athletes burning out, which increases the likelihood of more top athletes deciding to participate.
It's also noteworthy that each day of racing will still be done in under 2 hours. No more long gaps in between races.
Looking forward to Philly!
No. The athletes were told there would be a possibility of earning 100 grand from each grand slam meet if they had the best combination in the 3k AND 5K! GST can't just make a last-minute change like this and decide not to pay out what they already promised. This is ridiculous. It's a terrible decision and it makes MJ look like a coward and a fraud. You don't mess with the runners' expectations like this. The runners should sue GST. I knew GST would try to pull something like this and change the prize money stipulations.
No. The athletes were told there would be a possibility of earning 100 grand from each grand slam meet if they had the best combination in the 3k AND 5K! GST can't just make a last-minute change like this and decide not to pay out what they already promised. This is ridiculous. It's a terrible decision and it makes MJ look like a coward and a fraud. You don't mess with the runners' expectations like this. The runners should sue GST. I knew GST would try to pull something like this and change the prize money stipulations.
Let's break down the 4 guys you are talking about:
Grant Fisher - Has already cleared $200K in 2 meets, I'm not shedding any tears
Luis Grijalva - Hasn't raced due to injury
Ronald Kwemoi - Has shown only middling form, and has pretty much done nothing from an entertainment standpoint
Hagos Gebrhiwet - Skipped the second meet for personal reasons
So we're talking about one guy who is already gotten absolutely paid, one guy who'd be racking up middling prize money if anything elsewhere (Kwemoi), an injured guy, and one who has only done one of two meets
Women's Side not much different:
Agnes N'getich : OK I feel worse here, but she has made $150K and the efforts are really so manageable for her, she probably got a huge check for her women's only WR in Germany
Tsige Gebreselama: Is somewhere around ~10th-15th in the world at 10K and below that at 3K (HM is probably her best distance), so is lucky to be a racer considering the number of better track racers from East Africa, who aren't here because they aren't NA-based
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
If the “problem” really is slow pace, pay one of the runners to pace. They only get paid if they hit a time table. Give them the ability to win the over all prize as a bonus if they also hit the table. Basically force the field to follow them. Don’t just cancel the distance events.
Basically, the long distance men screwed the long distance women. Grant Fisher should be ashamed.
Grant ran away from the field with a mile left. How much further out does he need to lead from? If he smokes the field from the first lap will it really be any better? No.
From the article: "I’m sure Sasha Zhoya has a bunch more fans in the US after the first couple of Grand Slams because he is insanely charismatic."
Got a kick out of this line. I follow track pretty closely and have no idea who this is. I don't think a single member of the general public who's not already a die hard track fan would recognize this name before or after GST.
In my opinion, the fantasy of marketing track and field to a mass audience needs to die. It's not a good spectator sport. The product is inherently boring if you aren't very knowledgeable about the sport. Structure meets around the desires of the existing fans, and if you want to grow the sport then focus on expanding the market (investing in competitive youth running, high school, collegiate, etc.) rather than trying to cater to a fictional market that doesn't exist.