Men's Marathon Trials to Be Held on Sunday on Traditional NYC Course

I agree...scotth is f'ing high if he thinks there will be even a tiny fraction of the normal crowd lined up on the streets to watch the trials race go by 2 or 3 hours earlier than the real race. keep dreaming.

Let me get this straight.

1. No criterium.

This means the few hundred folks that show up to these things can only see the race once or twice. Great call.

2. New York City on same day as marathon.

Rooms are at a minimum as far as availability but a maximum as far as price. Great Call.

We are heading to the most expensive city in the US on one of their busiest weekends. Great call.

This means the winning time will be in the 2:16-2:17 neighborhood. Up and down, up and down ...

Trials qualifier wrote:

Let me get this straight...

2. New York City on same day as marathon.

Rooms are at a minimum as far as availability but a maximum as far as price. Great Call.

We are heading to the most expensive city in the US on one of their busiest weekends. Great call.

athletes are provided with rooms, so it doesn't matter the availability or cost, except for friends/family going to watch.

Do you know for a fact that there was not a discussion/agreement among the bidders to adjust to a change in circumstances? Maybe there was some financial aspect that was not particularly clear that led other cities to not be able to cope. Maybe the NY crit course won and then there were negotiations because the committee wanted something more and the NYC group gave a compromise/sweetened bid. You cmplained several times. Several times more than that the complaints are worthless than nothing as they detract from any interest in your perspective. Also, we do not yet know what the story is, much less all of the subtext.

It really is of no importance what the end product is, the process of the bid is sacrocant [sic]; I suspect that the majority do not agree with you (and I am sure that you do not care and we do not care that you don't).

On another point, someone with a modest qualifying time is not necessarily a modest candidate. The qualifying time is just that, once you've got it, even it it is just under the wire, then why care (other than the thigter standard used for funding).

Flame away if you want, but I'm very disappointed. I'm one of those despised runners that just saw the door closed on the opportunity to qualify. And who knows what could happen between now and 2012?

It is true that the explicit purpose of the trials race is to select the Olympic team. But 6 months is plenty of recovery time, and I think the OTs provide another subtle yet crucial function, which is giving 2:25-2:45 runners a dream to shoot for. I think we can all agree that there's a big gulf between qualifying for Boston and the next big step. Shortening the qualifying window just makes it even bigger.

It's not a matter of having another shot to qualify, it's that improvement in running takes time, and this decision means there is less of it. There are plenty of people like me who have been making great strides every season and who have a shot at going sub 2:22 by Fall '07, but for whom Spring '07 just isn't enough time. I could be wrong, but I think there's a lot of people who habe been there and can relate.

Big Al Bundy wrote:

BTW- 7 am in November in New York. That ought to be just like Beijing as far as weather is concerned.

The runners will be escorted by various pieces of coal-burning construction equipment.

I am with you.

Upittyuppereastsider wrote:

This means the winning time will be in the 2:16-2:17 neighborhood. Up and down, up and down ...

come on, the course isn't THAT hard. meb and abdi were both sub 2:11 there last year; meb has run 2:09 there twice in a row. it's not chicago, but it's not big sur either.

assuming this is confirmed on thursday, does anyone have any insight on when the window will close? the USATF website says 30 days before the trials, but with the new "cooperation" among the marathon majors, i wonder if an exception will be made to include chicago in the window for qualifying, as it will fall 28 days before NYC.

any inkling as to whether that might be a possibility, or just wishful thinking on my part?

Just a quick question. These trials are being held on the same day as the main marathon correct?

Surely, whilst unlikely to happen, this could open up the very embarrasing situation for the US governing body, of an American runner who didn't make the trial time, but is actually a far stronger runner than people realise, or say a top class 10k runner who hasn't done a marathon yet, maybe a new US citizen from Kenya or the like!, goes and runs faster than any of the US runners in the trials in the main race over the same course on the same day.

Appreciate that from the athletics point of view its that the runner wasn't in the trials so they're out but can just imagine the media problems that could emerge!

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY SOLD OUR SOLE TO THE DEVIL. A more lengthy explanation to follow on Thursday.

your sentiment is all well in good scott, in the perfect world. but if the system is flawed and corrupt, then the duck should be called a duck. yes, as for the current marathon trials, it appears it is what it is and ain't going to change. but that does not mean aspects to the decision making process for where it ends up should be ignored and overlooked.

I believe that you are right. I have been excited for the past 2 years when I started hearing rumors about the trials coming to NY. However, the rumors, which now have proven to be true are hard to swallow. Ms. Wittenberg has been a breath of fresh air that this marathon has so desperatly needed. However, it seems like everyone and everything has been trampled in an attempt to get what we all have wanted. This Steinbrenneresque attitude is not popularily accepted throughout the US. The bully is considered the villian. The Yankees who are the best franchise in all of sports is hated outside of New York. I believe that the same is coming with the New York Marathon.

"athletes are provided with rooms, so it doesn't matter the availability or cost, except for friends/family going to watch."

Are all A and B standard runners provided rooms? I thought that was part of the difference in making or not making the A time. What are the differences? Airfare and food...? Never been a threat to make either time so I've never investigated this.

Also, since the NYC marathon is point to point why would the trials have to go off more than a 1/2 hour before the elite women? By then plenty of spectators should be on the course.

rotten, I'm not privy to what any of the bids entailed at any point during the process. Some here assume I did. You make it sound as if you KNOW 'the system is flawed and corrupt.' That means you are on the inside and can share w/all of us exactly what took place. Please do. I certainly don't want to overlook or ignore anything.

scott, i never said i KNEW anything as being absolute. don't put words into my mouth

please don't be so quick to jump. should the process be flawed and/or corrupt, then it should not be ignored.

please see the definition of the word 'if' from websters.com:

9 entries found for if.

1.

1. In the event that: If I were to go, I would be late.

2. Granting that: If that is true, what should we do?

3. On the condition that: She will play the piano only if she is paid.

2. Although possibly; even though: It is a handsome if useless trinket.

3. Whether: Ask if he plans to come to the meeting.

4. Used to introduce an exclamatory clause, indicating a wish: If they had only come earlier!

n.

A possibility, condition, or stipulation: There will be no ifs, ands, or buts in this matter.

Runningart2004 wrote:

Why not hold the trials 2 years beforehand and give the guys 2 years to recover and prepare? Why not 3 years? If the trials was purely about the athletes it would be held in the spring, but it's more about media and money so is will be held in NYC.

Alan

because in the space of one year you can have a lot of changes, injuries....having it 4-6 months out since it is a better indicator of who is really in form. So for the athletes this is a GOOD thing. And the media is a GOOD thing too, unless you have some ideas about how to raise the profile of the sport other than this, maybe you should stop whining. This will help a lot!

Let stick with what we know.

1. Anonymous posters claimed on this board 2 years ago that New York would be hosting the trials.

(a hell of a coincidence)

2. All bids were submitted 6 months ago.

3. During the selection stage, the NYRR offered a quarter million dollars to a pet project (The Distance Project) that was being spearheaded by many of the same people that were responsible for determining the winning bid.

4. Jim Estes and his wife have been to New York for running events that have been put on by the NYRR. They have not been to all of the other bid cities.

5. If it is determined at a future time that one site had a chance to alter their bid while others were not it would be criminal.

6. George Regan was fired from the selection committee which was responsible for not considering NY in 2000.

7. The position was taken over by Hank who has resigned because he felt like Mr. Latimer was not interested in others input.

If any 2 of those seven are true then the system is corrupt. I believe that all 7 are true.