Attitudes like these are what is killing the sport in America. Sure, this isn't a Diamond League event, but even those have youth and masters races before the professional events.
Be realistic, no one is paying money to watch a series of ever faster 10K races on a Saturday night. Even the Night of 10K PBs in the UK couldn't sustain itself after a couple of years and they had alcohol sales in an on-track beer garden!
You need high school racing to sell tickets and fill the stands. You need the high school athletes in attendance because they make noise and get pumped to see pros on a high school track. They also gain some inspiration from seeing pro racing. If the OP is indeed from TrackTown, outside of Pre Classic and Olympic Trials, Hayward is a beautiful but empty stadium for most Oregon collegiate meets. The place is about half full for Oregon Relays and OSAA Championships because...high school racing and high school parents buying tickets.
The Ten isn't ruined. Thank goodness someone is trying to keep long distance running alive.
The Ten was literally one of the only meets in the U.S. that actually felt like a pro event, tight schedule, elite fields, paced for standards, no fluff. That’s why people paid attention. Not because it had 12 hours of mixed races. Nobody goes to an NBA game to watch JV beforehand. Same concept. If your “pro meet” needs high school races and parents buying tickets to feel alive, that’s not a strong product, that’s a participation meet with a pro section tacked on. High school racing has its place. But jamming it into what’s supposed to be a high-performance night dilutes the entire point. The Ten worked because it was focused and intentional, not everything needs to be a festival. You don’t grow the sport by blending everything together. You grow it by making the top end actually matter and The Ten was doing exactly that. Now it’s a high school meet that pro fan could care less about
T&F isn't the NBA. HS track draws in more crowds than the pros here. It sucks but that's just how it works nowadays.
T&F isn't the NBA. HS track draws in more crowds than the pros here. It sucks but that's just how it works nowadays.
High school track draws more spectators because each high school runner will typically have two parents and a coach as spectators. And maybe also some siblings, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.
Many of the pro runners have no friends and family at their meets. Some pros don't even come with their coach. I remember talking to a runner at The TEN about two years ago. She screwed up her lap count, was sprinting on lap 24, and finished a lap early, before an official told her to starting running again because she had another lap to go.
I asked her why someone like her coach wasn't helping her with the lap count? She said that literally no one she knew was a spectator at the race. Not her husband, not her coach, no one.
So yes, high school kids usually attract a lot more spectators than the pros do.
The TEN isn't the first meet (race within/after a meet) to exist. In 1984, after the UCLA/Oregon dual meet at Heyward Field, the Salazar 10,000 was held. It drew most everyone with a decent chance to hit the Olympic Trials standard. The key here is it was an Olympic year where one has to hit the qualifying mark within a short window (I think back then it was March though May of that year as the trials were in June). The weather was typical Eugene crappy in mid April - 40 degrees, raining hard with 10 MPH winds) so not the best conditions. Yet, because it was a collection of great athletes with a purpose, it ended up being the deepest 10K in US history at that point. 21 guys qualified in that one race. Shows two things that are relevant: 1. Qualifying years are important and 2. The best guys want to race each other regardless of the perceived high school/college meet. At least it was back then.
Shelby ran 30:50 which is Parker Valby’s 10,000m record. Parker should have been in this race, her and Shelby would’ve been battling back and forth, Parker definitely would’ve pushed/kept the pace. Too bad she was celebrating her friends bachelorette party on the same day.
Shelby ran 30:50 which is Parker Valby’s 10,000m record. Parker should have been in this race, her and Shelby would’ve been battling back and forth, Parker definitely would’ve pushed/kept the pace. Too bad she was celebrating her friends bachelorette party on the same day.
You have it backwards The pros are lucky to have to the high school athletes at the meet with races sandwiched in between. The overwhelming majority of spectators are there to watch the elite high school races, you think they are there for 25 laps of a 10K? You cant have it both ways where you complain there arent enough fans of distancing running then simultaneously say there should be a special 10k just for pros in a “controlled environment” where no one would ever care to go watch. In fact, the only thing wrong with The Ten at the moment is that Flo Track is involved and has removed the ability of ANYONE, coaches, trainers, staff, to be on the infield. They closed off viewing anywhere but the final 100 meters. You dont think the runners would appreciate their coaches and “fans” lined up around the track? Morons. Flo Track, you are bad for the sport, dont understand distance running, have truly horrific coverage, have no clue how to get a good shot, you rob fans and athletes of a better experience.
You have it backwards The pros are lucky to have the high school athletes at the meet with races sandwiched in between. The overwhelming majority of spectators are there to watch the elite high school races, you think they are there for 25 laps of a 10K? You cant have it both ways where you complain there arent enough fans of distancing running then simultaneously say there should be a special 10k just for pros in a “controlled environment” where no one would ever care to go watch. In fact, the only thing wrong with The Ten at the moment is that Flo Track is involved and has removed the ability of ANYONE, coaches, trainers, staff, to be on the infield. They closed off viewing anywhere but the final 100 meters. You dont think the runners would appreciate their coaches and “fans” lined up around the track? Morons. Flo Track, you are bad for the sport, dont understand distance running, have truly horrific coverage, have no clue how to get a good shot, you rob fans and athletes of a better experience.
It's amazing to me with a sport that is floundering and losing an audience by the day people are so picky about what a meet should be. I watched the night meet and it was a good mix of elite HS and pros. However, they didn't need two heats of the 10K since it dragged out the meet unnecessarily and the competition was not compelling or deep enough to justify two heats. I'm a fan of Sound Running and trust them to figure it out alot more than USATF which has consistently dropped the ball and has no idea how to develop the sport. I agree the FloTrack coverage was inept.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
In fact, the only thing wrong with The Ten at the moment is that Flo Track is involved and has removed the ability of ANYONE, coaches, trainers, staff, to be on the infield. They closed off viewing anywhere but the final 100 meters.
You dont think the runners would appreciate their coaches and “fans” lined up around the track?
Even before FloTrack started covering them, The TEN never had "coaches and fans lined up around the track."
The TEN isn't the first meet (race within/after a meet) to exist. In 1984, after the UCLA/Oregon dual meet at Heyward Field, the Salazar 10,000 was held. It drew most everyone with a decent chance to hit the Olympic Trials standard. The key here is it was an Olympic year where one has to hit the qualifying mark within a short window (I think back then it was March though May of that year as the trials were in June). The weather was typical Eugene crappy in mid April - 40 degrees, raining hard with 10 MPH winds) so not the best conditions. Yet, because it was a collection of great athletes with a purpose, it ended up being the deepest 10K in US history at that point. 21 guys qualified in that one race. Shows two things that are relevant: 1. Qualifying years are important and 2. The best guys want to race each other regardless of the perceived high school/college meet. At least it was back then.
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
The point keeps flying over your head. Nobody said high school racing is bad. The issue is that The Ten used to be a legit pro-distance meet first, and now the pros feel like background filler at their own event. That is the problem. A high school meet can be great on its own. A pro meet can be great on its own. Mashing them together until the pros are basically sandwiched between prep races is exactly how you dilute both. And spare the “nobody wants to watch 25 laps” line. For 2021–2024, people absolutely cared, because it was built for performance, pacing, and serious pro racing. That was the identity. Once you turn it into a hybrid circus where the elite portion no longer feels like the centerpiece, you lose what made it matter in the first place.
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
The point keeps flying over your head. Nobody said high school racing is bad. The issue is that The Ten used to be a legit pro-distance meet first, and now the pros feel like background filler at their own event. That is the problem. A high school meet can be great on its own. A pro meet can be great on its own. Mashing them together until the pros are basically sandwiched between prep races is exactly how you dilute both. And spare the “nobody wants to watch 25 laps” line. For 2021–2024, people absolutely cared, because it was built for performance, pacing, and serious pro racing. That was the identity. Once you turn it into a hybrid circus where the elite portion no longer feels like the centerpiece, you lose what made it matter in the first place.
They start caring again when there's a prize purse that can compete with road races, or they need a qualifying standard. Otherwise track 10000 is just not interesting. People who say it's a dying event are not lying.
And spare the “nobody wants to watch 25 laps” line. For 2021–2024, people absolutely cared, because it was built for performance, pacing, and serious pro racing. That was the identity.
Once you turn it into a hybrid circus where the elite portion no longer feels like the centerpiece, you lose what made it matter in the first place.
You're confused. What made The TEN matter the past 5 years was that for the past 5 years there was a global championships that the runners needed to hit a certain standard time in order to qualify.
There is NO global championships this year. THAT is the reason why very few pros went to The TEN this year. The 10ks were still the enterprise of the meet, but Sound Running can't force pros to run a 10k if it's a non-global championship year. The lack of top pros this year has ZERO to do with the high school races.
And spare the “nobody wants to watch 25 laps” line. For 2021–2024, people absolutely cared, because it was built for performance, pacing, and serious pro racing. That was the identity.
Once you turn it into a hybrid circus where the elite portion no longer feels like the centerpiece, you lose what made it matter in the first place.
You're confused. What made The TEN matter the past 5 years was that for the past 5 years there was a global championships that the runners needed to hit a certain standard time in order to qualify.
There is NO global championships this year. THAT is the reason why very few pros went to The TEN this year. The 10ks were still the enterprise of the meet, but Sound Running can't force pros to run a 10k if it's a non-global championship year. The lack of top pros this year has ZERO to do with the high school races.
The qualifying window already opened in February for the 2027 World Championships, so this isn’t some “off year” where performances don’t matter. For the 10,000m, races like The Ten absolutely count right now toward Worlds qualification. That’s exactly why the meet used to matter so much to pros. And that’s the issue you’re acting like pros should just be grateful to be there, when in reality this meet was built around them chasing global standards. When that focus gets diluted, it directly impacts their ability to perform, qualify, and make teams. There’s a reason you’re hearing more and more pros are over it. It’s not about disliking high school racing, it’s about the meet losing its identity as a serious, performance-driven pro event at the exact time when marks actually matter for Worlds. You can’t turn a precision environment into a mixed-format showcase and expect the highest level athletes to pretend nothing changed.
There’s a reason you’re hearing more and more pros are over it.
It’s not about disliking high school racing, it’s about the meet losing its identity as a serious, performance-driven pro event at the exact time when marks actually matter for Worlds.
No. No one is hearing that. You're just making that up.
Next year, when 2027 is a global championship year, the top pros will be back at The TEN.
There’s a reason you’re hearing more and more pros are over it.
It’s not about disliking high school racing, it’s about the meet losing its identity as a serious, performance-driven pro event at the exact time when marks actually matter for Worlds.
No. No one is hearing that. You're just making that up.
Next year, when 2027 is a global championship year, the top pros will be back at The TEN.
They will choose there meets , others are getting set up
With no international championships meet this year outdoors, it is a bit of a more mellow or relaxed year for a lot of athletes and meets. It would not surprise me at all, if next year and in 2028 that the TEN meet returns to more of an elite format as atheltes will want and need opportunities to get qualifying marks.
Ruined doesn’t do it justice! I was at The TEN last night and here is exactly what’s wrong with it:
1. It was boring distance running. No sped or athleticism to be found! Just skinny people running in circles.
2. Can’t we just watch a meet without that disgusting rap and roll that the youngsters like? The only song that I want to hear is The Star Spangled Banner sung by a church choir.
3. Too many dang kids!!! They should’ve been home studying or getting ready for Sunday services. What happened to curfews?
4. The kids were bothering adults for autographs and self pictures instead of staying next to their parents in the stands.
5. The only kind of food being served was Mexican food from a truck. Disgusting! No All-American favorites like a well done burger with lots of mayonnaise on it. Nope, just illegal alien food.
6. Too much skin and tight pants! Where was the modesty and morality?
7. The woman that won the big race had a bunch of tattoos! I didn’t know we let Hell’s Angels and merchant marine sailors run in track meets.
8. The so called German that won the main men’s race didn’t look very German to me!
9. The meet was at night. Respectable people are not supposed to be out after sundown.
10. I am a senior citizen, a veteran, a local track official, and they still made me pay to watch! Where is the respect?