I'm surprized no one has mentioned the obvious reason of lack of tradition. The marathon has been in from the start and has, what, 2500 year roots? Can any one on here tell me when the first half was? Wasn't it just added to marathon events to get more people? Enlighten me.
^Half added like 1980...
Great! We have a lot of in common then, expect one thing:
I'm pretty darn sure I can kick your ass in a half-marathon.
^Just wondering. What's your Half PR?
Logistics. Yeah - go ahead and try to convince the IOC to try to convince the host city to shut down parts (streets) of the Olympic city for at the very least an extra 4-6 hours (2 races on separate days for M/W including pre/post setup). I guess you could start it at the same time as the marathon (except 13.1 miles in obviously), but that would definitely take away from the marathon (competitors/viewing/leaders having to deal with slippery conditions because of half marathon runners' hydration spills).
^More like shut down streets for an hour, maybe hour and 15 minutes.
Half is not really a selling point
They already shut down the streets for the men's and women's marathon, 20km race walk and 50km race walk. Most of these use the same 10km loop (plus an extra 2.095km for marathon), so closing the street for one more event isn't such a big deal.
If it were up to me I'd leave the Olympics alone, but in World Championships, replace the marathon with the half.
Quite often there is a weak field in the WC marathon as a lot of runners would prefer to run a fall marathon for $$$$ instead and don't want to run two marathons close together. Make it a half marathon and people can run the WC Half and still run Berlin, Chicago or NYC.
One question... is there even a world half marathon championships this year as I don't see it mentioned on
home page?
It's not in the Daegu World Championships so I doubt it would be on there.
Really??? wrote:
...Because you then a no longer a "World Champion." You are not the best in the world, you are in a handicapped race where the good countries can only send three of their runners to give you a chance to medal instead of being able to put as many as they want from their country (like in the marathon majors races) and really determine who the best marathoners in the world are against non-handicapped competition
__________________________________________________________
^Same with the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m,5000m, and 10000m. You have to qualify through heats and get selected, so if you can't make the heats or have a bad day or mess up at the Olympics it is a "handicapped" race because your clearly not really the best compared to a track meet. The Olympics are about who manages to get there, who has the best day, who has the most guts, whos best at the Weather Conditions, etc... That all really depends on skill and luck.
I do understand that as well, but finally there is one major difference: the recovery time. Even the 10000m is short enough for elites to continue their track season throughout the fall. Bekele set the WR after winning the world title. My point is, even if you miss the Olympics/WC, you still have chances to race the best in the world or continue your season and even get into races that are arguably more competitive than the Olympics were (like some races in the former Golden League/New Diamond League). However, this doesn't work with the Marathon because of the needed recovery time. People do not run a marathon at the Olympics and then are able to keep racing, or if they luck out of not getting into Olympics, they don't have a chance to race the Olympians in another marathon because they will be recovering etc.
My suggestion is that if the marathon were to stay for the Olympics/World Championships, score it like World Cross Country. Have a team of up to nine people with six that score (of course still keep it that you have to run the qualifying standard first to be in the Olympics). That would be much more interesting to make the marathon a team race and it would allow more deserving people from Ethiopia and Kenya to be in the Olympics. Like Cross Country, still give out individual medals and then team medals.
Team Kenya could be Samuel Wanjiru, Geoffrey Mutai, Patrick Makau, James Kwambai, Duncan Kibet, Emmanuel Mutai, Abel Kirui, Eluid Kiptanui, and Martin Lel.
Team USA would probably only be Hall, Meb, Ritz, Nick Arciniaga, Gotcher, and maybe Kahlid Khannouchi if he got back to sub 2:12 shape, because of the lack of people that have run under 2:12. The USA would still have enough people to score but wouldn't have as much of a chance to win because of their lack in depth in marathoning.
I think that this would be so much cooler if the Marathon was like World Cross at the Olympics/World Championships.
I do understand that as well, but finally there is one major difference: the recovery time. Even the 10000m is short enough for elites to continue their track season throughout the fall. Bekele set the WR after winning the world title. My point is, even if you miss the Olympics/WC, you still have chances to race the best in the world or continue your season and even get into races that are arguably more competitive than the Olympics were (like some races in the former Golden League/New Diamond League). However, this doesn't work with the Marathon because of the needed recovery time. People do not run a marathon at the Olympics and then are able to keep racing, or if they luck out of not getting into Olympics, they don't have a chance to race the Olympians in another marathon because they will be recovering etc.
My suggestion is that if the marathon were to stay for the Olympics/World Championships, score it like World Cross Country. Have a team of up to nine people with six that score (of course still keep it that you have to run the qualifying standard first to be in the Olympics). That would be much more interesting to make the marathon a team race and it would allow more deserving people from Ethiopia and Kenya to be in the Olympics. Like Cross Country, still give out individual medals and then team medals.
Team Kenya could be Samuel Wanjiru, Geoffrey Mutai, Patrick Makau, James Kwambai, Duncan Kibet, Emmanuel Mutai, Abel Kirui, Eluid Kiptanui, and Martin Lel.
Team USA would probably only be Hall, Meb, Ritz, Nick Arciniaga, Gotcher, and maybe Kahlid Khannouchi if he got back to sub 2:12 shape, because of the lack of people that have run under 2:12. The USA would still have enough people to score but wouldn't have as much of a chance to win because of their lack in depth in marathoning.
I think that this would be so much cooler if the Marathon was like World Cross at the Olympics/World Championships.
___________________________________________________________
It's the Athletes choice to run it...I'm sure Wanjiru or Baldini wouldn't like the Olympic Marathon being taken away, or even Geb, and countless others. All marathons take a long time to recover. And also, if you run the Olympic Marathon, you can run the Fukouka Marathon, which actually make 2 competitive Marathons in the 2nd half of the year instead of one actually making more competition.
Fukouka has been won by all three current Olympic Medalists and Gebrsalassie. So it's clearly competitive Marathon. Without the Olympics, though, it's unlikely an athlete would schedule a Marathon like Fukouka this far down the line so really same competition+ Olympics so it's actually a better thing.
BUMP
I'd rather see a cross country race than a 1/2. There have been some incredible 10,000 races at the Olympics but if I weren't a track fan, I'd ask if we really need a 5 and a 10. Certainly I feel that way about all the swimming events.
Yeah, I like the decreased recovery time that the half marathon allows. It's also my favorite event.
not european friendly wrote:
...I do agree that "HALF" marathon is a terrible name for an event that deserves to stand on its own.
Yeah, I despise everyone who calls me a 'half-miler'.
welcometothethunderdome wrote:
The half is just what it says: half of a marathon.
It's not an event worthy of the Olympics.
does that mean we should get rid of the half mile? I'd rather watch the half marathon than that