So just how strong were the U20 Kenyan men? With such a nice course it turns out it is easy to convert 8k to 10k times. How do Senior USA men compare to the top U20 team.
Was the course that slow or challenging? Just asking for some context to put around the times. Outside of Kiplimo the times are that of NCAA championship times
Dew points were over 60F, which is definitely not ideal for distance running.
Was I the only one that felt the streaming coverage was amateur at best? No lead cart, shaky drone footage. I also felt the race had no energy (granted I was not there in person). Previous world XC’s (specifically the one in Scotland back in 2008) had so much energy in the event. Even today it looked bar bones with the amount of athletes even running. There are high school races that I coach at with more people in attendance. The whole event unfortunately looked like it flopped. I hate to say it, but if this is the future of World XC I think its days are numbered. The “obstacles” were super corny.
For a World Championship competition attendance was poor. There is relatively very low interest in Athletics in the USA.
High School races get so many spectators because the participants are still non-adult children still under the care of their parents. Many of those parents attend their kid's races, sometimes along with a few family friends and relatives, because that is what parents do.
International sporting events in Europe draw more interest and spectators due to the close proximity of numerous other countries. Tallahassee FL is a relatively much longer distance away from any other country.
It is likely that the current attitude, policies and practices of the US President kept many international fans away. Insulting many nations and their citizens. Making remarks that foreigners (and foreign products) are not welcome in the USA.
Those attitudes, policies and practices may have also kept some other nations from sending teams/athletes to this event. And for some of athletes were sent entry into the USA was denied.
True on all points! Part of me wishes a lot of countries boycotted because of the current policies. Unfortunately, like you said, not a big deal in the US, so it wouldn’t have made a big enough statement.
Was I the only one that felt the streaming coverage was amateur at best? No lead cart, shaky drone footage. I also felt the race had no energy (granted I was not there in person). Previous world XC’s (specifically the one in Scotland back in 2008) had so much energy in the event. Even today it looked bar bones with the amount of athletes even running. There are high school races that I coach at with more people in attendance. The whole event unfortunately looked like it flopped. I hate to say it, but if this is the future of World XC I think its days are numbered. The “obstacles” were super corny.
I was there. It was awesome live. There were 10,000 people there. You don't coach high school meets with 10,000 people. Please get back to finding reason to be unhappy with the sport and your life.
Ok big guy. Hope you had fun….anyways like I was saying the streaming coverage did not match what you experienced. Far from it.
I was at the course and heard them say 7500 people, but that was fairly early in the day. It definitely felt much more crowded for the senior races than the relay or U20s. So 10,000 people sounds like a believable number.
However, with the 2k loop, it was much better to stay inside the loop. There were at least one or two spectator crossovers, but those must've been closed for large parts of the race (keep in minds that the fields got spread out; people were getting lapped). So the main point to cross the course was the bridge by the roller coaster, and that got clogged up very easily. The best viewing spot, as mentioned earlier in this thread, was by the sand pit and water feature. You could watch the runners go through the sand, wait a minute, then see them come through the water. There was also a TV screen and speakers there to see the video coverage of the race.
All of this means there was basically no reason to be outside of the loop. And with the way the course was designed, the finish chute was left (to the inside), so there really wasn't a way to get spectators into that area to line both sides. It felt like a good atmosphere in person, but I can understand how that didn't translate to TV. It certainly felt more crowded and lively than even the HS state meets I've gone to.
The TV feed did not look nearly as packed. Honestly, if you would have told me there was 1k in attendance I would have believed it from the coverage view.
This course took out a lot of contenders. Usa men for instance. And also the kenyan U20 women struggled so bad they were literally falling over those crocodiles each time.
I wonder why world athletics would incorporate so many obstacles in just a lap when runners are supposed to go several laps.
So just how strong were the U20 Kenyan men? With such a nice course it turns out it is easy to convert 8k to 10k times. How do Senior USA men compare to the top U20 team.
I was at the course and heard them say 7500 people, but that was fairly early in the day. It definitely felt much more crowded for the senior races than the relay or U20s. So 10,000 people sounds like a believable number.
However, with the 2k loop, it was much better to stay inside the loop. There were at least one or two spectator crossovers, but those must've been closed for large parts of the race (keep in minds that the fields got spread out; people were getting lapped). So the main point to cross the course was the bridge by the roller coaster, and that got clogged up very easily. The best viewing spot, as mentioned earlier in this thread, was by the sand pit and water feature. You could watch the runners go through the sand, wait a minute, then see them come through the water. There was also a TV screen and speakers there to see the video coverage of the race.
All of this means there was basically no reason to be outside of the loop. And with the way the course was designed, the finish chute was left (to the inside), so there really wasn't a way to get spectators into that area to line both sides. It felt like a good atmosphere in person, but I can understand how that didn't translate to TV. It certainly felt more crowded and lively than even the HS state meets I've gone to.
The TV feed did not look nearly as packed. Honestly, if you would have told me there was 1k in attendance I would have believed it from the coverage view.
Gressier on fraud alert, how can the world 10,000m champion not keep up with the front and comfortably get top 10?
This just proves that cross country running and track running are very different types of running. Track times don't matter in cross country.
Thanks for pointing this out. That's why I love CC. CC has so many shifts in pacing and requires so much strength, it really is a different sport than track. That's why it needs to be in the Olympics. Not better or worse - different. And I've never seen a jog-fest CC race.