Should we retire the 10000m from the track?

Don't even start on mixed-gender commentating teams.

I'd keep the 10000m but make it a road and track hybrid race that starts and ends at the track but the bulk of the race is outside the stadium. It adds a unpredictable dynamic to the race.

I don't understand your point at all. There are very few 10,000's contested so where are you watching a 10,000 that isn't the Olympics or the World Championship? Events like The Ten are for getting qualifying times, not for spectators.

Seems like most college track meets have it. Am I misremembering? I do remember it from conference meets. I was a jumper and my kids were jumpers and multis, so I didn't watch it closely, but I do remember it going on - definitely at conference. That's when I got dinner.

Another example of the short attention spans people have now. People on here sound like they can’t even watch the 5000 or Steeple , they want those eliminated. I think the 10000 is fine for championships and a few other events . It has a rich history , leave it alone . I get bored watching countless replays of sprint races.

the 10,000 is almost universally hated, even by runners, because it is not only boring to watch, but you have to pay close attention to the boringness to keep track of who is on what lap.

Even the runners and officials can have trouble with that, as infamously happened in 1987 WC.

So, why not change it to an elimination race? Last place at the end of each lap gets yanked off. That won't affect the leaders until later, but at least it's something to watch. And then you get to 5 laps left and each lap is a battle to not be last. Finish line camera can prevent any ties for last. That would make this "tactical" stuff truly tactical for once.

The marathon could also be revamped. It gets a cheer when the winners enter the stadium. But pare down the field to the actual elites (same # as the 10,000 will do) and you can have a more interesting race with one simple rule: anyone who is lapped is yanked off the track. Winner is the first one to lap everyone else.

Eventually, someone will by likely to win by the marathon distance. If not, it won't take much longer before someone does, and it could set up some epic "duel in the sun" vibes with the crowd wondering who will break first.

You could say the same thing about the 100m and the 200m. The world champ was the same for both last year.

Nice try Seb. We know it's you.

Yes but the 200m isn't 27 minutes long, so it's a non-issue. My point was about entertainment.

If the 5000 and 10,000 are being contested by more or less the exact same runners and the last few laps are virtually indistinguishable from one another, then just scrap the 10,000m.

Move it to the roads by all means. At least that offers some background scenery for viewers. But 25 laps is a snooze-fest.

Yes - but they should replace it with a 10k road race at the Olympics

I thought this about 10 years ago and could see WA alternating 5000 and 10000 per global champs.i could watch good 10000s all day and once a year in UK we get the chance to do so.but it's a tiny minority and when Farah was at peak I'd say almost zero new UK folk got properly interested in 10000s. They just liked seeing a brit win.( or for some, disliked seeing a refugee win). I don't think changing to road or xc would really change the public interest one iota .it would still be a long running race with people born in Kenya Ethiopia and Uganda piling up the leading positions, possibly in petro dictator state national vests, which I'm not sure boosts the appeal. The aficionados don't need a reboot ( tho I'd like 10000 heats to widen the entries. Non bloody starter, I know). The wider public I suspect are beyond rescue.

The 100m dash barely lasts 10 seconds. Blink and you’ve missed it. The runner introductions lasts longer. The gap between “ready” and “go” lasts longer. That one has got to go too.

Highgate have made the 10k into a popular fan event. Even my mates who aren't into running come down to watch every year.

As people have said before - it's all in the hype/buildup/commentary

Solinsky was legit an Aguero moment. We just need more of them.

That used to be a real thing. It was called "Devil take the hindmost." A guy in a red devil suit would literally run out on the track and chase the guy in last place to remove him from the race. That would make the 10,000 watchable, even for non-track fans. Even more so if they tackled the guy in last! Given how crowded 10,000s are and the annoying number of runners getting lapped, it would be great if there were only 5 or so competitors left for the final 400.

Of course rather than eliminate one of the greatest events in track and field history, maybe they should think outside the box a bit. Others may have better ideas but what if, for example, they used paced lights and set it at 66 per lap (27:30 pace) and if you were more than a step or so off pace on any lap you were pulled off the track? Or whatever pace makes sense. You could go 65 (27:05) in great conditions but that is probably too fast. Any other ideas to spice it up, add drama to the first part of the race?

Short response.

If dropping the 10,000 meant we could have an Olympic Cross Country (individual and team), I would do it in a heartbeat.

It was a great event and I'm still buzzing over it. Excellent production, good vibes. Even the announcing was decent and knowledgeable. Granted, nobody is as good as Rob Walker and Hannah England (who did a superb job during the recent World Indoor Champs) unless you include Ato Boldin and Dwight Stones. And I do like all of the other British announcers as well. None of them grate on your nerves like most of the Americans who usually just babble on and don't give as much info. Kara Goucher is getting better and will continue to improve.

But still, the Flotrack guy who did most of the talking (rapidly!) had great info on the athletes and said all of the right things. The one thing which I would change would be to have more automatic on-screen splits. And some may have noticed that at the end of one (or both) elite 10,000's that huge box with the running list of athlete's names/times totally covered the real time clock.

Not sure we should be listening to anything from you -- you don't know the difference between "a" and "an".