American Distance Running: Why is it so UNDER-funded?

I was a pretty good runner in high school and follow this site on a regular basis as a hobby...

I have three children who are excellent runners and are really getting into the sport in the past 12 months.

My kids find watching any kind of running to be very boring because of the rabbits. Racing isn't racing anymore, it's pacing + a quick finish and my kids feel it is cheating of a sort. I am sure there are many reasons for the decline of the sport but please put this one in the list. Rabbitting has taken away much of the intrinsic value of a sport that people once thought was very exciting. Old videos with no rabbits are much more exciting/less predictable.

Hope you all will consider this point as one of the culprits in a complex problem basket.

Peace

Your sophistication shines through again. I'm not Buddhist nor do I hum or ahh when I meditate (nor chant, for that matter). I can live with not being able to get through to an illiterate arse who effectively has flown the white flag. Don't go away mad....

(?) wrote:

Ok, wise Buddha. But I find meditation a bit too repetitive. The subtle humming, the tranquil ahhing - I find it........numbing. You're above the Evil T.V. and no sporting event intrigues you. You're mind knows no corporeal boundries. You're spirit can not be tarnished by that uninspiring non-world-championship 5000. Go meditate.

"It's tough to interest an uninteresting spirit"- I think Ghandi said that. Or Jesus. Not sure. Nanananananannaaa

Precisely.

First time Poster wrote:

I was a pretty good runner in high school and follow this site on a regular basis as a hobby...

I have three children who are excellent runners and are really getting into the sport in the past 12 months.

My kids find watching any kind of running to be very boring because of the rabbits. Racing isn't racing anymore, it's pacing + a quick finish and my kids feel it is cheating of a sort. I am sure there are many reasons for the decline of the sport but please put this one in the list. Rabbitting has taken away much of the intrinsic value of a sport that people once thought was very exciting. Old videos with no rabbits are much more exciting/less predictable.

Hope you all will consider this point as one of the culprits in a complex problem basket.

Peace

That's great, the sentiment and concept are right on. I'm just not sure that it'll really feed into a goal of increasing the fortunes of US distance runners internationally when the talent pool has been hugely restricted by AYSO and Nintendo.

tsyujskj wrote:

Zippity wrote:

There is a big boxing match tonight, and while listening to sports radio what they are talking about is the lack of personalities in boxing has led to its demise. They are hoping this boxing match will reignite the sport.

That's bull. Boxing is dead because of Ultimate Fighting/Mixed Martial Arts.

Boxing was dead long before MMA became big. I think MMA stepped into the void. And it's popularity proves the point. If you find compelling personalities that give their all and win, America will tune in. MMA was obscure not long ago. Now, with marketing and personalities, it's a significant sport. Boxing, a traditionally popular sport, is barely hanging on really.

But boxing is ALL about head-to-head matchups and distance running usually isn't. Even if, say, Ritz were promoted as a charismatic personality, it'd still be hard to get behind or follow him because as a pro he only races well during the preseason and has been beaten handily or off the radar completely when the biggest titles are on the line.

The Sports Are Too Different wrote:

But boxing is ALL about head-to-head matchups and distance running usually isn't. Even if, say, Ritz were promoted as a charismatic personality, it'd still be hard to get behind or follow him because as a pro he only races well during the preseason and has been beaten handily or off the radar completely when the biggest titles are on the line.

Ritz can't be promoted as a charismatic personality if he isn't charismatic and doesn't win. That's the thing.

I'm not comparing the details of various sports. Every sport is different. But what is common seems to be what it takes to make the sport popular in the US. It's about winning, having a personality, having an "evil" rival is a nice bonus, and promoting the heck out of that all.

US distance running is boring and essentially non-competitive on the world stage (by boring I do not mean the sport is boring, but that the performances by US runners are). US distance runners don't put it all on the line. Prefontaine was a star because everyone knew he used all he had every time he raced. That is compelling. Add to that a bit of personality, some cockiness, and some big wins, and presto! He died in the 70's and is still being used as the major marketing icon for the sport. Doesn't that in itself show both how important a competitive personality is, how big a sport can get as a result, and how pathetic distance running in the US really is right now. When your major marketing icon has been dead for 30+ years or whatever, your sport is in deep crap.

As a side note I would add that track is not defined for the US public. When does the season start? When does the season end? What are the major competitions (the Kentucky derby, French Open, Masters, "Tour", etc. of the sport)? It's a smaller issue, but another issue that makes it so most people cannot relate.

Track would be better served in the US if it had a Nascar style racing schedule with cumulative championship points for a race for the chase, or just a regular tour with a consistent schedule and a few "majors". The marketing possibilities from that are unlimited. "John Doe is trying to win all four majors in the mile," for example.

Remember, the average American has a limited attention span and unlimited stimuli. Americans are bombarded by media, information and shiny objects. You have to provide a point of reference that can stick amongst all the other crap they are being hit with.

Some of this is USATF's fault for being inept and producing a really crappy product that doesn't relate to most Americans. Some of it is simply that we don't have a charismatic consistently winning (or even competitive), personality to anchor the promotion of the sport around.

that's not right at all. why would someone like lasalle bank care about how many media outlets pick up the reports? they're a regional bank. they certainly care about the event being big in chicago. and they certainly care about the number of participants.

people always say it is usatf's fault for not promoting the sport better. but really what should they do? no one ever has any suggestions. maybe the sport just isn't marketable compared to the big 4 and it isn't usatf's fault.

venom wrote:

people always say it is usatf's fault for not promoting the sport better. but really what should they do? no one ever has any suggestions. maybe the sport just isn't marketable compared to the big 4 and it isn't usatf's fault.

Have you read through this whole thread? I'm not trying to be mean, but there have been tons of examples given of non-big four sports (which big four are you talking about?), that have capitalized on a single personality to move their sport up the ladder of support and consciousness. Track doesn't have to be one of the big four, and maybe it can't be at this point, but it certainly can be bigger than cycling, short track speed skating, tennis, golf, competitive jumproping, poker, MMA, boxing, etc.

And if it isn't USATF's fault, at least to a large extent, who's fault is it? They are the only governing body for this sport in the US. It is their purpose to promote the sport. If the sport is a failure, doesn't the blame rest on their shoulders?

And to say "no one ever has any suggestions" is kinda silly. People make intelligent suggestions for the promotion of this sport all the time. USATF's response, near as I can tell, was to create some mascot thing out of a discarded mascot costume. If you read through this post alone I think you will find a bunch of intelligent suggestions.

chuck d wrote:

that's not right at all. why would someone like lasalle bank care about how many media outlets pick up the reports? they're a regional bank. they certainly care about the event being big in chicago. and they certainly care about the number of participants.

It's my understanding from those in the know and it makes perfect sense to me. Why would LaSalle bank pay for exposure to just those who are on the ground, 40k runners and maybe 500k spectators instead of exposure to millions of eyes? Just because it's a "regional bank" doesn't mean that it doesn't do business on a national or international scale nor care to build prestige and brand consciousness in the eyes of the world. I couldn't find an ING in my town and had never heard of them previously but I sure as hell know of them through their sponsorship of NYCM. Same for John Hancock. I have no idea what Flora does, but I'm certainly aware of the brand and the image they've built by sponsoring the elite race of the London Marathon.

USATF has promoted personalities, then. They promoted the crap out of Michael Johnson, Marion Jones, and Maurice Greene. It didn't help much at all.

venom wrote:

people always say it is usatf's fault for not promoting the sport better. but really what should they do? no one ever has any suggestions. maybe the sport just isn't marketable compared to the big 4 and it isn't usatf's fault.

Exactly. Track and field is not a big time sport. It is a minor sport. Baseball, basketball and football are all big-time sports in this country and NASCAR is now another big one (although sponsorship money is not on the decline). You can't compare those sports to T&F because they are in completely different leagues.

USATF is doing a decent job. Sure the sport can always do better, but they are doing better. USATF just teamed up with USA Swimming and Gymnastics and has a major marketing firm working with them now. This is a big step in the right direction. Compare track and field with any other minor sport and it is doing ok. T&F is different from Golf, Tennis and even soccer because we don't have high profile events every single week. Plus, those sports all have millionaire fans and owners that are willing to invest millions of dollars into the sport. T&F doesn't have this and maybe never will.

T&F would be more popular if sprinters and field events were hyped up more. Those are our best events internationally and they are explosive events, which Americans can relate to (i.e. football, baseball and basketball). Distance running is starting to generate more and more money. Look at all the post-collegiate opportunities that have popped up since 2000. It is insane and the trend only continues to grow. Distance running and its funding is doing quite well if you look at how not popular it is in the general viewers eye.

Two things can help to fix the popularity of the sport that would be cost efficient. First, high school coaches can educate their athletes better about the top end in the sport. How many high schoolers even know who Matt Tegenkamp is? Sure they might know Webb and Ritz, but I bet todays high schoolers dont even know who Hall and Teg are. USATF or someone else should put together a weekly email that they can send out to coaches and athletes where they could read and learn about the sports stars. They could work with groups like Flocasts to educate the sport. This would work and it would be fairly cheap to do.

The other thing is that more opportunities for our top athletes to race needs to be in place during the summer racing season. Track and field would shine in this country if the European circuit wasn't as big as it is. Think about it...during June, July and early August what is going on in American sports? Nothing to significant. Football is not in session, basketball is over and baseball is still in mid-season and wouldn't get even remotely exciting until mid to late August. Plus, there are no college sports to compete with. Those ten to twelve weeks when our top stars could be competing here in front of crowds of present and future fans disappears. Our top stars go to Europe. T&F will never be big unless this changes. Pre and the NYC meet are our two biggest meets according to IAAF, but that is all. More meets in the summer would equal a larger and more consistent fan base.

The sport is getting more money. Email Masback at USATF and ask him. There is more money in the sport than there has ever been. Slowly but surely there are more chances to see the sport online. Traditional media doesn't care about track and field. They believe it is a sport that should only be covered during Olympic years. If you look at TV ratings track and field on TV gets better ratings than most MLB games, most hockey games and all soccer games. But yet you find all three of those sports covered by every major national newspaper extensively. I've talked to Masback and USATF has met with USA Today and other papers numerous times to try and get them to cover the sport more, or even group us with other "Olympic" sports like swimming and gymnastics, but the papers won't do it. So USATF is going to start doing their own thing. And that is why we should support Flocasts and ChasingKIMbia and other new media outlets, because old media doesn't care about us and new media is the way of the future anyways. If USATF and track and field as a sport in general could learn over the next five to eight years how to maximize new media I would venture to say the sport would grow a lot because of this.

Go read the book Elusive Fan. This book explains a lot about the state of sports in American society. It talks about why certain sports are popular and growing and why others are failing. It touches briefly on why sports like track and boxing are dead in the general sporting world eyes in the U.S. It is a great book and one that would really open your eyes and get you thinking more about the sport.

Damn this post is so long. Sorry about this. To wrap it up, Lauren Fleshman said,

"Every type of person can contribute to the sport they love. For some, it’s coaching. For others, it’s by serving as athlete host families or through fundraising. We need to find ways to allow everyone to contribute his or her strength, and to improve networking within running, so that the givers can be connected to those with needs.

If I could inspire people to do one thing, it would be to take their contribution to their sport one step further than they do now. I would like to leave this sport better than it was when I found it. Our sport needs improvement, and if others take the same attitude, it could go a long way. I think that would be inspirational."

If everyone on here could do that and really put some of your ideas that you constantly spew out on here to use then this sport would grow faster and stronger. Turning ideas into reality is helping this sport become stronger and grow more. Flocasts and ChasingTraditions/KIMbia were all ideas that took some sacrifice but are putting faces to the sport. Take risks, help the sport and the sport will become more popular, will get more money involved in it and will be better in the long run.

I cannot comment on the funding issue, but as an outsider the U.S. distance scene seems amazingly vibrant with a whole host of male and female talent pushing each other to ever greater achievement.

You have many runners to be proud of.

Penguin Hunter,

they're paying for all those things. you're the one who said they don't care how many people enter their marathons. that's silly. of course they do. more people = bigger event = more exposure. of course they want top athletes, too, but, frankly, you and i care about that but most others don't. i live in chicago. the event is huge. the buzz about the event is huge. the coverage of the event is huge. but it ain't because of cheruiyot or KK or paula. few would care or notice if the event was just for elite runners - look at how much exposure and how much sponsorship an event like the olympic trials marathon gets. you've got to have the whole package - elites down to penguin charity "runners" - and, believe me, lasalle bank knows this.

You need to get some perspective on the number of spectator sports available in the U.S. vs. in Europe. Other than soccer, what else can you watch in Europe. You guys are right about the 70% fat statistic but I've never seen more drunk and obnoxious people in one plan than at a European soccer game. I think I would rather have the fat and lazy than the stupid, fat, and drunk. And a least our women shave their armpits and legs and don't stink like the hairy European ladies.

I think that there is a host of reasons why track and field doesn't garner the type of popularity in the United States OR in Europe that other sports get, but I think this sort of baseless and antagonist comment isn't furthering our discussion and can be hurtful.

The anonymity of this forum makes it saddeningly easy to make unfounded and even hateful statements; let's just try to have a healthy uncertainty of our views and an openness to others.

The problem is (and there are good reasons for it) unlike the other major sports, major track and distance running competitions are in limited areas.

You can live (as I do) in a college town and not see the best guys on the team run all year...that is unless you attend a meet either in Sacremento, Fayettville or maybe Indy in the summer.

Baseball teams, Football all of them play more, play their best players in cities all over the country.

There are as I said obvious reasons for this, peaking issues for example.

Another thing is that the distance running programs at the major colleges don't depend on fan support for what monetary support they need.

If some fan shows up at a cross country meet, you should maybe direct him to the football game where most of the money comes from even for the cross country program.

Any popularity this sport, the sport we all love gets is done at the local level in the small towns and cities by alot of work from a bunch of annonymous people.

Somehow, something catches on with a very small minority of the kids, who wind up because of some spark, to like it as much as we all do.

It was a comparative, relative statement. Also, local press is a given, with or without elites and whether 5,000 enter or 50,000 enter.

I like running as much as the next guy, and I wish it was more popular, but I hate listening to a bunch of runners complain about this. Other than baseball, basketball, football, and Nascar, no sport in the united states is popular. Elite ballroom dancers work their asses off (and that is a sport) and all they do is get made fun of. So please, stop acting like you're the only victims of this.