Although we love the Olympic Marathon Trial race, it is a big nothing burger to the rest of the US sports spectator world. It is a money loser and they have to beg a city to take it. Nobody wants it in their city. It is just a handful of runners unlike a regular marathon. Very few tourist dollars whatsoever for the event.
You have to let sponsors try to make some money off a viewing audience. And there would be zero viewing audience at 7-8:00am.
Although we love the Olympic Marathon Trial race, it is a big nothing burger to the rest of the US sports spectator world. It is a money loser and they have to beg a city to take it. Nobody wants it in their city. It is just a handful of runners unlike a regular marathon. Very few tourist dollars whatsoever for the event.
You have to let sponsors try to make some money off a viewing audience. And there would be zero viewing audience at 7-8:00am.
Atlanta hosted a people's marathon the day before or after, something like that. This race or nonqualifiers did fairly well, and yes, it brought in significant tourist dollars. This concept would work in Orlando too.
Although we love the Olympic Marathon Trial race, it is a big nothing burger to the rest of the US sports spectator world. It is a money loser and they have to beg a city to take it. Nobody wants it in their city. It is just a handful of runners unlike a regular marathon. Very few tourist dollars whatsoever for the event.
You have to let sponsors try to make some money off a viewing audience. And there would be zero viewing audience at 7-8:00am.
Atlanta hosted a people's marathon the day before or after, something like that. This race or nonqualifiers did fairly well, and yes, it brought in significant tourist dollars. This concept would work in Orlando too.
This thread shows the typical mindset of why American Distance running is soft.
Orlando has an average of 52-71 on Feb 3rd. (74% humidity) And it is flat as a pancake. Paris France will have elevation and average temps of 58-76 in August 2024. (67% humidity)
Do we want to send the best 3 marathon runners to the olympics or do we want to make sure all Olympic qualifiers feel great about their runs and have fun? Hey, why don't we allow headphones and Go Pros for the US Olympic qualifiers too for the youtube content makers?
They could run the trials four different times and get four different sets of qualifiers. The fastest in the heat would probably be the fastest in cooler climes too. So why put the eventual qualifiers through the wringer twice? In LA wasn't it Shalane who eked across with a team spot? What if the weather affects a qualifier even more greatly and they are in medical after the race? How has that helped the team any? Now the runner has to recover from that, be especially diligent not to overheat again in Olympic prep and also hope they arent more susceptible to the heat at the games. Like others have said, pick the fastest team, let them train for the weather, don't try and pick a team based on what the weather may be.
Why not just run the race early, have it live on Peacock, & then have the replay from 12-2 or whatever? I agree it's been said over and over that this is to attract casual fans who maybe don't exist. I think what happens is if you put the event on at 12 that people stumble upon it because it's on a network channel that gets a lot of foot traffic. People see the Olympic rings and stick around for a minute. It's to cater to that, not to casuals. More eyes will be on it at 12pm because there are more people up & browsing through their channels.
But all of that is to say it'd be nice to see the fastest in the US get a chance to PR on their biggest day of the year. Give them an early start on a fast/flat course.
The other day, I was taking note of the distinct difference between Ironman and Tri events vs the Road marathon. Without a doubt the road marathon runners have to be the most prima Donnas over any sport. Have you seen the conditions that ironman events run at? Kona? Utah? Daytona? The list goes on and on.
What is with you people? The temps will likely be about 60 at race start and you are acting like they are running Badwater...
This thread shows the typical mindset of why American Distance running is soft.
Orlando has an average of 52-71 on Feb 3rd. (74% humidity) And it is flat as a pancake. Paris France will have elevation and average temps of 58-76 in August 2024. (67% humidity)
Do we want to send the best 3 marathon runners to the olympics or do we want to make sure all Olympic qualifiers feel great about their runs and have fun? Hey, why don't we allow headphones and Go Pros for the US Olympic qualifiers too for the youtube content makers?
They could run the trials four different times and get four different sets of qualifiers. The fastest in the heat would probably be the fastest in cooler climes too. So why put the eventual qualifiers through the wringer twice? In LA wasn't it Shalane who eked across with a team spot? What if the weather affects a qualifier even more greatly and they are in medical after the race? How has that helped the team any? Now the runner has to recover from that, be especially diligent not to overheat again in Olympic prep and also hope they arent more susceptible to the heat at the games. Like others have said, pick the fastest team, let them train for the weather, don't try and pick a team based on what the weather may be.
I like your idea, but I'll take it one step further...since the LOCs can't make any money off of the race, just do away with the Trials and go off the descending order list with the caveat that the races have to be run on a World Marathon Majors course, a national championship course, or a World Athletics Platinum/Gold/Elite label race course? The big losers will be USATF since they can't extort rights fees, and Matt Choi.
The outcry for a NOON start in Orlando needs to be NOW. The fact that it is 7 months away people either think this is an argument for later or don’t believe it’s going to happen. If we get to 6 months out there will be no chance to change things. The time to act is NOW.
There is a reason that this is not posted yet. USATF is planning to spring it on us once we can’t change things. Trust me NBC has already said they want a noon start and USOPC basically falls in line. USATF is a scared little puppy that doesn’t want to upset NBC.
I’m confused by the original post. Are you saying you’ve heard it’s going to be at noon? Or just that you suspect it based on past trials?
I don't get this. It's in Orlando. The same place that starts the Disney Marathon at 6 AM. Why? Only too obvious.
The OT's should be starting no later than 8 AM.
The disney marathon starts very early because they don’t want it interfering with normal park operating hours. Unfortunately the 5-6 hour marathoners deliberately take a long time so they can ride rides and have dole whip. It has nothing to do with weather. Ever.
The other day, I was taking note of the distinct difference between Ironman and Tri events vs the Road marathon. Without a doubt the road marathon runners have to be the most prima Donnas over any sport. Have you seen the conditions that ironman events run at? Kona? Utah? Daytona? The list goes on and on.
What is with you people? The temps will likely be about 60 at race start and you are acting like they are running Badwater...
It will not be 60 at noon unless a cold front went through the night before which is rare because the jet stream doesnt dip that low very often in the winter. It might be 60 at 8a. But not noon. You almost never get more than 2 consecutive days of 60 degrees at noon in orlando. Twice a season. Maybe. Cool mornings? Sure. Often. High 40’s and 50s? Of course. But once the sun rises over the tree line at 7 your pleasant sunrise long run will be 15 degrees warmer than when you started. February is notorious for unpredictable and nasty weather. But you guys keep comparing it to LA or Duluth. By late january we’re already doing beach days and baking in the sun before we’ve had lunch at gasparilla.
The outcry for a NOON start in Orlando needs to be NOW. The fact that it is 7 months away people either think this is an argument for later or don’t believe it’s going to happen. If we get to 6 months out there will be no chance to change things. The time to act is NOW.
There is a reason that this is not posted yet. USATF is planning to spring it on us once we can’t change things. Trust me NBC has already said they want a noon start and USOPC basically falls in line. USATF is a scared little puppy that doesn’t want to upset NBC.
The outcry for a NOON start in Orlando needs to be NOW. The fact that it is 7 months away people either think this is an argument for later or don’t believe it’s going to happen. If we get to 6 months out there will be no chance to change things. The time to act is NOW.
There is a reason that this is not posted yet. USATF is planning to spring it on us once we can’t change things. Trust me NBC has already said they want a noon start and USOPC basically falls in line. USATF is a scared little puppy that doesn’t want to upset NBC.
What are you a 2:13 guy who can't run 2:11:30? If you can't hit 2:11:30 in the heat, i suggest you run a fall marathon.
I'm totally fine with it being at noon. The sport should be worried about marketability to some extent.
What's wrong with it being at noon? The more I think about it, noon is better a) for tv and b) for the team. Seriously, if you can't run 2:11:30 in a little warm weather, you've got zero shot in the Olympics.
This event loses insane amounts of money for NBC. Costs a ton to produce and gets almost no viewership… aka they can’t make a lot of advertising. Starting at noon is one of the few ways they can recoup SOME of the associated costs. If you want it on TV, this is they only option. Yes, I understand the argument of not putting it on TV but 3 hours of live coverage is pretty damn awesome.
The outcry for a NOON start in Orlando needs to be NOW. The fact that it is 7 months away people either think this is an argument for later or don’t believe it’s going to happen. If we get to 6 months out there will be no chance to change things. The time to act is NOW.
There is a reason that this is not posted yet. USATF is planning to spring it on us once we can’t change things. Trust me NBC has already said they want a noon start and USOPC basically falls in line. USATF is a scared little puppy that doesn’t want to upset NBC.
What are you a 2:13 guy who can't run 2:11:30? If you can't hit 2:11:30 in the heat, i suggest you run a fall marathon.
I'm totally fine with it being at noon. The sport should be worried about marketability to some extent.
What's wrong with it being at noon? The more I think about it, noon is better a) for tv and b) for the team. Seriously, if you can't run 2:11:30 in a little warm weather, you've got zero shot in the Olympics.
Damn, Rojo! You are being generous by saying that "if you can't run 2:11:30 in a little warm weather, you've got zero shot in the Olympics".
I'm with you on the noon start time. On the other hand, maybe the noon start will keep Ben Crawford & Matt Choi away.
