This is an important thread to keep on the first page. NYRRC and USATF are telling people that this is what we all wanted. I haven't heard anyone other than Mary Wittenberg or Glenn Latimer or Fred Finke think that this was a good decision for all of us. It is important for all of us to let them know that this was a selfish decision that did not take into account athletes wants.
Of course they think its a great idea! Has anyone truly voiced their opinion to NYRRC letting them know how most of the athletes feel about the timing etc?
YES. I know they have.
JTH wrote:
Agreed completely! The trials should always be in small to mid size cities where they can be THE feature event.
Hold the mens and womens on the same weekend and truly take over the city.
Sorry, but it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation.
When the Trials are in a place like Birmingham or even Pitt or St. L, they're the biggest game in town, and get lots of local coverage and interest - and very little beyond that, except some running media and AP. USA Today didn't even send Dick Patrick to B-ham in '04.
On the other hand, in NY or Boston you're going to have 10 times the number of journos there (admittedly many of them foreign-based who won't give a rat's ass about a U.S. only race), but the race will be competing for local space w/ Sox (who won't have collapsed by the time of the women's Trials) or Jets/Giants.
So, the question is, do you want to be a big fish in a small pond, or vice versa? Either way, the hard core running fan is going to get his news fix from online postings, etc. So in the end, it's really a question of whether NY or Boston can grab the attention of the avg. fan (even the avg. runner, in town to run the open race the next day).
I'm sure it hasn't escaped the NYRR that in 2007, Chicago won't be able to boast any American marathoners worth a good goddamn thanks to the timing. Maybe not their primary motivation for securing the Trials, but a definite reason for them to smile.
Richard Daley wrote:
I'm sure it hasn't escaped the NYRR that in 2007, Chicago won't be able to boast any American marathoners worth a good goddamn thanks to the timing. Maybe not their primary motivation for securing the Trials, but a definite reason for them to smile.
In fact, it's going to mean that except for those already signed to Chi. (Hansons, etc.) there won't be many going there this year, either. Many of them will run NYCM in '06 to get a preview of Central Park - Culpepper admitted it's a major reason he ran the NYC Half Sunday and is coming back for the big enchilada in Nov. Ditto for Meb, and don't be surprised if Abdi shows up on the line in Staten Island too, assuming there is any appearance money left - although, like the Yankees, there seems to be a nearly bottomless NYRR coffer for bringing in available talent. Just like the Yankees, people diss NYRR for "buying" Series titles or Trials bids, but damn, it's hard to argue w/ success.
Here, here
JimG is on the ball, since Americans don't have the luxury of knowing who will run in Beijing, it will give them plenty of time to prepare for the 2008 Games
If your a serious American Male Athlete in the marathon for Beijing, is Osaka or Beijing more important?
How many of you would rather go to Akron than to NYC, or have the same amount of media exposure for our events!!
It's probably better to be a big fish in a small market, ie, Birmingham, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Charlotte, Columbia, but when is the last time a US Marathon Trials was shown live!!!!!
1984 Olmypia, yes boys and girls it's a town in the US of A
The fall date is fabulous because it gives the qualifying runners 10 or so months to recover, base, race and peak....
Only if it is used that way. I say that it will be a chance for an additional payday marathon or even worse would be a track season.
jldfjsd wrote:
The fall date is fabulous because it gives the qualifying runners 10 or so months to recover, base, race and peak....
A Spring date would have given plenty of time to recover and then prepare for the Games as well. In fact, there is such a thing as too much time, and 10 mos could very well be just that. The guys who make the team are gonna have to basically tread water for a few months before going into a true marathon buildup. It's also not likely they'll want to go 10 mos without racing, so they'll have to figure out something to do, whether it be a couple road races, a short track season, or whatever. As someone else said, there's a reason every Trials up until this point has been in the Spring.
Well running the NYC marathon this fall give the runs a very small preview of the actual trials course so what you have stated makes no sense. Yes running the half this weekend actually helped familiarize themselves with part of the course but how many times do runners need to see a course before running it? Either you are fit or you are not. If you have never run in Central Park I doubt that is going to decrease your chances of racing well there. Most athletes go preview the course a few days before the race anyways and that is usuallly enough.
The reason guys are running NYC marahton this fasll is they were bribed to run it through the "Development" money or appearance fees.
Johnny Demon wrote:
NY sub elite wrote:No need to say anything about the Yankees because everyone knows they are the best franchise in the history of sport. We are used to the best in NY which is why the Olympic trials deserve to be here.
Hey, the Yankees are a good example. They buy their teams just like the NYRR bought the Trials. Wonder if Mary sat down with George and asked him for tips?
Since George was at one time on the USOC board, she might well have consulted with him.
Yes, just like ARod was bribed by the Texas Rangers and Tiger Woods get bribed to play golf in Dubai.
This is real life.
Best way to view the USOT course isn't ING NYCM weekend '06. Better to just make a weekend trip to NYC on your own w/o a race involved, and run that 5mi loop continuously as a long run. Maybe even make it a 15-mile Saturday, 20-mile Sunday weekend. Seven times around that loop will teach you all you need to know for race day (just make sure you run it in the same direction the USOT will run).
Me Why Me? wrote:
This is an important thread to keep on the first page. NYRRC and USATF are telling people that this is what we all wanted. I haven't heard anyone other than Mary Wittenberg or Glenn Latimer or Fred Finke think that this was a good decision for all of us. It is important for all of us to let them know that this was a selfish decision that did not take into account athletes wants.
Alan Culpepper was quoted in an interview this week as saying that the fall marathon was a good thing. Whether or not he was being pressured by NYRR for financial or otherwise will be left for others to speculate about.
Pressured? You must be joking. Everyone knows the NY is the best thing to happen for the trials in a long time.
I am pretty sure most would agree statements like this are due to financial reasons. Alan Culpepper is receiving an appearance fee for the 2006 NYC Marathon so of course he is going to have nice things to say about NYRRC. Its part of the deal.
Seriously id I knew who you really were I would kick your ass. You are the most annoying piss ant on here.
Me Why Me? wrote:
This is an important thread to keep on the first page. NYRRC and USATF are telling people that this is what we all wanted. I haven't heard anyone other than Mary Wittenberg or Glenn Latimer or Fred Finke think that this was a good decision for all of us. It is important for all of us to let them know that this was a selfish decision that did not take into account athletes wants.
The debate on the Trials location and date, and the related one on the disbursement of training funds to different categories of athletes, highlights the ever-widening chasm between the lower and upper ends of elite distance running in the United States.
Male marathoners who are training very hard to run 2:22 or 2:20 are in a vastly different category from athletes like Meb who has mounted the podium at New York (twice), the Olympic Games, and Boston. The lower-end elites are essentially running for personal goals which have little, if any, national, commercial or media value. Meb's performances have a lot of national, commercial and media value, so it is not surprising that he thinks the date and location of the next Trials is excellent. So do many --but not all-- of the other top elite men.
But for a guy who is struggling to make it to the 2:22 level, the situation looks completely different: there is less time to qualify, it's an expensive location for him or his family to journey to, the course is hard, the media attention which will be showered on the top stars doesn't do him any good. To add to the problem, he's not getting any training funds from anybody as the shoe companies have been paying the stars more than ever, but cutting the developing athletes left and right.
Also, the Trials could very well overshadow the regular NYCM in 2007, especially if the race his held on Saturday and not Friday. The NYCM already draws a large USA media corps, and will no doubt draw more because of the many regional athletes who will run the Trials. The Sunday newspapers will be flooded with stories on the three guys who just made the Olympic team, not the NYCM which is about to take place later that day which, BTW, has no U.S stars. It will be interesting to see the difference in press coverage between the two races and how that develops.
Vanny (who wishes the Trials could be in his beloved Bronx)
The Half course mirrors the OT course for about 1.7 miles,the NYCM for about 1.35 on the east side then out the park so its not trials course any more then back for another .25 near the finish. Too weird to think it's a training preview.
Plus didn't I hear they were running the Trials anti-clockwise--that would throw the hold thing out??.