Jared Ward, Sara Hall and 84 Qualifiers Want Olympic Marathon Trials Start Time Moved to 6 or 7am

This is definitely not true.

World Athletics does not provide for any guaranteed spots for runners from any country other than what is stated in the qualifying rules: time qualifier, top 5 finish in a Platinum level marathon, or rankings. And of course, the athletes that are actually selected to go the Games are dependent on each country's own selection process as long as they meet the above standards.

And in regard to USATF having "poor relations", USATF Staff and other members (including myself) are in contact with World Athletics daily.

The above also includes the re-allocation protocol.

David,

With much respect, the technical committee is not privy of what is discussed amongst the competition committee. I am not American but USA will have 3 positions for the Men’s Marathon in Paris.

you're obvs not old. 6am is sleeping in for those of us over 60

Triathletes and fans of the sport don't care about time as much because time often gets thrown out of the window in garbage conditions. You race by effort & it's about winning/getting on the podium. People on LRC will not be happy if this race is in 80 degrees & the best our top-3 can do is 2:11-2:12. Pure running is about the clock, for the most part. I think course/conditions/competing should be more important but it isn't always.

The top-3 will have enough time to acclimate to Paris conditions & focus their training on those conditions after they make the team. When all of the best marathoners in the US get together on the same day, it would be nice to have cool weather & a fast/flat course. I never would have picked Orlando. I would rather see a bunch of sub-2:10s/2:25s & the 3 fastest make the team.

Dear Friend,

All the IAAF Committees were dissolved several years ago with the re-organization of World Athletics. All aspects of competition are under the WA Competition Commission which I was a member of when the qualification protocols were created.

In regard to the USA having three men competing in the Paris Olympic Marathon, the odds are much higher after Chicago and the USA should hopefully get the third spot through the rankings. Again, there is nothing going on behind closed doors.

The bottom line is that there is a system in place for ALL the countries without a specific carve out for the USA as was done for the 2020 trials.

Oh I see. Others sports compete to win but marathoners only race for time so thats why they need perfect temps and course. No wonder we complain no one likes to watch our sport.

Fast times are the only thing the general public cares about. Do you think Kiptum would have been mentioned on ESPN, CNN, USAToday, etc. and in major news outlets worldwide if he had not set the WR?

How many actually watched more than a 10 second clip and could name that runner the following day? I would guess less than .5% of the general public.

I agree, but 0% would have ever heard of him at all if he had gutted out a strategic win in 75 degree weather.

Of all the sports that take place outside it seems the marathon is the only one with pansies demanding conditions by engineered to be ideal for the event.

I can’t think of any other sport like this.

can you?

domed stadiums

Is there a way to measure how 'direct' sunlight is on a given day?

On February 3, 2024 (date of Trials), there will be 10 hrs 53 minutes of sunlight in Orlando. On August 14, 2024 (Olympic marathon), there will be 14 hours and 36 hours of sunlight in Paris.

Does that stat disprove what you are saying?

It's mostly clothing. Marathoners need to pick up those little pirate vests/ tube tops that the cool tri-guys wear. And the dumb hats. And for some reason running with your palms down seems to help 🫳

WA has told me the Road to Paris list will come out next week.

I don't think the US has much to worry about. Rupp could easily get his WR up into the top 65 of that list with a halfway decent half marathon. I think Fauble will be in the top 65 when the list comes out.

Thanks for taking the time to post with the information David, greatly appreciated. Have a great day sir.

Rojo has to remember this but for others with short memory it is not some wimpy imaginary concern about the heat

There is RECENT historical proof of it being a serious problem during the trials and the only reason why someone like Max Siegel would tempt repeating history is because he is corrupt AF and doesn't actually give a damn about running other than the ridiculous kickbacks he makes while the pros get almost nothing. Who the heck picks central Florida for a MARATHON?

Shalane Flanagan who no-one in their right mind would ever call wimpy would NEVER have finished the Los Angeles 2016 Marathon Trials forget 3rd place, because the heat if she wasn't one of the only three people to have the vaporfly prototypes (how ironic is that?)

Nike literally bought her a spot at the Olympics with those shoes vs heat, no other super-shoe even existed and no competitor had them, good for at least two, maybe three minutes in the heat.

She collapsed at the finish and had to be carried away, let's not stupidly risk injuring our elites again.

https://i.imgur.com/SddLGPL.jpg

https://imgur.com/a/27YxDRP

No, that's just speculation and nothing more. With or without those shoes, Shalane may have held on and beat Karrogant Goucher.

Far from speculation, Rupp jogged a 61 half, solo unpaced, in December 2015 to qualify for the trials in those vf prototypes (streak upper)

If you don't think they are anything special and not worth 65 seconds in a full marathon then you should run your next one in 2016 Skechers, or crocs, about the same weight/effort

https://i.imgur.com/HDfvSoP.jpg

https://imgur.com/a/lEBMD9a