Men's Marathon Trials to Be Held on Sunday on Traditional NYC Course

rotten, let's try this again. Yes, you use the word 'if.' Fine. If this, if that...iffy is vague. If you have nothing concrete to offer in the way of criticism, why bother? Do you have a specific problem w/the Trials selection process? Do tell my friend.

rotten in denmark wrote:

your sentiment is all well in good scott, in the perfect world. but if the system is flawed and corrupt, then the duck should be called a duck. yes, as for the current marathon trials, it appears it is what it is and ain't going to change. but that does not mean aspects to the decision making process for where it ends up should be ignored and overlooked.

Shamless, oh man, this one brought a tear to my eye. It's a beautiful thing!

Will the "B" Standard qualify for trials?

Of course logistics matter: only a fool would deny this. This is one reason why starting the Trials race thirty minutes before the women's, rather than an hour or two, is a fine idea. Nevertheless, there are courses--NY is one--and tracks--Bislett and Hayward Field are two--that help set the beauty of our sport into sharp relief. I've never run at Bislett, but I have run NY and at Hayward, and those were experiences bordering on the magical.

.................... wrote:

Hey, Hey, Hey. Quit worrying about logistics. It's all about "the sheer majesty of the course".

scotth wrote:

Shamless, oh man, this one brought a tear to my eye. It's a beautiful thing!

No Shit. First people bitch that a marathon is too clcose to the trials, not the complain it's too far away. blah blah blah.

Got all the coulda-shoulda-woulda why the hell not hae it a Lowes Motor Speedway? Makes as much sence as anything else people are whining about. Loop course, flat, visable from stands that seat 100,000. No traffic problems as long as it's not a NASCAR date.

this seems to be a summary of the complaints with nyc:

(1) the window to qualify, which is over a year, is too short;

(2) it is too far out from the olympics;

(3) it is too early in the morning so nobody will watch;

(4) the media coverage in nyc will be the same as in a bumblef*** town like akron or birmingham;

(5) not a crit course;

(6) expensive locale;

(7) unsubstantiated backdoor dealings and

(8) will be embarrassing if a kenyan runs faster in the open race.

is that all you guys can come up with to bitch about? i still am shocked to read 2:30 guys bitching that they now won't be able to qualify because the year plus isn't enough time to get to a 2:22. when one of the big guns like meb, culpepper or ritz starts bitching, then i'll bother listening. until then, all you wannabees should just get out the door, train and shut up.

Dear Taxpayer, the lower level of the V Bridge is used for the bus lanes, have you have ever been to the race

know the facts, dude

Good idea.

13 laps on a NASCAR track.

People can watch while drinking beer and sitting in the stands.

We can sell ugly ass T-shirts outside with Meb's, C-Pepper's, Ritz's mugs on them and a bunch of neon colors.

We can have water/gatorade in the pit area every 2 laps. Maybe each runner can have a crew run along him as they lather him up with body glide or replace a nipple band-aid as he runs by and drinks.

Anyone that goes 1-2 laps down gets off the track and goes into the garage area and bitches about the other runners cutting them off.

If Ryan Shay gets tripped, maybe his dad Joe and the Shay posse will start a fight with the other runner's pit crew.

Beer companies can sponsor the runners and give them a number so that their respective fans can wave a bright ass flag with the number on it and throw beer cans at the winner if it is not their guy.

I can see Meb running doughnuts in the infield afterward.

Classic!

USATF need to do thisto get people to watch.

I contacted Hank Brown today and he has not resigned from the search committee. It never ceases to amaze the lows people will go on here when they don't like someone or some decision.

If you have a problem with the selection of NY, please stick to the facts.

Hank is a great man. I never knew what happened but he is no longer part of the search committee is he? Also can we assume that since you checked on the validity of that post that the other 6 are accurate?

Sources have told me that there was a concerted effort to have the trials in NY. I have heard that. But that doesn't mean you can just make up things. It only hurts your credibility.

Hank wrote me, "I was on the Olympic Trials Search Committee. No, I have not resigned"

If NY was able to change its bid, that does open up questions about the fairness of the bids but I can ask about that on Thursday. But I suggest if you have legitimate complaints or questions to email me or post them here. However, If I ask about "Hank brown resigning" it wouldn't look too good would it?

Still Running wrote:

Do you think Deena running NY this fall is a prelude to her running the trials next year over the same course.

Cannot be the money!!!

seeing as how the women's trials wll be in boston, no.

Bitch Tits wrote:

when one of the big guns like meb, culpepper or ritz starts bitching, then i'll bother listening. until then, all you wannabees should just get out the door, train and shut up.

And when all you pro-New York people can offer a reason why NY is great for the athletes, I'll listen. Until then, the "quit bitching" response gets old. Plus, I'm guessing you, like so many others that say the same thing, won't even be trying to get a qualifier because you couldn't even run 5:25 pace for a 5k.

Good for the athletes...here's a try

- NYRR has demonstrated over the past 5 years that they will bend over backwards to do everythin they can to make it good for the athletes. Clearly they can't have the Amry Corps of Engineers flatten the course...but consider the USATF XC presented by Gleukos in Feb....how many other organizations have EVER hand-shoveled an XC course that was snowed under?

- Longer-term ... money flow has to be derived from exposure. You can't increase exposure by doing what you;re douing in a nonpublic spot and hoping people will become aware, you have to go out and do your thing in front of people. Even in the Internet age land, media infrastructure and attracting media are much bigger undertakings than having a camera running. ING NYCM already has it (few papers held space for results on the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham every year), and this time it's guaranteed that one thing that, because they will be there, they are guaranteed to capture (ahem) ... "if the USOT in in NYC" .. is a US runner breaking a tape.

If more exposure leads to more dollars, then that's good for ALL. The lesson from other sprots is that cultivating stars lfits the fortunes of all.

Most $$ will accrue to the winners, who already top the pay scale, but in sports, like the Mafia, the top capos get paid very disproportionately well but everyone down lower should get a taste.

Question -- was there this much griping over the course and early start time in Pgh in 2000, Charlotte in 1996? Neither are easy courses and both started early. Most people gripe when the strat is LATER than 7:30....

I believe that you folks are talking about 2 diferrent positions held by Hank Brown. Hank Brown was in charge of "US Road Championships". The head position for securing bids for the USATF 5k-8k-10k-20k-25k Championships. Since Glenn Latimer came on board Hank resigned from that position. There has been a decent amount of speculation as to why. Since that time Glenn and Jim have been working on the Olympic Trials. Glenn had this idea that he could have several sub committees input and he thought that it would be a good political move to include Hank in this process.