The negative reactions to this seem pretty ridiculous. Athletes complain when track doesn’t have the money of sports that position themselves for tv dollars, and also complain when every race isn’t perfectly setup for fast times starting early in the morning when half the country is asleep. I really do not buy the safety complaint either. The Tokyo Olympic marathons were much hotter than this one is likely to be.
Any more proof that USATF doesn't have a clue what they're doing?
You know what other marathon is usually hot? The Olympic Marathon!
The point of this race is to select 3 individuals who will have the best chance of medaling at the Olympics. The trials should be designed to filter out runners who can't handle the heat.
No it's not.
Almost exactly one year out, it's going to be 65F and rainy in Paris tomorrow morning.
Any more proof that USATF doesn't have a clue what they're doing?
You know what other marathon is usually hot? The Olympic Marathon!
The point of this race is to select 3 individuals who will have the best chance of medaling at the Olympics. The trials should be designed to filter out runners who can't handle the heat.
Thats why they always start the Olympic marathon at noon? Note to self....
You know what other marathon is usually hot? The Olympic Marathon!
The point of this race is to select 3 individuals who will have the best chance of medaling at the Olympics. The trials should be designed to filter out runners who can't handle the heat.
Thats why they always start the Olympic marathon at noon? Note to self....
It's about finding a temperature that's comparable. The average temperature in Paris on August 7 is a low of 58 and a high of 79. The average temperature in Orlando on February 3 is a low of 54 and a high of 75. Yes, the marathon at the Olympics won't start at 12pm, but the temperature range is similar.
Everyone needs to calm down. The athletes who make the Olympic team are professional athletes. It's their job to best prepare for whatever the conditions are. There have been times when the Chicago Marathon has been in the 80s. Boston had truly awful weather when Desi Linden won. Deena Kastor and Meb won Olympic medals in the intense heat and humidity of Greece. To all those pros who are complaining, do your job, prepare for the heat as best you can, it's why you get paid to compete!
The reason world records don’t fall and nobody PRs at the Olympic Marathon is because they don’t try to produce a dream flat marathon route or perfect Temperature for the runners.
So why are US lightweights crying about needing ideal running conditions when the race they are trying to run in will be nothing like that?
They at least picked a reasonable start time for the Olympic marathon. If the race was at noon, you might have a point.
Hold up! So USATF is saying that the top marathoners might have to actually do prep work to race in hot conditions? You mean like doing actual prep work to race in hot conditions in Paris - where the daily average high is actually 5 degrees warmer than the average high will be in Orlando? Let's all freak out. It's a shame the pros can't take the time to prepare their bodies and have race plans for hot weather - like they had to do in 2016 in Los Angeles, like they had to do for the Tokyo Olympics, like Deena and Meb had to do for the 2004 Olympics in Greece! Of course Americans would be crying about having to race in 70 degree weather, when they could just be sitting in AC and working out in temperature controlled gyms.
If they hold it at 8 am very few people west of Kansas will watch and almost no one on the West Coast. Not that it makes sense for the athletes, but just sayin'...
No one is watching, and yea, 30k people is "no one" in a country of 350 million.
February in central Florida is about as comfortable as central Florida gets. It shouldn't be too hot/humid and there will probably be a breeze. I don't know why everyone is freaking out.
February in central Florida is about as comfortable as central Florida gets. It shouldn't be too hot/humid and there will probably be a breeze. I don't know why everyone is freaking out.
It's coming from people who couldn't handle most Rupp-certified courses.
I’m good with this, noon start lets me get in a run and maybe brunch before settling down with a beer and snacks. Starting at 8 or even 6 would not fit my Sunday routine. Only thing better would be an evening start. Benji Durden wouldn’t worry about a noon start.
IMO cream rises to the top. The atlanta 2020 course was stupid, way too hilly and they had plenty of wind. Galen rupp showed up and buried the entire field, do you think that if the race was run on a record-type course the results would have been any different? If they were running on the chicago course with 45 degree weather do you think Scott Fauble or Jared Ward would have run 1-2? IMO people make too big of a deal about different marathon courses. Whether you are running Valencia or you are running NYC, its still 26 miles of putting one leg in front of the other. the guy who has the aerobic strength to crush the hills in NY is probably the same guy who is going to have the engine to drop the field in valencia.
In an american context, if they ran the trials on a pancake flat TT-type course, the guy who runs away with it is by definition the strongest, and most likey the guy who would handle the hills in paris the best.
We have to stop catering to this 'casual fan' no one watches cable anymore. The only people who follow this sport love running and specifically go out of their way to follow it. This decision hurts the athletes and benefits no one.
Note to athletes don't like it don't run. Pretty simple. Why do I think if they started at 8am people would complain it is too early nobody will watch. Get over it and just prep for it or don't run.
Any more proof that USATF doesn't have a clue what they're doing?
You know what other marathon is usually hot? The Olympic Marathon!
The point of this race is to select 3 individuals who will have the best chance of medaling at the Olympics. The trials should be designed to filter out runners who can't handle the heat.
A post that makes sense to me. I agree with the poster who believes the Trials should simulate the race it is selecting for. Doesn't USATF generally do the opposite? Last time, a cold, hilly race was held to pick the team for a hot, flat, one. It seems they have a flat course this time to select for a hilly one. I suspect they are trying to figure out likely Paris weather and create something as dissimilar to that as they can. Location and time are the variables they have to work with to achieve that end.