Federal Law (The Stevens Act which created the USOC) requires that all athletes competing in a trial for the Pan Am Games, World Championships or Olympics be treated equally during the competition.
Federal Law (The Stevens Act which created the USOC) requires that all athletes competing in a trial for the Pan Am Games, World Championships or Olympics be treated equally during the competition.
pppapapa wrote:
Deena Kastor will be getting better treatment at NYC than the B qualifiers.
There is nothing wrong with that, either.
pppapapa wrote:
Deena Kastor will be getting better treatment at NYC than the B qualifiers.
Deena Kastor is an A-trials qualifier. For both the men and the women
Can I just hand out water? I am going to watch a friend and since it is a loop course and I was going to just hand out water bottle as he goes by. Is there a rule against handing out water bottles?
The water tables are always confusing...unless he is the first one to the table his water bottle always get knocked over or they misplace it or he get caught behind someone looking for his bottle.
hand him a water bottle and risk getting him DQ'd.
Can I just hand out water wrote:
Can I just hand out water? I am going to watch a friend and since it is a loop course and I was going to just hand out water bottle as he goes by. Is there a rule against handing out water bottles?
The water tables are always confusing...unless he is the first one to the table his water bottle always get knocked over or they misplace it or he get caught behind someone looking for his bottle.
No that's athlete assitance which is a violation. I am sure there will be plenty of water on the course without confusion.
I love this thread. It reinforces something that someone wiser once observed, which is that the whole Olympic Marathon Trials discussion is always driven by what is best for "B" athletes, not what is good for the sport or the people who might make the team and win a medal in the Olympics. I remember the rumor (from RW?) that USATF was considering staging a race that anyone could enter as the Olympic Trials and people on letsrun said that would be "unfair" to the 2:21 marathoners who worked their whole life to run in the Olympic Trials and would no longer be in a "exclusive" race. Now, the Olympic Trials are a disaster because people who are going to finish 10+ minutes behind the people making the team can't drink their own witches brew. An easy answer, suggested by others above, is to have no "B" standard in the future so we don't have to endure the constant whining of people who aren't any good and never will be!
How about get rid of the trials all togther and go to a selection process? I mean if we use your logic--after all there's only a few guys that can compete internationally anyway. right?
rbyrne wrote:
How about get rid of the trials all togther and go to a selection process? I mean if we use your logic--after all there's only a few guys that can compete internationally anyway. right?
I know this is sarcasm, so let me continue...I think this would be a great idea. I think Jim Estes and Glenn Latimar should be the ones to decide who gets to go to the big dance and who doesn't. It will do wonders for their omnipotence.
Please see the update below from Sam Grotewold at NYRR concerning the Special Fluids stations at the Olympic Trials Marathon.
As a reminder, the early entry deadline is October 7, 2007 and the final entry deadline is October 19, 2007. Information on the entry process is available at
www.usatf.org/events/2008/OlympicTrials-Marathon-Men/entry/
.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
Best regards,
To: Qualifiers, 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—Men’s Marathon
From: Sam Grotewold, New York Road Runners
Date: Tuesday, September 18, 2007
RE: Update on Olympic Trials special fluid service
Dear Qualifiers:
Organizing the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—Men’s Marathon is a massive undertaking, but it’s a challenge all of us at New York Road Runners are up for and excited about, and we are looking forward to hosting you in six weeks for what we believe will be one of the best and most exciting marathon races ever.
One particular challenge we have faced is the operation surrounding the “special fluids” program, in which athletes are able to supply their own drink bottles for distribution along the Olympic Trials course. The special fluids component of any marathon is a particularly crucial piece to get right, because there are so many things that can go wrong, and this race is too important than to be anything less than perfect in its execution. Taken as a whole, the total number of bottles that we would be potentially be responsible for collecting, storing, transporting, keeping secure, and placing on the course for these Olympic Trials would be larger than any marathon in history, including the Olympic Games and the World Championships.
NYRR made the decision to offer special fluids service strictly to “A” qualifiers only after nearly eight months of conversations with athletes (both “A” and “B” qualifiers), coaches, and USATF officials. The decision has caused some amount of controversy, though, and NYRR has reviewed our special fluids plan and is making the following recommendation:
ALL ATHLETES—both “A” and “B” qualifiers—who wish to provide their own special fluids bottles in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials—Men’s Marathon should contact Sam Grotewold via e-mail at
NO LATER THAN 12:00 NOON EST ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, and inform him of their desire to do so. This deadline is FINAL, and any athlete who misses this cutoff will NOT be allowed to submit bottles for distribution on race weekend. Further details will be sent out after the deadline.
For planning purposes, we are trying to get as accurate of a count as possible, and would ask all athletes to consider their fellow qualifiers and only request a position if you plan to use it. NYRR will still staff two general fluid stations with water and lemon-lime Gatorade Endurance Formula (in cups) along the loop, as well as a station serving vanilla PowerGel near mile 18, so there are still plenty of fluids available on the course.
Good luck with your training, and we look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
Best regards,
Sam Grotewold
A selection process was done for the marathon until 1968. No Olympic Trials race. We will never send our best team (in any event) to the Olympics if we continue to go with first three at the trials or your gone. It's just an "easy" system to implement and it avoids controversy, but it doesn't mean it's the best way to pick a team. At least have only first two and then a selection of whoever has best overall historical record for third on the team. If this was done then Dan O'Brien would have won his second straight gold medal in Atlanta. And the US would have a medal in the women's 400 at this year's WC.
Select the top ten (sorry #11) and put them on the track for 105 laps, rock n roll boys (and girls).
of course this begs the question of what happens if you run an "A" qualifier at Chicago.
i guess you're going to be screwed anyway by having to run another marathon a month later. bottles are the least of your worries.
So let me get this straight...
You can qualify until Oct 7th but have to submit bottle requests before Oct 1st? That makes sense.
I mean this is a very interesting thread. Mainly because as I stated before, they were able to logistically pull it off in Birmingham in 2004.
The afternoon and night before you had a 100 plus runner's filling their bottles, securing them and placing them in coolers. The fluids were transported to the tables on the course the next morning.
Why in the world can they not do it in New York? Seriously.
B'Ham.
Empty course.
Empty loop.
Easy loop to manage.
NYC
Crowded course.
Crowded loop...this is Central Park.
Difficult loop to manage.
rbyrne wrote:
Why in the world can they not do it in New York? Seriously.
Excellent question. When the Trials were awarded to NY, all the supporters were saying this was going to be the best Trials ever. Well, they may have the best field ever, but I'm not seeing other things being any better (and quite possibly worse).
rbyrne wrote:
Why in the world can they not do it in New York? Seriously.
With all of the media coverage, because of it being in NYC, all the extra tables will be in use.
Suggestion -- if you think you are going to qualify betw. Sep 30 and Oct 7, and you would want your own drink bottles -- throw yourself on Sam's mercy. Put in your request and let him know you'll be following up with a final "I'm in or I'm not" on Oct 8 (as if he wouldn't know by noon on the 7th anyway).
The worst that could happen is they say no, and you will have to get by on water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade Endurance Formula out of a cup, which is far less of a handicap than running 4 weeks after your qualifying race (even for Michael Wardian.)
I have always done this, because I have never wanted to hang my hopes on a water bottle that someone might knock over before i get there (happens all the time, especially for guys deep in the field like me).
What makes Central Park loop more congested for the runners then Birmingham? I mean the tables are standard size 10 x 10 or 12 x 12.
You are loosing sight of things--this is NYC--they can pull it off.