Why does the general population not care about distance running?

They only care about whats on TV. Preferably live TV.

If Track had people with loads of money behind it and could get a TV deal then people would care.

There are also no teams in Track to root for.

Track is the sport football players do in the offseason to stay in shape....

Alan

Not enough conflict, contact, and rancor.

Running is boring, sorry that's just how it is.

We like it but that does not mean anybody else is interested.

And I am not watching track either.

It’s boring….it’s not a mystery.

Have you seen the average American? Could you imagine those flat slobs tuning in to a 3 hour marathon broadcast? Come one, man.

Track is just as popular as any non-major ball sport (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, tennis) and top motorsport. Go to olympics.com and find the complete list of sports. Which are more popular, in terms of both participation and media coverage, than running?

For the average American (Even that "runs"), pro track is not very relatable. Road Running marathons or something "extreme" like ultramarathons or Ironmans are more relatable or interesting.

Besides kids in school, the average (adult) American runner does not do 5ks on a track so they can't relate to that. A cross country "park run 5km" or a Warrior Dash/Obstacle race is more entertaining and something they can experience. They may run road marathons though...so at least Kipchoge going for a "sub 2" is somewhat more inspiring and worth watching and talking about.

But running in general also doesn't have the same "dynamic action" that sports like Football or basketball or even soccer have. Things constantly change with ball sports and to the average American that is exciting. It might not be "relatable", but most of us have probably played some pick-up basketball or football games or soccer games (even if we never played in school and could never be close to an NFL or NBA or MLB or FIFA athlete). So it's seen as entertainment and that is "fun."

Another thing: Distance running is hard and painful. People don't always like to relate to that. It's nicer to relate to more comfortable and fun sports like golf and skiing too 🤣. Why tap into that feeling of high lactate levels or glycogen depletion when watching others suffer in distance running?!

Okay, I gotta get back to watching the Super Bowl ads (the only reason I'm watching "the game" really)...I don't care about other "pro sports" besides running (but I'm not like the average American in any way really).

My take is that there needs to be more innovation or excitement added. Running should try to follow what horse racing is… For example, at track meets, supply the audience with a way to set bets on race horses (human beings) use the money raised to host more meets, more opportunities, and more funding for anti-doping. Next, have beers on tap. Now people who aren’t necessarily even interested in running, want to attend said track meet because they want a place to go gamble and get drunk. Boom easy. You’re welcome. 

if track had a 24 hour tv channel, people would still watch pga and nfl. 

No matter how much track stars think they’re well known the average American has no clue who Centro or Mary Decker ( in the past) or Gabby Thomas and Mu are . This is first hand experience when having conversations and of course everyone has had the same experience. It’s a tiny world that only surfaces to the public every 4 yrs and even then you’ll be happy that someone knows who Usain Bolt was.

Exactly. I regularly run 40+ mpw, and even I don't like to watch distance running most of the time. The longest distance race I'd watch from start to finish would be a 3K. If it's anything longer, I'll just watch the last few minutes.

What, is this some sort of a joke? If you're talking Olympic sports, and their popularity in the U.S., then gymnastics, beach volley, and probably swimming will each outrank track in popularity. As for the Winter Olympics, certainly figure skating is vastly more popular than track. I suspect that more people would tune in to watch curling than the Olympic marathon.

Outside the Olympics, I dare say that more people watch your run-of-the-mill weekly PGA Tour event than would watch a major track meet. And the Masters? The U.S. Open? Unquestionably so.

I suspect you mean well, but you're delusional if you think that track/running has anything but a microscopic fan base in the U.S. Not that that's all that important, but it is the truth.

Because to most Americans running was used as a punishment growing up. Most Americans don’t like things that they associate with punishment.

The distance running is hard and painful is bunk. Nothing I've ever done running compared that way to high school football three a days where I saw kids pass out and others quit the team. On the contrary to the fat guy who never has pushed himself running doesn't look that hard - and they have no idea how fast pros are running compared to everyone else so they just don't appreciate it.

As a casual runner who hasn't followed T&F much, I can say that shirt-form video and YouTube have made the sport more accessible to me. I find myself watching meets quite a bit these days just because they show up in my feed.