Olympic Half-Marathon???

I like your arguements for it, seems like a good idea to me.

I don't think anyone in their right mind would try and double - even if they were 2 weeks apart I just don't see how someone could recover in time to compete at that level...

Great topic ,I was always a better half marathon runner then a full marathon runner.

I ran 1.00.47,1.01.37,1.01.42 and 1.01.58 for the half but only 2.11.50,2.11.53,2.12.16,2.12.23,2.12.35.

In the half I would have been more competitive in major races then I did in the full.

Eddy

What about bringing back Olympic cross country? Bring a team aspect back to Olympic running.

I say hell yeah to bringing back olympic cross country. It was only removed because they ran the race next a coal plant or something back in 1920 or maybe 1924. It offers a great team aspect as well as outstanding individual competition. As for the half-marathon, I would like to see that added because it really is a different can of womrs than the marathon, some are mucher better at the distance than any other distance, Hendrick Ramaala, Elena Meyer, Tergat (maybe) and it would be better for spectators too. I would love to see both but I doubt either will happen, and to think we'd still have cross if not for an illogical over-reaction.

No to all of the above. There are more than enough events already, especially for distance runners.

Ballroom dancing is NOT an Olympic sport.

No half, bring back XC!

As I understood it, the reason that Olympic Cross Country was removed was that the Finns kept winning it year after year.

The Finns kept winning it.....well I guess that wouldn't happen any more.....!!!!

The Olympics needs to get rid of some of the more obcsure ''sports'' i.e ballroom dancing, synchronised swimming etc as these just bring the whole event down and make it a bit of a laughing stock.

Personally I think bringing the XC back and adding a half marathon would be a bit much as the talent pool probably wouldnt stretch that far. If they did try to bring back both of these events, added to the 10k and marathon some of them would end up looking like a Kenya vs. Ethiopia match not a true Olympic event

I'm more in favor of an ultra than a half marathon.

There are basically 6 types of distance runners:

(1) 800-Mile-3000

(2) 3000/5000/10000'ers

(3) 10000/Half'ers (Tergat seems to own this class)

(4) Half and Marathoners

(5) Pure Marathoners

(6) ULTRA RUNNERS.

I'm personally in favor of adding two events:

(a) Two-Miles on the track. It's time for a non-metric distance, and two miles fills the small bridge between the 1500 and 5000 (with the exception of the steeple, which is in a different class altogether.

(b) an Ultra. Since this is the OLYMPICS, the ultra that is selected should be brutal... not be the 100km, but more something along the lines of either 24hours on the track, or 100 mile cross country-type race such as the Western States 100.

i agree bring back xc, it is the best sport out there, have team score, it might be what the sport needs to gain public interest, joe american actually watches running sports during the olympics, if it does well enough with tv ratings there would be a chance to have worlds, ncaas etc televised as well

Not convinced about a 1/2M, but I think X?C would be great - but maybe it should be in the Winter Olympics?

Somehow I'm not convinved that the Olympic movement is predictaed on making it easier for people who can't make it in one or two other events to have a similar event in which they can maybe squeak into the Olympics .

My "feelings" aside, it would be tough to sell an event named -"half-" of an existing event to an IOC that's already looking to prune sports. (half-pipe refers to half of an object).

I like half marathon races but the OG doesn;t need them.

Jason I actually agree with you on adding an ultra but I don't think a 2 mile would change anything. And I still think adding a half marathon would bring out even more talent.

Eddy we know you've run fast times and we like you, you don't need to post your PR's to make us like you.

Luv2Run wrote:

No half, bring back XC!

Agreed. However, it isn't going to happen any time soon. There's too much crying about costs, etc for cross to be added before 2028 (my guess). Women will be allowed into Augusta about the same time as cross goes Oly.

We have the half mile I think we can have the half marathon. Oh we would have to rename it 13.1 miler or whatever the metric equivalent is, don't know, don't feel like doing any research either, ha. What like 21 or 22K? Does that make everyone happy? Anyways I think there is a huge gap between the 10000 and the marathon. I have always though the performaning art "sports" should be in a seperate games so athletes that like athletic competitons and not beauty pagents shouldn't have to be tortured into watching them. Such as ice skating, gymnastics, diving, all the sports where they are judged. I guess you could add race walking into that two. Split the games up, then we could add more running events such as the 1/2 marathon, XC, and an ultra event.

I'd go with 5 X 10K XC relay. If anybody has seen the XC ski event at the Winter Olympics you know how exciting that can be. I think it's been Italy and Norway that have been neck and neck in the last 3 Oly's, and I think that could happen over dry land just as well. Sure it might be Kenya vs. Ethiopia, but can you imagine how awesome that would be?

That is a good idea, Geb and Tergat as the anchor legs!

radical proposal from a northerner - since the summer olympics are overflowing with sports already, let's add cross-country to the winter olympics. this way 5k/10k guys wouldnt have to choose between track and cross. they usually seem to have winter olympics in pretty mild places anyway, so it may be a few degrees below freezing but not like -30. those not used to the cold would just have to suck it up.

I like the idea of XC back in the Olympics much more than the half-marathon. I can't see people other than the die-hards (people like us on this message board) getting into a half-marathon.

I think XC in the Olympics could actually have some appeal. Set up a few barriers with some hay bails and maybe a couple small streams. I think people would find it much easier to get into watching a group of people do that than a 27:00 10k on a track.

I really think that if done well XC could be the most watched distance event at the Olympics, beating out the 3k steeple, 5k, 10k and even mararthon.

The idea that ballroom dancing and the trampoline should be in the Olympics over XC is absolutely ridiculous.