Fisher: "It felt like a real sport"

Or maybe he could try running in a few real meets during the rest of the year instead of time trials on high school tracks.

I can’t knock Bowerman for the time trials after Karissa and Grant’s 10k runs. They were peaked at the right time for THIS meet. And maybe since they raced so early, they’ll go to Europe in a month.

Mo was in it until 150-200 to go. Sean has never raced a world championship, is coming back from surgery and only ran his first 10 in March. He was with the group with a mile to go.

Josh Thompson only American in the 1500 final.

They may be time trial heavy, but they are doing something right at these championships.

In opposition, maybe OAC needs to race a little less and time their peak better

This... Fisher could easily run in front of crowds 5 times a year of comparable intensity (if not size) to the crowd he ran in front of now.

Instead he sticks with the Bowerman Time Trial Track Club

It's not just Oslo or Zurich. Even events not in the DL get good crowds. Hengelo, Berlin, Turku, Tokyo, Ostrava all have similar crowds to what he ran in front of last night.

Then of course there's the DL. Did you watch Rabat? When the British event is in London it gets 2 days of big crowds. Lausanne, Brussels and Monaco are usually at or near capacity. Stockholm was sold out this year for the first time in a lot of years.

Just because he chooses not to run in front of crowds doesn't mean they don't exist.

There's obviously a balance to be struck because for all the good performances, the only guy bringing back medals (not counting the steeples, because, you know) is Ahmed , and he gets on the circuit a bit more. I don't see any reason why you can't have TTs and race a the occasional DL meet. How much more experience does Fisher need running against pacing lights? And isn't it good for his longevity to actually be getting a some enjoyment out of racing?

OAC may well have timed that European trip a little wrong. They seemed to be out in Switzerland for a long time very close to the World Championships.

Ingebritsen seems to manage the race schedule okay. You can pick out examples for either argument whether racing a lot is good for performance or not. But in terms of the sport: racing very rarely is unquestionably bad, and BTC athletes can't then complain if crowds aren't turning out as part of the problem

100% in agreement... The people in the sport need to remember that the sport at their level exists to entertain the rest of us, it dies if they don't do that.

This

I may be wrong, but when I was watching the 10k live I actually thought the crowd sounded very loud. I don't think this is about going places where there is a crowd (though I do agree it would be nice if BTC raced at big meets). I think that the Eugene crowd was much more into the 10k than a typical large crowd. It sounded like the people there were going crazy that last mile and especially last lap. I've never noticed that in a distance race before on TV. (Of course, I'm not saying this is the only time that happened. I just haven't noticed it.)

Fisher wouldn't know crowds in other places are just as loud because again, he doesn't do them.

Go watch Jakob running in the mile in Oslo a few weeks ago.

Others have pointed it out but I cant help it. Fisher only needs to participate in more races if he enjoy crowds. Thats it. Hope his newfound love for crowds (and maybe interest in racing the rest of the elite?) makes him do the rest of DL this year and a full season next year.

The Bowerman Time Trial and Burrito Track Club.

BTTaBTC for short.

You can tell Mo Ahmed is looking to race and mix it up as much as Jerry will tolerate, and I hope Grant follows suit.

maybe he should like go race instead of going for times.

nothing makes me more disappointed than hearing him and the rest of BTC hit a really nice time then find out it was some 6 person meet at a high school track.

I bet he runs on the Diamond league circuit in august and September. Mo Ahmed spoke of running Monaco and Brussels hopefully Grant Fisher will do the same

wow

You are knocking what he is doing but it is working. As the old saying goes “ If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Quiet in the peanut gallery

Here is what u don’t get. Mo Ahmed gets named to Team Canada. Grant Fisher must qualify by finishing Top 2 at USA National Championships each year. Grant had to prepare 3 times since May. USA nationals 10000m in late May USA nationals 5000m in late June then Worlds. Not time to stop travel etc etc. Look at Cheptegeis reasoning for not doing more racing. All the travel from Uganda. All of this takes away from world class training. It is working!!

The balancing act of preparing optimally for peak performance and providing some entertainment to fans during the non championship season.