RCMS wrote:
For curiosity sake, how do you think runners in East Africa would look at it? “I ran 2:18 to qualify for an Olympic qualifying race!” Over here, it’s a huge accomplishment. Not taking anything away from that. But from an international standpoint, it kind of makes sense as to why we’re so behind in this event.
This is a good point. 2:18 isn't considered even sub elite on the international stage. Athletes need to run Valencia, Dubai, London, Berlin, and a few other select courses to run sub 207 though. 207 times aren't typically going to be produced at CIM, Mesa, Houston, Grandmas, Vermont City, Twin Cities, etc. 2 of our majors are such that an athlete that can run those times can run a couple mins faster on a fast course. We could have a race like those, but it would take a lot of will power from a coastal city to attract the field that would run that fast. Or increasing prize purses at the races I listed by over an order of magnitude.
Out of curiosity, I looked at how much it would cost me to travel to and run the Valencia marathon from the east coast of the US. The price was extraordinary, well over a grand, probably approaching 2 grand after all costs were considered - unless I did it as frugally as possible - all because I might run a min or two faster than at CIM or really a rinky dink east coast marathon because even domestic travel is exorbitant.