Wasn’t it always a couple of 10,000m races added on to the end of a high school meet? Serious question. I’ve read the reports of the pro races but don’t recall what’s been on the schedule before them.
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
Flo track is the jostens of high school sports. Just a monopoly to overcharge families for watching their kids compete. Thirty years ago high schools could broadcast sports for free, but that was a lost opportunity to exploit kids/parents for money.
Attitudes like these are what is killing the sport in America. Sure, this isn't a Diamond League event, but even those have youth and masters races before the professional events.
Be realistic, no one is paying money to watch a series of ever faster 10K races on a Saturday night. Even the Night of 10K PBs in the UK couldn't sustain itself after a couple of years and they had alcohol sales in an on-track beer garden!
You need high school racing to sell tickets and fill the stands. You need the high school athletes in attendance because they make noise and get pumped to see pros on a high school track. They also gain some inspiration from seeing pro racing. If the OP is indeed from TrackTown, outside of Pre Classic and Olympic Trials, Hayward is a beautiful but empty stadium for most Oregon collegiate meets. The place is about half full for Oregon Relays and OSAA Championships because...high school racing and high school parents buying tickets.
The Ten isn't ruined. Thank goodness someone is trying to keep long distance running alive.
Attitudes like these are what is killing the sport in America. Sure, this isn't a Diamond League event, but even those have youth and masters races before the professional events.
Be realistic, no one is paying money to watch a series of ever faster 10K races on a Saturday night. Even the Night of 10K PBs in the UK couldn't sustain itself after a couple of years and they had alcohol sales in an on-track beer garden!
You need high school racing to sell tickets and fill the stands. You need the high school athletes in attendance because they make noise and get pumped to see pros on a high school track. They also gain some inspiration from seeing pro racing. If the OP is indeed from TrackTown, outside of Pre Classic and Olympic Trials, Hayward is a beautiful but empty stadium for most Oregon collegiate meets. The place is about half full for Oregon Relays and OSAA Championships because...high school racing and high school parents buying tickets.
The Ten isn't ruined. Thank goodness someone is trying to keep long distance running alive.
I would pay money to watch the meet, so not “nobody”. I couldn’t care less about noise during the HS races.
Attitudes like these are what is killing the sport in America. Sure, this isn't a Diamond League event, but even those have youth and masters races before the professional events.
Be realistic, no one is paying money to watch a series of ever faster 10K races on a Saturday night. Even the Night of 10K PBs in the UK couldn't sustain itself after a couple of years and they had alcohol sales in an on-track beer garden!
You need high school racing to sell tickets and fill the stands. You need the high school athletes in attendance because they make noise and get pumped to see pros on a high school track. They also gain some inspiration from seeing pro racing. If the OP is indeed from TrackTown, outside of Pre Classic and Olympic Trials, Hayward is a beautiful but empty stadium for most Oregon collegiate meets. The place is about half full for Oregon Relays and OSAA Championships because...high school racing and high school parents buying tickets.
The Ten isn't ruined. Thank goodness someone is trying to keep long distance running alive.
The Ten was literally one of the only meets in the U.S. that actually felt like a pro event, tight schedule, elite fields, paced for standards, no fluff. That’s why people paid attention. Not because it had 12 hours of mixed races. Nobody goes to an NBA game to watch JV beforehand. Same concept. If your “pro meet” needs high school races and parents buying tickets to feel alive, that’s not a strong product, that’s a participation meet with a pro section tacked on. High school racing has its place. But jamming it into what’s supposed to be a high-performance night dilutes the entire point. The Ten worked because it was focused and intentional, not everything needs to be a festival. You don’t grow the sport by blending everything together. You grow it by making the top end actually matter and The Ten was doing exactly that. Now it’s a high school meet that pro fan could care less about
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
Totally agree. They had something special and it’s not a lame high school meet. Once you start mixing in high school races, you dilute what made it different. That’s not anti–high school, it’s just understanding product identity. Nobody tunes into a pro distance meet thinking, “you know what this needs… a boat load of high school races
Wasn’t it always a couple of 10,000m races added on to the end of a high school meet? Serious question. I’ve read the reports of the pro races but don’t recall what’s been on the schedule before them.
From 2021–2024, The Ten had a clear identity, elite 10K racing, paced, under the lights, built for standards. That’s why it worked. That’s why pros showed up. Then 2025 turned it into an all-day high school meet with pro races tacked on. Once you do that, you’re not an elite showcase anymore, you’re a mixed meet. And once the perception shifts, the top athletes move on. That’s already happening. No one is saying high school racing is bad, we all love it. It just doesn’t belong inside one of the only pro-focused distance meets in the U.S. You don’t build a serious pro product by diluting it with high school races all day and night. If the pros are already complaining and fields are getting weaker, that tells you everything. The market will fix it, someone I’ve already heard will put on a true elite only meet again (especially for 800/1500), and that’s where the top guys will go. It’s already in the works for April 2027!
From 2021–2024, The Ten had a clear identity, elite 10K racing, paced, under the lights, built for standards. That’s why it worked. That’s why pros showed up. Then 2025 turned it into an all-day high school meet with pro races tacked on. Once you do that, you’re not an elite showcase anymore, you’re a mixed meet. And once the perception shifts, the top athletes move on. That’s already happening. No one is saying high school racing is bad, we all love it. It just doesn’t belong inside one of the only pro-focused distance meets in the U.S. You don’t build a serious pro product by diluting it with high school races all day and night. If the pros are already complaining and fields are getting weaker, that tells you everything. The market will fix it, someone I’ve already heard will put on a true elite only meet again (especially for 800/1500), and that’s where the top guys will go. It’s already in the works for April 2027!
I'm not saying you're wrong, but most of the pros are ditching it this year because there's no standard to chase. That's taken all of the East Africans out of it. Next year I suspect those 10K fields will be much better unless athletes start flocking to the 10K road races in Spain (like Almgren, Schrub et al have).
EDIT: 2025 was also hurt by guys getting standard in Paris OR having it from the 2024 Ten right?
This post was edited 4 minutes after it was posted.
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
They didn’t grow the meet, they watered it down. The Ten was best when it stayed in its lane. They should have a separate high school meet, not the same one.
From 2021–2024, The Ten had a clear identity, elite 10K racing, paced, under the lights, built for standards. That’s why it worked. That’s why pros showed up. Then 2025 turned it into an all-day high school meet with pro races tacked on. Once you do that, you’re not an elite showcase anymore, you’re a mixed meet. And once the perception shifts, the top athletes move on. That’s already happening. No one is saying high school racing is bad, we all love it. It just doesn’t belong inside one of the only pro-focused distance meets in the U.S. You don’t build a serious pro product by diluting it with high school races all day and night. If the pros are already complaining and fields are getting weaker, that tells you everything. The market will fix it, someone I’ve already heard will put on a true elite only meet again (especially for 800/1500), and that’s where the top guys will go. It’s already in the works for April 2027!
I'm not saying you're wrong, but most of the pros are ditching it this year because there's no standard to chase. That's taken all of the East Africans out of it. Next year I suspect those 10K fields will be much better unless athletes start flocking to the 10K road races in Spain (like Almgren, Schrub et al have).
The meet sucked last year and pro hated it, I know they will look for another option moving forward.
From 2021–2024, The Ten had a clear identity, elite 10K racing, paced, under the lights, built for standards. That’s why it worked. That’s why pros showed up. Then 2025 turned it into an all-day high school meet with pro races tacked on. Once you do that, you’re not an elite showcase anymore, you’re a mixed meet. And once the perception shifts, the top athletes move on. That’s already happening. No one is saying high school racing is bad, we all love it. It just doesn’t belong inside one of the only pro-focused distance meets in the U.S. You don’t build a serious pro product by diluting it with high school races all day and night. If the pros are already complaining and fields are getting weaker, that tells you everything. The market will fix it, someone I’ve already heard will put on a true elite only meet again (especially for 800/1500), and that’s where the top guys will go. It’s already in the works for April 2027!
I'm not saying you're wrong, but most of the pros are ditching it this year because there's no standard to chase. That's taken all of the East Africans out of it. Next year I suspect those 10K fields will be much better unless athletes start flocking to the 10K road races in Spain (like Almgren, Schrub et al have).
EDIT: 2025 was also hurt by guys getting standard in Paris OR having it from the 2024 Ten right?
The Ten used to be a pro 10K meet with a purpose. Last year it turned into a high school meet with a pro race squeezed in at the end. That’s not an upgrade, that’s a completely different product. No one is saying high school racing is bad. It just doesn’t belong inside one of the only elite distance meets in the U.S. You don’t take a niche pro event, dilute it, and expect the same athletes to stick around. And yeah, if there’s a new meet popping up for 800/1500 (and even 5K), that’s exactly what happens when you lose your lane. The pros will go where the meet is actually built for them.
It’s 99% a high school meet circus. No long a premier pro meet.
They didn’t grow the meet, they watered it down. The Ten was best when it stayed in its lane. They should have a separate high school meet, not the same one.
About 90% of boxing fans don’t watch the prelims, and guys in the main event show up whenever they want to start preparing for their fights. Whether there are HS races early in the The Ten, doesn’t matter.
And yeah, if there’s a new meet popping up for 800/1500 (and even 5K), that’s exactly what happens when you lose your lane. The pros will go where the meet is actually built for them.
You, and all your other usernames, told the same lie last year. You falsely claimed last year, and you are falsely claiming again this year, that the pros are staying away from The TEN because there are high school races. That is 100% false!
The pros don't have a global championship this year that they need a 10k standard for. That's the ONLY reason why most of the top pros aren't at The TEN this year.
90% of the high school races are during the day, ending at 4pm. The pro races are in the night session, starting at 6pm. It's basically 2 separate meets.
And regarding your other lie, The TEN was in fact built for the pros. Jesse Williams, the meet director, specifically designs his Sound Running meets around what the pros want. The distances the pros want, the weather the pros want, and the times of year that the pros want the meets to be held. That's the whole reason he started the Sound Running meets.
So stop already with your negativity, your lies, and your multiple user names. I have no idea why you hate The TEN so much that you keep posting lies about it, but you and all your other user names are just showing everyone that you're a pathetic loser.
This meet has found a way for HS athletes to pay for Pros. To be honest this is what NXN did for CC this year. Every elite HS meet should find ways to incorporate 1 or 2 pro races. It feeds the future.