DTOM wrote:
It doesn't matter how much the NYRRC promotes the 8k.
The U.S. viewing public isn't into running, never will be.
The U.S. viewing public has the attention span for the 100m and the up-close and personal bs that goes along with it.
Yeah, there will be an article about it in the NY Slime,
but so what. Do you actually think NBC will show entire heats of the womens 5k from Beijing? I don't think so.
But you do get coverage like that in Europe. I've watched it.
As far as Ritz getting $100k to run the NYC marathon,
until I see the cancelled check, I won't believe it.
The NYRRC doesn't dole out the kind of bread.
Generally I stay away from this type of speculation, but I've heard from at least 5 credible sources that Ritz got well into 6 figures (yes more than $100,000) to run NY. Originally I heard a quarter million but I don't think he got that much. Yes that is more than the first place prize in NY but that is how the sport of marathoning works. London, the richest marathon in the world, I believe gives only $60,000 to first place The money in marathoning is in appearance fees. I think our sport might have more credibility with the public at large if the money was all on the table but that is a different matter (ie if the public saw the winner getting $500,000 instead of $60,000). Races want the top stars, the top stars can only run 2 marathons a year, and are risk averse. To change the system we would have to go to rewarding the actual performance instead of the past performance. But the incentive would still exist for another marathon to pay an appearance fee to get a top star. That is why the PGA and USTA (tennis) all do not allow appearance fees to be paid in the US. Until such a rule is put in place by the IAAF things will not change. USATF could easily put in such a rule for US Championships.
Having said that, with Ritz getting 6 figures for NY I do realize a few thousand dollars will not influence him as much. However it does create a lot of goodwill with the NYRR and Ritz. I think money is only tangential with Ritz's decision to run the 8k, but the date does seem to create problems. Most guy don't want to run a hard 8k a week before the Worlds. If Ritz because of his fitness, the weather, the security climate, having to face 36 Kenyans, Ethiopians, Ugandans and Qataris in 1 race, or whatever it is is thinking about skipping world cross, the 8k a week before soon becomes a viable alternative.