Are distance runners the only ones who watch Track on TV?

the only other people I know personally that watch track meets on tv, or know anything at all about what is going on in the world of track and field, are distance runners. But then again, I've been out of college now for a few years and I don't know any sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, throwers, etc. The only runners I associate with are the typical post-collegiate 5k/10k fun runners.

i live in texas and the blacks down here love track and field.

There are so many more distance runners out there than sprinters, throwers, and jumpers combined.

That's because distance running is a fitness activity and a pastime in addition to a competitive discipline. This is why so many people continue to participate in some level post-collegiately

Compare this to sprinters and throwers. How many 30 year olds decide to get up before work and throw the disc 20 times for kicks? Or if your doctor says you need to lose weight, are you going to start training for the 100?

My family will watch it and be entertained if it's on tv.

most distance joggers do not watch track and field on tv nor are they a fan of the sport.

ever go to the Penn Relays, we love track and watch it on tv .

16 yr young chick wrote:

most distance joggers do not watch track and field on tv nor are they a fan of the sport.

I don't think that is largely accurate. I have an aunt who is a "distance jogger" and my father and his "jogging club" always want to talk about whatever Track & Field meet they last saw on television. Now I don't know they setup their night around watching a meet by any means, but if they catch it on the TV Guide I think they will tune in and watch.

Anyone can understand running as fats as you can for 10 seconds. Fewer people get running as fats as you can for 25 laps, and even if they did, why would they want to watch it knowing that in the larger scheme of things, the people they are watching can't hang with the best in the world. It's as appealing to most Americans as football (soccer) or cricket. Hey, I like all the events, but if I didn't and I were flipping channels, I'd stop for 2 minutes to watch a guy run for 10 seconds especially knowing that he was probably one of the best in the world at what he did. Besides, the most popular sports in this country (football, basketball and baseball and even hockey) are about speed and explosion, not about endurance. Endurance sports generally tend to be the province of slow guys who were inferior athletes who couldn't hack it in the major sports in this country. You may not like it, but it's true. Sprinting is a natural extension of the interest in these sports.

true words about long distance races but I love xc ,and watch big marathons on tv if they are close.

I think most recereational joggers enjoy watching track meets, they're just not as active in seeking out coverage as more competitive runners. As for differences between distance and sprint oriented competitors, I think you have to account largely for the "typical" personality differences between sprinters and distance runners. There's not too much to think about in a sprint, besides the basic mechanics- you run as hard as you possibly can for a very short time. Distance events, on the other hand, require a great deal of concentraion (as do sprint events), but also have a component of psychological endurance that isn't required by sprints. I think the same source of psychological endurance manifests itself in the distance runners' drive to watch track meets, whereas most sprinters just get bored easily.

Rememeber when Michael Johnson said that track would be more popular if it got rid of distance events? I think he also said to get rid of field events, but I could be mistaken about that.

yes, in a word. my boss asked me if i was going to wathch "the draft", i.e., the nhl draft. i said i'd rather stare at qvc.

Adam Locked, I agree with the 16 yo girl; therefore I disagree with you. I bet if you asked the average distance jogger just basic track trivia they wouldn't fare too well.

I think we all would be surprised by the number of sprinters/hurdlers from HS & college who still closely follow T&F.

Any former sprinters care to comment?

Yup, probably. That's why the ratings bite the big one in non-Oly years.

I was a sprinter in high school and college and I still closely follow T&F, both sprints and distance events. But I think I am a rarity. I think there are probably some sprinters out there who still follow what's going on with the 100, 200, and 400 maybe. But do you really think that the average sprinter, current or former, knows jack about the 1500, 5000, 10000, Marathon, etc.?? I simply do not believe that.

Most folk watching a T&F meet are doing so because they can't find the remote!!

i kinda like running wrote:

I was a sprinter in high school and college and I still closely follow T&F, both sprints and distance events. But I think I am a rarity. I think there are probably some sprinters out there who still follow what's going on with the 100, 200, and 400 maybe. But do you really think that the average sprinter, current or former, knows jack about the 1500, 5000, 10000, Marathon, etc.?? I simply do not believe that.

I believe the average sprinter knows more about distance running than the average jogger. Track is so far removed from road racing/jogging (to the point of being completely different sports). I could probably have a far more enlightened conversation with you than with the average jogger. i believe the average sprinter really enjoys, particularly through the mile.

Most of my sprinter friends from high school and college still follow it pretty seriously. I'll have not talked to them for a long time, then a few hours after a track meet has been on tv I'll get a few emails asking me if I saw it. Also, a couple of them have been back to Penn Relays several times since we graduated from college. And, as was stated on these boards after the NY meet, most of the people there were Jamacans supporting their athletes. I think most people, sprinters and distance guys/gals, that were involved seriously in the sport still follow it and watch it when it's on tv.

This is a bit of a tangent and I'm sorry; but, the unfortunate thing is there aren't a lot of us track athletes that take it seriously - sprinters or distance runners. In most communities there aren't track leagues growing up like there are in all the traditional team sports. Once people get to high school many just do it either to do a sport or to stay in shape for others sports, so they aren't invested. As low as the numbers are, I think if former sprinters weren't also watching they'd be considerably lower. Just my take.

Former sprinter, thanks for the insight.

desert rodent wrote:

i kinda like running wrote:

I was a sprinter in high school and college and I still closely follow T&F, both sprints and distance events. But I think I am a rarity. I think there are probably some sprinters out there who still follow what's going on with the 100, 200, and 400 maybe. But do you really think that the average sprinter, current or former, knows jack about the 1500, 5000, 10000, Marathon, etc.?? I simply do not believe that.

I believe the average sprinter knows more about distance running than the average jogger. Track is so far removed from road racing/jogging (to the point of being completely different sports). I could probably have a far more enlightened conversation with you than with the average jogger. i believe the average sprinter really enjoys, particularly through the mile.

desert rodent, I think you're right on this. Again this is just anecdotal evidence, but after the DMR at Penn I had several of my friends from high school and college, that wouldn't run anything longer than a 200, email me about that race, specifically.

A lot of sprinters care about all the events on the track, especially the 1500/mile, much more so than your average road racer. Now, I wouldn't say a lot of us care about road races, though, because that's somewhat of a different animal.