Grading the Trials

I am glad to hear that it went well for those taking part. I thought that the trial coverage by NBC was as good as I had hoped and better than I expected. It ran almost flawlessly on my computer without having to do anything at all (can only remember two 1-2 second intervals where there was a pause for buffering. Kudos are to be given for providing the bandwidth necessary for that delivery. The coverage team did a good job and Lynn was a nice addition. Various parties politely interrupted when someone was discussing a point and suddenly something was happening (e.g., Hall accelerating). I am guessing that one reason that the coverage was better for the 'specialists' like those of us on boards like this is that the knowledge level was high and they did not have to break in with 'human interests' (up-close-and-personal) elements etc.

NBC's coverage needs some work...mostly from the commentators. The guys who also commentates the Tour (I don't know his name) was great! All they need now is a knowledgable British guy. Lynn Jennings made me want to change the channel. I know she was a great runner but she is not meant for TV.

The coverage was good in the beginning and end were good though (but like I said the Lynn Jennings commentary in the middle sucked)

I am wonderign why the New York marathon got a full hour though? It kind made the even feel like it was less important.

In all my criticisms though the NYRR put on a fantastic event that was all about the runners and it ended up being fantastic. Still with these guys would have run the NY marathon course (maybe with a 30 min head start?) but that is why the USATF sucks.

NYRR = A

USATF = F

NYRR hit it out of the park...loop course was a HUGE success (crowds were deeper for the Trials than the regular race in places in Central Park!), many guys ran out of their mind, and the race itself went flawlessly. Great staff (way to go Sam and crew!) and organization. I did hang around a few of the weekend's events, and they really went out of their way to make ALL the runners feel special (I think Khalid posed for 100 pictures!) But the standard has been set--BAA is going to have some VERY tough shoes to fill. Kudos for one of the best running events I have ever witnessed and been a part of.

I disagree. The crowds were not that great except for the finish line. It was mostly friends and family out there...

were you at the same event as me???

best crowd ever for the Trials.

I disagree. The crowds were not that great except for the finish line. It was mostly friends and family out there...[/quote]

Apparently you must have been at a different part of the course from me. There were hundreds of fans sprinting back and forth across the path just south of the resevoir. The course was line with thousands fans screaming their lungs out. I still can't talk today.[quote]SB76 wrote:

I have to say I was disappointed on a whole as to how this event was run. BIRMINGHAM treated the runners like rock stars (and treated the family just as well). NY kind of forgot what they bid on. No pasta dinner, no finisher's medal, no merchandise to buy. The family was almost completely excluded. And we, for the most part, were the spectators of this race.We are the support staff for these guys. We couldn't go to Gracie manor-but hey, even the mayor couldn't make it! We weren't given any transportation to the race. We weren't given any place to watch the race. And two passes for Tavern on the Green didn't quite cut it. There was no food for the boys after the race. The tents weren't heated. My husband said it best: New York is like a spoiled kid who wants everything but doesn't want to do anything once they get it. This is the first race in 10 years where I wasn't allowed to stay with my husband w/o paying for it. I barely saw him in two days because our hotels were so far away from each other. It is always frustrating to be plunked down in an unfamiliar place. I got more help from people off the streets than from the race organizers. I say Akron or Twin Cities next time!!!

I have to say I was disappointed on a whole as to how this event was run. BIRMINGHAM treated the runners like rock stars (and treated the family just as well). NY kind of forgot what they bid on. No pasta dinner, no finisher's medal, no merchandise to buy. The family was almost completely excluded. And we, for the most part, were the spectators of this race.We are the support staff for these guys. We couldn't go to Gracie manor-but hey, even the mayor couldn't make it! We weren't given any transportation to the race. We weren't given any place to watch the race. And two passes for Tavern on the Green didn't quite cut it. There was no food for the boys after the race. The tents weren't heated. My husband said it best: New York is like a spoiled kid who wants everything but doesn't want to do anything once they get it. This is the first race in 10 years where I wasn't allowed to stay with my husband w/o paying for it. I barely saw him in two days because our hotels were so far away from each other. It is always frustrating to be plunked down in an unfamiliar place. I got more help from people off the streets than from the race organizers. I say Akron or Twin Cities next time!!!

you really just seem sour. unless you're sara hall, who i really hope you're not because she's way too awesome, you seem like you're posting this because your husband didn't make it out and you're disappointed or something like that. the event is about the qualifiers, not the qualifiers' families and while it would be nice to have all that stuff for the families, and i get the feeling that you are blowing the lack of availability of certain ammenities out of proportion, its not about you.

learn to recognize sarcasm. Doubt many "A" qualifiers care about a finisher medal.

I don't think she is sour. She gave her opinion just like the others did. If you were at Birmingham and NY you would have noticed a difference in the treatment. In Birmingham it didn't matter if you were an A or B qualifier, the OT hopeful or the last qualifier...you were all treated the same and made to feel like you were important. They made sure the families were treated well also. There was transportation to the race, hotel arrangements, and prerace night pasta dinners. NY shipped us all over...any reason the tech meeting couldn't have been at the host hotel? Do we really need a fancy lunch? I would have much preferred a sandwich for lunch and they actually have a dinner for the athletes. We get back to the hotel after the race at eleven and have to be back on a bus at 11:15 to go the lunch...which hardly anyone attended. This was NY..the biggest,the best. I figured they would atleast match Birmingham...if not blow it out of the water. Didn't happen. Not saying everything was bad but lots of things could have been better.

The crowds at the finish were great and very loud.

Don't know what it was at other points, but from where I was, right in front of the Jumbotron, it really didn't look like it was crowded at other places along the course. I would estimate (on the generous side) a total of about 20,000 spectators were there. (I don't think a number of 200,000 should have been given. Only leaves it open to riducule.)

For the lucky few, Saucony gave out Cow Bells, which were great.

I was at the NYCM Expo, and not enough was done to promote the trials. There was nothing to buy that had the Trials insignia on it. Many people running on Sunday did not know the trials were being held. Too bad.

As for 'A qualifer wife' comments, if some special considerations were given at previous Trial races, no reason why it cannot be expected here. Sounds like spouses couldn't even stay with their husbands. Is that true?

I don't think they needed medals, (only they could answer that) but do they get a frame-able certificate that says they participated in the Olympic trials? That is what I would want to show my kids 20 years from now.

It bears to mention again, I still think it lacked publicity.

But overall, from this fan/spectator's perspective, I give it an A-.

I was there but obviously not a runner. After reading all of the points mentioned, it sounds like there are some legitimate complaints. That being said, I think people need to remember that the biggest marathon in the world was the following day. Trying to coordinate those two events, including lodging for trials qualifiers and regular marathon runners, budgeting for all of the expenses for two huge races, etc. has to be hard.

Wife, it is not NYRR or US T&F duty to treat the OT qualifiers like rock stars....and certainly not their families. It is their duty to give the OT qualifiers a REASONABLE opportunity to try to make an Olympic team....which they did.

What's with this VIP crud? NYRR doesn't owe you anything just because you're a spouse. The qualifier got invited; you didn't.

Ask a 1972 OT qualifier what it was like "back in the day".

true friends and family could not go too all events, however there are some things in your post that are just not true. On race morning there were specific busses for friends and family....there were specific areas for a VIP breakfast and reserved bleacher seating for families and friends as well. Sure it was limited to 2 per person, but with 150 entrants that is 300 people to accomodate in the very small area of Tavern on the Green and its special seating. Merchandise? There were booths all over selling items and the goody bags were great. NYRR went way above and beyond to make me feel special as an athlete, and my family thought it was great as well---especially the post-race luncheon at a 5 star hotel. And all this was communicated VERY clearly at the tech meeting...and staff was available to answer any questions and do whatever they could to make everything go smoothly.

thanks NYRR. Well done.

Appreciate the info. Isn't NYRR's obligation to the athlete; not to the family. Seems like NYRR went way & above (to the families) what they were entitled to. Would families have been treated this well at track trials?

When did marathon trials turn into a mini SuperBowl?

It became like a mini superbowl whem the NYRR took over...gonna be he best ever...200,000 spectators.

Some things were great...the race...the fluid situation. But other things coulda been better. Don't buss my ass around when the tech meeting coulda been in the host hotel. Don't tell me I got ten minutes to make it to the after race lunch. Don't tell me to get mey per diem at a certain time and have nobody there. Don't tell me to have my fluids in a certain room and then switch it at the last minute,especially when the elevators are slow as hell. Don't tell me I gotta find my own pasta joint in a city I don't know the night before the marathon. Don't tell me there are no shirts, hats, whatever to buy for people that helped along the way.

All this sounds nitpicky but I just wanted to give a diff opinion than the OP version that we were treated like rock stars.

Okay, there was transportaion IF I was at the same hotel as my husband. But I wasn't and I wasn't at the meeting either. Don't make excuses for NY. If they had the balls to bid for the trials then they should have been able to take care of the runner AND his family. And if their plate was too full they should have stuck to the marathon and let someone else do the trials. I guess I should have stayed home and been a silent supporter. I know full well it's not about me, but it's about me being there for my husband. Not me having to shell out $200+ a night for the privilege of sleeping with my husband, in the same bed, in the same room. It's about his family being there to support and encourage him. It's not a solo act. Maybe they should sequester them...

Why wouldn't you want a finisher's medal? They make great windchimes! Even the smallest of races spring for them. And I don't think I was out of line expecting a pasta dinner either. I still don't know what trial merchandise you are talking about. All I found was the regular marathon merchandise. I would have liked a trial tshirt or something.

I guess I was just really bummed. I left my hubby at the hotel at 11 so he could go to his meetings and I never saw him again until the start. WE are a team.

I ran the race, it was my first OT so I don't have much to compare it to, but the overall experience was poor.

I was a B guy and the NYRR forgot to get me from the airport, so I had to pay $50 to take a taxi because I had too much crap to get on a subway, plus I didn't know where the hell I was going. Then to get too and from the host hotel for the mandatory meeting on Friday and the water bottle collection was a pain in ass which took over an hour. Followed by a 45 min bus ride to the different hotel for the mandatory meeting and it was 2 hours long, then 45 min back to the host hotel. They wouldn't take our bottles until 5 p.m. so the B guys had to sit there for 2 more hours and just wait because it wasn't worth it to leave and come back. By the time most of us got back to our hotels it was after 6 and I left at 10:30 to get there.

I also heard of a few guys getting there bottle's knocked off the tables during the race, that would suck more than anything.

Though for the A guys staying in the host hotel it was fine, so I just need to run faster I guess.