This is a petition to get the men's Olympic Trials marathon standards changed back to the 2:20 and 2:22 standards. My evidence for keeping the standards where they were is the race that took place on that great November day this past fall. That race, signaled a resurgence in the sport of running in this country. Crowds turned out in the thousands as fans lined the fabled roads of Central Park, cheering on perhaps the greatest trials race and one of the great marathons in history. The reason for this resurgence is the interest in the sport, the standard of 2:22 is very hard time to run, but it is doable. It gives the marathon trials a unique feel to it. It is a race where the working class guy who has a job and a family can still work his butt off and run against the men we will be sending to represent our country. Even by their own admissions, the long distance crew at USATF has said that less than half of the runners who qualified for this race would qualify for the next Trials. This is a huge hit to running development in our nation. A runner like myself is still going to shoot for the 2:19 standard as I know I can eventually run it, but many runners out there will be turned off by the new standard. There are runners out there who saw the 2:22 time and thought "hey, that is something I can do," and they pursued the standard and ended up running a 2:17 or 2:18 and all of a sudden this country found itself a new great runner.
Our country needs as many people trying to run in the Olympic marathon trials as possible. The reason why the great powers in the world of marathoning are who they are is because they have the numbers. Everyone in countries such as Kenya and Japan wants to be a marathoner and from the many you will get the few, and from those few, you can skim off the top and get the three who will represent the country on the world's greatest stage. If there is a guaranteed way to kill any sport in any country, it is to decrease the number of opportunities for the athletes. The reason our country is good in many other sports is because we have the numbers turning out to participate in those sports. Most kids grow up playing basketball, swinging a bat, tossing around a football, but running? Running, what is that? To alot of people it is a punishment, but if people are able to see running for what it is, a viable way of exercising the human soul, more will partake in the activity. It surprises me that aspiring runners in this country are faced with the scenario of a lack of professional support. We have an interest out there, but many of the people who just got out casually for a jog, do not follow professional track and field. People will play basketball or not even play it, yet they will follow it with a passion. The reason for this, is the lack of vision as running being a viable way to earn a living. By decreasing the number of runners in the Trials, it decreases opportunities for all. I am not wanting the Trials to be too lax in their standards, but even a 2:30 qualifying time is an elite time that is hard to run. I know there was talk about raising the Trials standard to such a time.
My point is, downsizing the Trials field decreases opportunity for both those looking to just participate and for those looking to make a living for themselves. The more interest in the event, the more money and opportunity there will be. That is a fact. Not all change is good, and this is one such case. What further irritates me, is the reasoning for wanting to downsize the field of runners. USATF has said that the new time standard will make the race even more manageable. More manageable? The race had roughly 160 runners in it! Even if the size of the field was 650 runners, it would still be very manageable. Especially considering the fact that the race (if held in Central Park again, which it should be) takes place almost exclusively within Central Park. There is not a need to close down anywhere near the amount of roads that would be used in say, the New York City marathon. Lodging is not a problem. New York is a huge city, there are places for runners to stay, especially the amount that would be running in the Trials. The time between the first and last finisher in the Trials is usually no more than 40 minutes, so the Trials would not be taking too much time either. With the 2:19 time I see that people would have their expenses paid for them, whereas in the 2:22 and 2:20 scenario, there would be one group being paid for and the other having to pay. The Olympic Trials is once every four years and is a once in a lifetime opportunity for runners. Paying the money to get to the big race for those between 2:20 and 2:22 is not as big of deal as it seems. Plus, the majority of the runners in this year's race ran between 2:20 and 2:22. The new qualification would keep those runners, all of them great runners, from running in the race. There were even a couple Hansons guys in that time range. They are professional runners and they would not have qualified using the 2:19 time.
In conclusion, I feel that the Trials standards need not change. We had a great system going. The Trials are a lifetime achievement for these runners and their families (many of whom flocked to Central Park for the big race). It was an occasion where working men with loving families could showcase their abilities and show their kids and wives and relatives that you can achieve your dreams if you work for it. Those who qualified were by no means getting a hand out, in that they had to earn their spot on the starting line. I feel that what USATF needs is someone who is a runner in the 2:20 to 2:22 range to be on the long distance running committee or at least have a say in it. It is one thing to have someone who is a professional athlete on the board, but it is another thing to have someone who is clawing their way to get to a race like the Trials. Someone who may not be a full fledged professional athlete, but still trains as hard as one. I realize that it may be easy to be dismissive about something like changing the Trials standard while one is away in Hawaii sipping cocktails. But such a decision should be considered carefully as it affects the overall development of distance running in this country. Because just like the brain can only survive so long without a supply of oxygen, the state of distance running can survive for only so long without athletes being given the opportunity to develop and earn a shot at professionalism. Everyone that I know and have talked to about the Trials standard being changed have all sided with me and feel that changing the Trials as proposed would have dire consequences and needs a better reasoning for doing so. Take care and God bless.