Bad elite race coverage at the Bolder Boulder

I was also very disappointed in the coverage of the elite races. I am not an expert by any means, but I still would have thought they would show us some of the racing, and I especially thought they would perhaps show the top 3 finishers in each race on the jumbotron with their times. I was there, but I didn't find out until today what the winning times were.

The Bolder Boulder bunch, like Bosley and Castro, is fond of patting themselves on the back for doing so much but then they commit amateur hour bloopers even after 30 years of doing this gig. You can really tell that it's an overgrown small town show, these are cheap, pissant hicks manning the controls. Why do they do so little to highlight the elite pros in a road race? Hell, with all their self-fellatio in the press over the chip timing why couldn't they have an automatically updating scoreboard showing changing positions across each mat along with projected finish times and projected team scores? They did everything they could this year to rob the pro races of any and every compelling element, even considering the limitations of their current format.

That's a very common theme in the city of Boulder: Amateurism. The bottom line here is the fact that these race organizers don't honestly care about displaying the elite runners to an audience. They hand it over to a broadcast company (this year FSN) and don't think again about it.

The truth is the chip timing by a company out of the midwest (who, if I'm not mistaken, is partly owned by Glenn Latimer) is and has been since its inception struggling to get off the ground. They continue to produce sub-par results (no pun intended), often inaccurate, and always slow - they claim that there product is cheaper, but one would have to balance the worth of a cheap product with a product that can actually be relied upon.

In European road races, especially in Japan, the results are literally posted within minutes of finishing. Even if the entire field isn't yet finished, you often can know your own result within moments from crossing the line - printed out, handed to you in paper.

The BB organizers don't know how to promote Olympic level athletes. It's that simple. The Boulder audience really has no idea the level of competitors that choose to travel to their city to compete - the fault of that lies with the organization and its inability to promote the elite athlete.

Think about it: they couldn't get the results posted for the elite runners for hours after the race...many hours. How many elites were in the race...30-40? That's pretty bad.

No money to be made off the elites. All they care about is the 40+ thousand who trounce around in gorilla suits.

wow the US lags behind Japan in the tech world, amazing news you have there.

Based on my own interactions with the guy, I don't see Castro as an egotist at all, don't really know Bosley so can't comment..

for me, i think BB is one of those events that have a big target on its back where every little thing is scrutinized because its Boulder, much like the ultra blowhards who look the other way on their other 99 ultra races but bash TNF because they are bringing $ and promotion to the sport...

Don't worry the timing device used by BB is outsourced. No reason to be behind! Boulder loves to pretend that they're a locally driven community...but when you get right to the guts of it, they're as walmart in sheeps clothing

Nike can do it for high schoolers at NTN. It's not that hard, it's pretty basic and proven technology in the US. With all the $$$$$$$ floating around in the Bolder Boulder coffers, could they actually give the pro races some professional attention? Where was there any promotion of the pro elites, outside of Hall, Kastor, and the Torri? I saw nothing on the website prior to the race. To almost any spectator who did not go out of his or her way to look up information from sources outside of the Bolder Boulder, it was a bunch of nameless foreigners, Deena, Ryan, Jorge, Ed, and some nameless locals. There exists so much potential to promote the sport and the great athletes in it (beyond the hometeam) for this race, is there no passion to do better?

There are plenty of timing companies in the US who produce fast, accurate results. Instantaneous in fact ans as good as anyone in the world. Several of these companies have approached BB in the past, trying to get the race to chip time and use their services. You would expect the largest race in the world to do such. They were consistently rejected. Last year this "new" timing chip and company offered their services for free. Voila! As cliche as it is... You get what you pay for.

bouldersux wrote:

The truth is the chip timing by a company out of the midwest (who, if I'm not mistaken, is partly owned by Glenn Latimer)

latimer is part owner. one of the big investors also happens to live in boulder county.

bouldersux wrote:

The truth is the chip timing by a company out of the midwest (who, if I'm not mistaken, is partly owned by Glenn Latimer) is and has been since its inception struggling to get off the ground. They continue to produce sub-par results (no pun intended), often inaccurate, and always slow - they claim that there product is cheaper, but one would have to balance the worth of a cheap product with a product that can actually be relied upon.

Was there a problem with the chips this year?

Don't forget that Boulder is still a city in America.

Until an American starts winning, only runners themselves will care.

Boulder is a self-proclaimed Republic. The mountains glorify them above all else...

Actually, "The People's Republic of Bouder" is anything BUT self-gloss.

Don't forget that Boulder is also a city filled with runners and endurance athletes. Not all of them are as jingoistic as the rest of America.

Guacamole Rigatoni wrote:

The Bolder Boulder bunch, like Bosley and Castro, is fond of patting themselves on the back for doing so much but then they commit amateur hour bloopers even after 30 years of doing this gig. You can really tell that it's an overgrown small town show, these are cheap, pissant hicks manning the controls. Why do they do so little to highlight the elite pros in a road race? Hell, with all their self-fellatio in the press over the chip timing why couldn't they have an automatically updating scoreboard showing changing positions across each mat along with projected finish times and projected team scores? They did everything they could this year to rob the pro races of any and every compelling element, even considering the limitations of their current format.

Castro Retired last year. Don Janicki is the elite athlete recruiter now and did an amazing job given that it an Olympic year.

Self-fellatio? Really? What the hell is wrong with you guys. You put on a race for 50,000 runners. Oh wait, you haven't. So then if you can't offer a much-deserved 'thanks' then do yourself a favor and keep your lame and unconstructive criticism to yourself. Take it one step further: don't clog up the course next year. Instead I suggest participating in something you'll really enjoy, like standing in front of a mirror and masturbating.

I was bummed myself when the race was overshadowed by the Memorial Day regalia. I stood in the same ran all day. But then I realized that I was pissing about lost lives being honored and celebrated. Despite my desire to see the Africans battle it out, I remembered that I have friends fighting, and their friends dying, while I'm whining about the rain.

There are always chances to improve. There is no perfection. Stop being spoiled little twats and rethink your intentions. You're not helping anyone but yourself. You probably ran a crap time anyways.

I was mesmerized by the organization that supported such a crowd. Thank you volunteers, water bearers, officials and directors. Thank you elite athletes for coming from all over the world. The people that care, that are cheering for you, waited all morning to see you cross the line. Ryan, I waited weeks just for that moment. Thank you for coming.

Next year, please let us watch them race on the Jumbotron. That is why I came. Oh and while you're at it, allow it to be cold and wet for the first wave, but then turn on the sun so I can sit comfortably in the stadium and sing the national anthem and recall all the sacrifice that has been made.

Great race, thank you again!

Right, and unless we have run an industrialized nation then we cannot criticize the president and until we throw a touchdown completion in a Super Bowl then we can't criticize a quarterback and et cetera, ad nauseam. Nothing and nobody is above criticism. This type of argument is not only tired and played, it holds no water. Save it for your fellow lock-step, unthinking nitwits, it won't fly here. Some of us actually care about the sport, if you don't then feel free to eject by clicking "Return to index" and quit wasting everyone's time with your self-congratulatory, gratuitous blather.

The above post is correct.