That was the best race I've seen - any distance, any level - in years!
That is what track needs to do. It isn't an insult to the event, and it's interesting.
I'm impressed.
How other races could be varied I have no clue, but it would be a nice change for non track fans.
In Europe they have indoor steeplechases.
It was indeed fun to watch. I was also rewatching a clip of usain bolts world record, and even before the race he was charismatic. The track world needs both fun races and performers to attract fans and make track fun to watch for the everyday person.
I also liked it, but it seemed to take on a comic air like some sort of Japanese game show.
Found it, the one from the front page...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkypUwdiiTw
Yes, we could call it "Extreme Hurdles" with points given for style, not for winning the race.
That was really entertaining. I didn't anticipate the break for the pole and it was pretty funny watching guys run out of their lane in a hurdles race.....intentionally.
information and history of the event with a few videos here:
I'm thinking in the US we could do a few things to make it more exciting ( at least for the track and field enthusiast )
1. have an indoor steeple chase. i'd suggest 2k.
2. have relays at usa indoors championships. with the formation of so many pro/post-collegiate clubs they could so do a DMR at indoor nationals.
3. give more incentives for these guys to go after ARs. when have u heard any 800/1500/steeple guys or girls mention they are going after the AR. only 5k/10k ppl. wasn't it exciting when barringer and willard were going back and forth with the AR. now u see rupp and lagat doing the same. we need symmonds/wheating to step up. manzano/lomong also
4. ultimately... come up with some sort of track and field league. i heard canada is doing something like this so if they can do it for sure we have the resources to do the same.
Are we thinking of things that will attract people that hate track so we have to think of fake events to make people happy, or, to just attract it more to already track enthusiasts?
If the latter is the case, then we should just have more US runners be pace makers for World Record attempts to get the African runners over here. It gives them a chance to get a personal best, as well as having world records set on US soil.
I don't think many people "hate" track. They just think it's boring.
Making it more entertaining is what has to be done to gain more support. Fans need to be earned and entertained. There is no other purpose for sports for the majority of the population.
I understand that we look at running as a lifestyle and a great metaphor for life, but that's because we participate(ed). I assure you that pro football players feel the same way about their sport. The difference is that the NFL realizes it's about entertainment - that's why they changed rules to make the game more fun to watch (other leagues have done the same thing, like the 3pt shot..it added another diminution to the sport, just like a few fun races could do for track).
As a coach I have to add fun/different relays to practice to make it interesting to the kids. Same should be done to make it more interesting to the general public.
yeah and put WR more out of reach for the amercians.. yeah good idea dummy
i know that'll prolly happen eventually but lets not help them do it and do it on our soil in our face while we pathetically pace them half way to doing it.
no lets pace ourselves, push each other to AR's on US soil and then go abroad and try to beat these africans when they are attempting WR. not saying we'd beat them but lets race them and try to instead of being in the race to pace them.
We need to bring each other up and i see that happening. rivalries where u see our top guys racing each other for AR, like rupp and solinsky did last yr in the 10k
you know ppl give rupp a hard time on here, and im not saying i love the guy, but i can respect a guy thats always pushing for AR's to make our country look more respectable. you have to think had rupp not stress wanting that 10k record and getting that field together, would solinsky have run 26:59... maybe he would have but i don't think so if u watched that race. would he have breaken the AR, that i believe would have happened without rupp in the race but he's the reason the race was put together.
I'd like to see this more with other guys in the shorter events. lets see an american record attempt by symmonds and wheating in the 800. have someone like KD be pacemaker, make it a stellar field and lets see what happens if the come through in 49.
or have simpson, pierce, wurth-thomas, rowbery, and uceny in a 1500 on US soil going for the record. even if they don't come close its still exciting to see a race where its spoken that they are going for it.
thats whats missing. that desire to want to break records and push each other in america to those records.
i think all we think about is medaling, now thats all good and well but those opportunities dont come up all that often so in the meantime going for records would make it more exciting to watch track and field In the US
bump
Indoor track & field in the US was given a death sentence in the 1980s when every indoor meet had a "world record" at the imperial distances of 440y and 500y/500m/600y/600m bastard events. Ofcourse, the records were soft so when Houston McTear set one, he would break his own record the next meet. The US public got hooked on records.
Same would take place with other bastard events.
My take is, add the javelin and discus to indoor meets. The hammer? No, we're not savage masochists.
someideas wrote:
or have simpson, pierce, wurth-thomas, rowbery, and uceny in a 1500 on US soil going for the record. even if they don't come close its still exciting to see a race where its spoken that they are going for it.
Slightly different aspect:
Maggie Vessey, Morgan Uceny, Anna Pierce in a womens 800--all in bunhuggers.
Also, I'd like to see more of the football 60 thing they're doing at Millrose. Let's get more NFL guys out running indoor track. And maybe some Olympic high jumpers in a slam dunk contest.
someideas wrote:
yeah and put WR more out of reach for the amercians.. yeah good idea dummy
i know that'll prolly happen eventually but lets not help them do it and do it on our soil in our face while we pathetically pace them half way to doing it.
no lets pace ourselves, push each other to AR's on US soil and then go abroad and try to beat these africans when they are attempting WR. not saying we'd beat them but lets race them and try to instead of being in the race to pace them.
We need to bring each other up and i see that happening. rivalries where u see our top guys racing each other for AR, like rupp and solinsky did last yr in the 10k
you know ppl give rupp a hard time on here, and im not saying i love the guy, but i can respect a guy thats always pushing for AR's to make our country look more respectable. you have to think had rupp not stress wanting that 10k record and getting that field together, would solinsky have run 26:59... maybe he would have but i don't think so if u watched that race. would he have breaken the AR, that i believe would have happened without rupp in the race but he's the reason the race was put together.
I'd like to see this more with other guys in the shorter events. lets see an american record attempt by symmonds and wheating in the 800. have someone like KD be pacemaker, make it a stellar field and lets see what happens if the come through in 49.
or have simpson, pierce, wurth-thomas, rowbery, and uceny in a 1500 on US soil going for the record. even if they don't come close its still exciting to see a race where its spoken that they are going for it.
thats whats missing. that desire to want to break records and push each other in america to those records.
i think all we think about is medaling, now thats all good and well but those opportunities dont come up all that often so in the meantime going for records would make it more exciting to watch track and field In the US
Whatever man. To me, I could see Ryan Hall running a 1:28:00 30K to help pace a World Record attempt in the marathon, Nick Symmonds running 600 in 1:14 to pace an 800m attempt, Lagat running a 7:35 to pace a 5000m attempt, etc Rupp or Solinsky running a 13:05 to pace a 10000m attempt etc. It could be a way for Americans to both get qualifying standards for national or world championships (if official timing was kept for that distance in the race like the recent Aviva Grand Prix) and at the same time aiding what is truly the most exciting about the sport: running faster times.
Whatever you think, it makes me happy to see that Max King is a pacer in the London Marathon (I know that's not on US soil, but it fits with the idea of helping others run faster while trying to run a legit time yourself). King could probably make it to 18-21K at World Record pace.