13 States with no OT Marathon Trials Qualifiers

luv2run wrote:

WWF is greater than WWE wrote:

Nice post. I am glad I don't live in any of those states.

Hawaii?

The Big Island would actually be awesome for training. You could sleep at altitude easily enough and the temperatures are always pleasant around the 4000 foot level for training.

I live in Las Vegas, and I have to say that I agree with the OP on his very brief assessment of running conditions here. The summer here is horrible, and I have heard other locals refer to Vegas as the place where runners go to die. The temperatures during the winter are rather nice, but the constant wind during that time of the year disrupts training as well. Add in the fact that there are very few good races here, and there are only a handful of good runners in the entire metropolitan area (of about 2 million people) and it makes matters even worse (most of the good runners are not even close to the OTQ either). On top of this, there are very few places where an OTQ hopeful can actually perform quality workouts due to logistics (you have to drive way out of town to get to most spots), lack of shade (the radiant heat from the sun can cause problems even when temps are only in the 70's during the fall and spring), and lack of flat paved surfaces (a lot of the best places to run are on dirt trails, which are extremely hilly, and are not suitable for hard marathon pace workouts).

In order to try and get quality workouts in while living here I have had to try and acclimate to the heat by turning the a/c in my apartment up so high that I a am constantly sweating while just sitting around the house. I purposefully run easy runs when it is 100+ degrees outside during the summer with the hope that 80 or 90 wouldn't feel so bad if I get used to 100. I have also done some workouts indoors on a treadmill solely for the purpose of being able to run hard in temperatures under 80 degrees. So yes, it is possible to get some quality training here (and the ability to run well when it is hot may aid me in the future), but for the majority of people out there the poor running conditions kill their motivation to train hard.

Am I missing something? Why is it a problem to discuss the implications of the 13 state list? It's kind of interesting.

I agree with the guy that suggested waiting on Chicago to look at the numbers. I can think of one state that should move off your list afterward.

AKM

Our state might be small and has not produced any great runners yet but we have some of the best young talent in this country. Right now the fastest 5k run by a girl in this country is from Delaware and she isnt even the best runner in the state. We have an NCAA champion at the 10k and many young runners showing great promise. I agree our past has not looked good but I believe we have a bright future.

Dale Gribble wrote:

Surprised that Joe Biden, Christine O'Donnell, Joe Flacco, and the Dogfish Head Brewery haven't been able to inspire someone from the great state of Delaware to run a qualifier.

And the "don't respond to this thread" by the OP - brilliant. I know it isn't a troll thread, but have to give it a 10/10.

Delaware's only current hope is with a 2:2x marathoner

!/stevesinko

I'm glad my state isn't on the list, but I guarantee most of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi are are proud their state IS on the list.

The Marathon Guide is incomplete if you compare it to the USATF list.

One more observation. Right now 307 runners have qualified for the trials. Roughly 307 million people live in the United States. So, at this point, 1 out of a 1 million people have qualified for the Trials at this point. So, we should expect two qualifiers from Nebraska and 4 or 5 total from Montana, Delaware, the Dakotas, Alaska, and Wyoming.

An interesting observation is that 17 qualifiers should come from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.

Also, some states are vastly underrepresented. Georgia and Florida have 4 qualifiers each, but a combined population of well of 28 million. Texas has 5 qualifiers with a population of 24 million. Further evidence the South is the worst place to train as a marathon runner with the possible exception of Nebraska.

This thread is officially done now. I'll come out with the states with the most qualifiers, the most qualifiers per capita, and give my expert commentary next week.

Running chicago, but will not be going after a trials qualifier. We do have a couple of possibilities for the future, UD alum making his debut at chicago, and a current UD student who just made his debut in the half marathon at 1:07:30. It does stink that we don't have anyone on that list though

The Smartest Lets Run Poster wrote:

This thread is officially done now. I'll come out with the states with the most qualifiers, the most qualifiers per capita, and give my expert commentary next week.

Or you could leave us in suspense while you explore other media in which to best share your story.

Yeah, I agree about ending this thread. There isn't anything worthwhile left to say.

This is the type of expert analysis we have needed for years on this site instead of the normal pure guessing and speculation we usually get. Keep up the fine work Sir.

Compared with your earlier list of worst states to run:

1. Nebraska

2. Mississippi

3. North Dakota

4. Louisiana

5. New Jersey

6. Alabama

7. South Dakota

8. Iowa

9. Minnesota

10. Missouri

Do you wish to amend your earlier list based upon this new information or do you stand its declaration of accuracy?

All I know is that Oregon and New York are such bad states to run in that Galen Rupp has to wear a mask when he runs there.

Just because there's a lot of Nike money in Oregon and lots of people in NY doesn't make them good places to run. Plop down 18 million people in Nome Alaska and you'd still have a trials qualifier out of that many people.

Look at all the wonderful distance runners Minnesota has produced over the years, Ron Daws, Buddy Edelen, Garry Bjorklund, Janice Klecker, Barney Klecker, Steve Plesencia, Mark Nenow, just to name a few. Most of us stayed and trained in Minnesota year round. Running in the hot humid summers and the bitter cold winters makes you tough! :-)

Jeffster!!!!! wrote:

Compared with your earlier list of worst states to run:

1. Nebraska

2. Mississippi

3. North Dakota

4. Louisiana

5. New Jersey

6. Alabama

7. South Dakota

8. Iowa

9. Minnesota

10. Missouri

Do you wish to amend your earlier list based upon this new information or do you stand its declaration of accuracy?

Fine work on digging that up.

The current list of states without qualifiers supplements and adds value to my previous list - which is still the official list of the ten worst states to run. Note the criteria for worst states to run is broader that just OT qualifiers in the marathon. The no OT qualifier list has many of the same states and adds credibility to my list of the ten worst states to run. Six states are on both lists, two states are very underrepresented with the correlation between qualifiers and general population (New Jersey and Missouri), and Iowa and Minnesota actually have a higher than average correlation between qualifiers and general population although you couldn't convince me that training in either of those icy tundras from November to March would even be remotely enjoyable.

The Smartest Lets Run Poster wrote:

Fine work on digging that up.

The current list of states without qualifiers supplements and adds value to my previous list - which is still the official list of the ten worst states to run. Note the criteria for worst states to run is broader that just OT qualifiers in the marathon. The no OT qualifier list has many of the same states and adds credibility to my list of the ten worst states to run. Six states are on both lists, two states are very underrepresented with the correlation between qualifiers and general population (New Jersey and Missouri), and Iowa and Minnesota actually have a higher than average correlation between qualifiers and general population although you couldn't convince me that training in either of those icy tundras from November to March would even be remotely enjoyable.

I thought this thread was officially done.

AKMarmoset wrote:

I agree with the guy that suggested waiting on Chicago to look at the numbers. I can think of one state that should move off your list afterward.

AKM

+1