I have to disagree with you, there are plenty of athletics fans who enjoy watching distance races. Personally, I prefer watching 10,000m races than sprints. I will admit that the sprint events attract a much larger audience and even those who don't watch athletics regularly will still tune in to watch Usain Bolt in the 100m, however a lot of "hardcore" athletics fans can appreciate the stamina and turn of speed that the 10,000m runners have.
Sorry if I came across as being rude, I'm just a passionate distance fan!