2016 Olympic Marathon Trials Athlete Review

LA trials fanboy wrote:

bigtool05 wrote:

What is with all the posts like this? This was a crappy trials in a lot of ways and people are suggesting ways to improve it. Period. Why do you seem to have such a big problem with that?

No they are complaining on a message board and in an article on twitter. Where were they 2 years ago.

Yeah exactly. Hopefully thanks to their input the next trials will be better. Again, I can't understand how you could possibly have a problem with that. You're either trolling or you have some sort of weird vendetta against fast runners.

I know this is not what this thread is about BUT – I am a millennial (aka: entitlement generation) and I remember when track was not on TV. I’ve seen the sport grow a lot during my short life (I’m 30), and I personally know, and respect, a lot of the race directors for the races I run.

I don’t expect everything to be set up for me – my favorite race is a summer road racing series with a $6 entry fee where you get a popsicle stick at the finish with your place #, then you go to a table and give the stick to the results people along with your name.

It takes about 20-30 minutes after the winners finish to announce the awards, and you have to place top three in your age/gender to win a t-shirt. Final results are usually posted online a few hours later. They always have cold water at the finish, and often times bagels and free massages.

This is literally more than what the USATF (the governing body for our sport) did for professional athletes last weekend, and I don’t care if you walked 10 miles to school in the snow uphill both way, this should upset you (ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A RACE DIRECTOR).

bigtool05 wrote:

LA trials fanboy wrote:

No they are complaining on a message board and in an article on twitter. Where were they 2 years ago.

Yeah exactly. Hopefully thanks to their input the next trials will be better. Again, I can't understand how you could possibly have a problem with that. You're either trolling or you have some sort of weird vendetta against fast runners.

No complaining on a message board DOES NOTHING. NOTHING

Go to the USTAF meetings, talk to the Athlete rep. Write/call Max, etc. That does something.

My only vendetta against semi-fast runners is them ruining the sport through petty complaints. You honestly think this helps grow the sport?

have in a marathon on at 7AM where no one watches it? complaining about not getting a free shirt.

sorry you know nothing of what you speak. I can't get upset that athletes didn't get a free t-shirt. I can't. I never will.

They hydration was a legit concern, but even seasoned RDS with experience screw this up (See Chicago '07) You are of the age where you expect Bagels and free massages post-race...Now exactly how are you not acting entitled?

LA trials fanboy wrote:

I remember the days with the trials weren't even televised or streamed. It's like the younger generation (which you appear to be apart of ) has no historical perspective. They also seem to think that everything should be set up for them. The torrid of complaints about the OTs seem to reflect that.

The good ol' days weren't so good, but in many ways were better than last weekend.

LA trials fanboy wrote:

No complaining on a message board DOES NOTHING. NOTHING

Go to the USTAF meetings, talk to the Athlete rep. Write/call Max, etc. That does something.

My only vendetta against semi-fast runners is them ruining the sport through petty complaints. You honestly think this helps grow the sport?

To the contrary, talking to USATF would get a worse reaction than yours.

Putting this out in public is exactly the right thing to do.

LA trials fanboy wrote:

sorry you know nothing of what you speak. I can't get upset that athletes didn't get a free t-shirt. I can't. I never will.

They hydration was a legit concern, but even seasoned RDS with experience screw this up (See Chicago '07) You are of the age where you expect Bagels and free massages post-race...Now exactly how are you not acting entitled?

OK, so but what if the athletes wanted a free hair shirt to represent their suffering at the trials? I mean being the ascetic you are, you've gotta be on board with that...

8/10.

I was gonna give 10, but the trolling just got too obvious with this. You have to at least make it seem like your character read the posts! Excellent job trying to make the "older" generation look bad, tho!

LA trials fanboy wrote:

No complaining on a message board DOES NOTHING. NOTHING

Go to the USTAF meetings, talk to the Athlete rep. Write/call Max, etc. That does something.

My only vendetta against semi-fast runners is them ruining the sport through petty complaints. You honestly think this helps grow the sport?

have in a marathon on at 7AM where no one watches it? complaining about not getting a free shirt.

Do you have any idea how much shit I get because of stuff I post on message boards? It's not worthless. People do read this, and more importantly, it spreads ideas beyond message boards.

But your point about doing more than posting on message boards is valid. I hope that the participants who felt the Trials could use improvements will take the time to email their Event Leader, email Dwight Phillips, email Jim Estes, email Max Siegel and tell them these things... and please consider getting more involved with USATF in the future so that you can help make our sport better.

Accurate. I've gotten more from FREE summer XC races and Thursday night brew runs at the local running store, than what our BEST MARATHONERS got at the Trials. I was there-- I saw it first hand. It was like a war zone in the athlete area after the race. They were in a world of hurt! The least LA could have done is have some fruit or bananas.

Meanwhile, right next to the athlete area was an off-limits VIP tent with food and beverages. The athletes had to walk past this tent as they exited. Talk about adding insult to injury! This isn't a track race where you shouldn't expect anything-- they just ran 26.2 miles in the grueling sun. They could have gotten more from running a local 5K than what they got from LA.

BS you weren't there. Where was their support people?

I'm a writer/reporter for Road Race Management who's writing an article on the trials. I've spent the last week talking to runners, coaches, agents, volunteers and spectators and have heard pretty much the same story from everyone. If anyone knows about the runner who was seen being placed in an ambulance, please get in touch with me via email. Thanks.

LA trials fanboy wrote:

Whine whine whine.

The only BSers on this thread are people like you.

Go away, and stay away from serious runners from now on.

Serious runners?

Wo is the biggest talent to complain publicly?

Rizzo????

Hahaha

I ran the trials and I wish I could put all of you focking idiots in a room and verbally pwn you until you cried for your mommy

The only thing that matters is that the six people who made the team are the best this country has to offer. You want development? The national marathon championships are contested every year, plus the big city races. Those races should set you up to run in a big boy/girl race like the Trials.

Like the person who wrote the original post said, the Trials are all about picking the team, period, end of story.

AAE wrote:

The only thing that matters is that the six people who made the team are the best this country has to offer. You want development? The national marathon championships are contested every year, plus the big city races. Those races should set you up to run in a big boy/girl race like the Trials.

Like the person who wrote the original post said, the Trials are all about picking the team, period, end of story.

Actually, in Olympic trials years the trials ARE the national championship. Thanks for advocating that all those athletes had every right to be there and were spot-on in their expectations of a positive experience and professionalism!

Did anyone happen to video the technical meeting?http://www.runnersworld.com/olympic-trials/after-olympic-marathon-trials-athletes-question-how-officials-handled-heat-and

“It didn’t feel like this was a race for the runners,” Rice said. “It was a race for the media, it was a race for another objective, whatever that objective was. It really doesn’t feel like the runners were a priority.”

A spokesman for Conqur wrote on Tuesday afternoon that athletes’ complaints don’t match what they had heard about the race. “We’re disappointed to hear that some athletes had a negative experience,” he wrote. “The feedback we have received from athletes, coaches and from industry peers has been overwhelmingly positive.”

I didn't video it but can try to answer any questions from memory if that would help. In regards to your quote, I've already stated my views but I did feel like the runners were a high priority for the volunteers and organizers and I appreciated that.

In regards to the article,

- I can't remember if they promised more drinking water at the new station or just sponges.

- They did emphasize that runners should "try" to drop out at the finish line if they have to drop out. But they also said there would be other aid stations on the course and told us their locations. I think they said they would send a gator to pick up dropouts from those stations, but not 100% sure.