Reality Running Show

I just remembered that I saw a commercial with Sugar Ray Leornard and Sly Stone are doing a boxing version just like this.

There was also The Biggest Loser. If watching fat people losing weight can make it on a major channel, why cannot a running reality type show make it on one of around hundred stations that my TV gets?

One of those guys on The Biggest Loser looked like he could be a decent (no not world class or even regional class) once he lost the weight. He looked pretty smooth doing the track race they did.

while i don't think this would actually fly, i used to think about as a possibility during the run-up to an olympic year. if you could get 10 or so of the top 15 or so guys in one event to live in a house together for the last 4-5 months leading up to the olympic trials, you might be able to put together an interesting show. NBC (as the olympic network) could put it on over three or so weeks leading up to the olympic trials. it would possibly do double duty for NBC - a summer reality show and a ratings booster for the oly trials and the olympics if it works out.

you show the guys living together, hopefully forming friendships and rivalries, racing at Mt. SAC and Stanford in March/April and various workouts leading up to the trials themselves. and you hope that at least one of the guys makes the team. a reality show with a legitimate prize at the end.

obvious problems with this: 1) it only works for an event 800 and up, below that the guys don't need this gimmick to earn money/exposure and they wouldn't go for it; 2) the truly top guys - meb, alan webb, ritz, bk, etc. probably wouldn't go for it either because they don't need it and they don't want the distraction; 3) thus, it would be difficult to ensure that someone from the group ends up top 3; and 4) the events from 1500 up in this country are by no means guaranteed to have 3 olympic qualifiers.

maybe it would work better for a world champs year rather than an olympic year, or for a "lesser" national team like world cross.

I remember watching surfing's own version of this too called North Shore or something like that.

Get tinman and Kellogg as coaches for the two teams of runners.

Rent out a place in Big Bear, Flagstaff, or New Mexico.

Get sponsors to get their product placement throughout the show.

This would kick ass over informercials on a sunday morning.

interesting idea to tie it to the Olympics but it wouldn't have to be tied to the Olympics at all.

The guys in the UFC version are doing it to get a contract to compete in the UFC. They aren't the top tier guys. The top tier guys don't need the show to get in the UFC competition.

The people who compete in American Idol aren't the best singers in the world. They are amueters hoping to become professionals. That would be more the appeal with the running show.

The competition for the running show would be which one guy out of the bunch coming out of college with help and coaching become a professional - he may never compete in the Olympics but it would draw interest if he or any of the others did ever compete in any local races.

I don't see why this couldn't be done, people will watch a reality show about anything! Seriously, it doesn't matter what it is, put it on abc, nbc, cbs, fox, and people will watch it.

I like the idea. Youd have the drama of the race, the different personalities, the sheer exahustion of the hard workouts, the disappointment when someone gets injured.

I used to say that my old college CC team would make for great TV. You had infighting,folks hooking up, disagreements with the coach, petty jealousy, folks quiting school, etc.. it would have made a great tv show.

But to be a successful reality show you must have two things: personalities and conflict. No one will watch four nice, quiet, dedicated guys living together to reach a dream.

Dathan: "Hey Jorge! Grab me a Gatorade from the 'fridge?"

Jorge: "Sure thing, Ritz. Do you miss the Goucher's not being around?"

Dathan: "Yeah. Adam and Kara were cool. Oh, I almost forgot - Wetmore called for Eduardo about an hour ago. When is he getting home?"

Jorge: "I dunno? About 4:00. Did you want Arctic Ice or Watermelon Blast?"

Riveting!!!!

Now, put one nice guy, a real egotistical jerk, an insecure dude, and a gay guy in the house - it's gold baby! If one of them has a crazy stripper girlfriend, that's even better. Plus, someone has to be a complete backstabber and there must always be a twist or penalty or contrived contest each episode. The closest we are going to get is that "5000 Meters" movie that Galloway's son did.

Now, put one nice guy, a real egotistical jerk, an insecure dude, and a gay guy in the house - it's gold baby!

So far Josh Cox fits the bill for all those!

Just add a 24 hr camera for the Hanson's group and voila, there's your reality show. You got the house, the group, and the running shoe store already set.

Runners are boring, it sucks to watch....anyone stupid enough to spend money to have a realty running show might as well jump off a cliff. I'd rather watch martha stewart

I agree, a running reality show would need some spice, so why not include girls in it as well. Make it Real World style and encourage hook-ups, back-stabbing, fake acting, and any other kind of drama you could possibly imagine. Create a love triangle, say with the Ziegle twins fighting over Josh Cox to take away his virginity. Have a guy come out of the closet on the show. Maybe make one of the girls a sex addict, like Sarah on the current Real World. Encourage the guys to go to local bars and bring home chicks to make the girls in the house jealous. Maybe it could even be like the show Paradise Island from a few years ago, where each guy has to bunk up with a girl, except for the one guy who is the odd man out. For the show to succeed, it needs maipulation, drama, and sex.

Two teams the pot heads vs. spikers at the football 40.

Martha will design the unis.Bring in strippers from the 4 major sexes as cheerleaders..........Amy will do the calendar.....Gabe will report from the Thai Red Light District......

They get to live in The Haight in Hypox-tents and toil in the weed fields of Marin....

Winner gets to head up Arnolds Drug Commission!

Oregonian, you do have a point.

The casting would be critical. But there are plenty of post college runners with talent that have a variety of personality types. They would all be young and say stupid stuff from time to time. Remember that it would be only 1 hour of edited film for say a week.

Okay, the plan would be put 16 people in the house. 8 men and 8 women. The first show they get to know each other and whatever.

The second show two coaches pick who is going to be on their team. Each coach gets 4 women and 4 men.

Coach A 4 women compete against Coach B 4 women team. The losing team coach has to vote out a member.

Same for the men. The coach of the losing men's team votes out a guy.

So there is competition between the two teams and eventually there will be competition between the own team members.

Lots of drama - as others mentioned, injuries, conflict with the coaches, conflict with the other team members, conflict with your own team just living with them in a house and lots of beer should be available.

Young fit runners, lots of beer, and competition. It would be fun to watch.

Oregonian wrote:

But to be a successful reality show you must have two things: personalities and conflict.

Marc Davis would be the running equivalent of "Puck"

Bring in Webb and Stember for some friction.

Also, didn't McMullen have a fued going w/ Holman back in the day? There's two older guys to get sick of the young punks. It's got more potential than you realize if you think about it.

I think the best idea would be to get guys just out of college who are young with a wide array of personalities. So the MTV crowd could get into it as well as sports fans.

Need one guy who drinks a lot. A couple hot chicks. A self-absorbed dude who doesn't care what the other roommates and eats everything in the house and makes and leaves big messes around the house. A chick who has an eating disorder. A fundamentalist religious guy.

Most importantly- no Kenyans! Those guys are fast and very humble. It's hard to dislike them! This would have to be Real "Runners" World- lotta sex, lotta conflict.

The Hansons would work.

This is the lamest idea ever, it would never fly.

running needs some creativity wrote:

A fundamentalist religious guy.

There's Macdougals part.

Who would the coaches be? & you also have to have the special hot female host.