Depth of Falmouth Men's top 20 awful!

not adept at quantiftying wrote:

Last year there were 40 US men under 29:00 for 10,000m and I don't know how many ran sub 29 for 10Km on the roads.

How deep does the sub-elite category go?

That sounds about right. I'm not sure how deep it is, but we have to consider the timing of the race, the fact that worlds was last week, and that the USATF 20k Champs is in two weeks.

The same guys that are running the USATF champs, world champs, and other elite races are the ones who routinely breaking 29 for 10km. If you haven't run a fast 10k on the track in college, you have very few opportunities to get into a track meet with a fast 10k post-college.

A new board took over the administration of the race. It has changed the focus of the event to fundraising for the town. The goal is no longer about fielding a long and deep field, it is about raising money. The elite budget has been cut as a result. Thus, less runners will get transportation paid for. There are less people being put up in host family's homes. Travel isn't cheap. Hotels command 3 night minimums and $300 per night rentals. That's a lot of money.

The changes in sponsorships resulted in less money for the prize field, in some respects. I say less because the total prize money is the same or slightly less than prior years. Less money and number of spots are offered for top American, top Masters. Overall though, it's a small amount of money that people are really competing for.....

The race is also beginning at 9 am now, so if you are not staying in the area, you have to be out the door by what - 4:30-5:00 to make it to the start area in time?

And finally, Dave McGillivray as the RD's MO is to advise the board that they do not need to spend a lot of money to get a large elite field. The average person in the crowd or reading about this race will know maybe one or two names. So it will look good how fast the race was won in, but no one is going to care that 25th place was a 5:30 pace now, when it used to be closer to 5:00. And while Dave is correct and the Board is also correct - it does not affect the popularity of the race - it does impact the ability to promote running, the sport in general, etc..

I would also add - there are many more road races out there, the track meets over in Europe, the IAAF world championship meets, etc... In 1995, the year cited above, Beach to Beacon had never been conceived (the Rock n Roll series hadn't even gotten off the ground), and the prize money in relation to the cost of living was worth it.

There are philosophical arguments as to whether Falmouth should refocus on the elite/sub-elite field, but the fact is, it won't change a thing. Next year the race will sell out and continue to reject record numbers of lottery entrants. And the race will continue to raise a boatload for charities and the beneficiaries. None of that is going to change. And I suspect that a lot of other races are the same way (I'm looking at you Boston Marathon.....)

I have been a part of nearly every Falmouth Road Race since 1975 and intend to continue to be with the exception of actually running the race

Why anyone would pay $70.00 to be a part of that mass of running humanity baffles me.

I have been running the course with friends on race weekend for many years now and then look forward to the racing which unfortunately has declined precipitously.

Six years ago the philosophy was this:

http://www.flotrack.org/article/7196-falmouth-prize-money-draws-big-usa-field-but-may-impact-strategy#.WZ3TzD6GOM8

It resulted in 5 Americans in the top ten and 34 runners under 5 minute pace.

In 2016 it was down to top 5 but has rebounded back to top 10.

This year only 8 runners under 5. What accounts for this sea change?

Anyone care?

Seems like a big F U to the elite racers.

That could have been written about the Boilermaker 15K which suffered the same fate. Once upon a time it was solely a 15K, with a deep elite/sub elite field. The race used to showcase a lot of American talent. It was a major event on the summer circuit in the Northeast and beyond. Then they started bringing in anyone with a Kenyan mailing address. Fast forward another decade where people finally got sick of the quasi Kenya foreign aid program, and moreso nobody can tell you who won (nor do they care), and you are left with an event - not a race. Now they have a 15k, 5k, an 8k walk, a "unity" mile (I think it got scrubbed this year due to lack of participation). You have people forking out outrageous entry fees so they can waddle the 15k or 5k and then claim they "ran" the Boilermaker. What used to be a truly competitive race is now just a shell of its former self. Sure, entry numbers continue to be up there, but that is only because people have figured out that you can be a fat slob in spandex and tennis shoes, walk the 9.3 miles or better yet, just the 3.1 and get all the free beer you want at the finish line.

Depth at the high school level is greater than it ever was in the 1970s and 1980s, and has been for close to a decade now, I think, with a greater population of course, and the training groups have helped convert that into more U.S. medals, so you would think the depth would also percolate down to road races unless fewer talented runners were competing after college and few collegians compete in road races. The dominance of foreign runners in road races with prize money surely has had an effect for decades now.

youth.in.revolt wrote:

I still consider Falmouth one of my favorite races. It's such an awesome course and the fans are great and beers at the British Beer Company post-race is hard to beat.

.

Next year drop by the Crow's Nest. The door is always open, and if you need to get in the BBC we can sneak you in through the kitchen.

Be thirsty my friend. Be very thirsty.

I wonder how many other classic races from the 1970's-80' era have gone the way Falmouth has as described by some in this post. Peachtree, Bix, Gate River Run, Cherry Blossom, Virginia 10 miler, Bay to Breakers, etc.

I was born in '78 so missed out on this old school racing. I love watching replays or highlights of races in this era on Youtube. I've done Bix in 2009 and thought it was a good experience. I am by no means fast but wanted to run some of these classic races the likes of which Rodgers, Shorter, Salazar ran on the road circuit back then. Are there any races still out there that retained some of the nostalgia and have not grown into a charity run?

Hodgie-san is also correct about the entry fees -

Back in 1995, the entry fee was about $25. Maybe even less.

This year it was $70 + the online fee, which I think put it up to $78. That is an awful lot of money to fork over for an entry fee.

This too goes back to what you see with McGillivray - charge as much as the market will bear. And his team is excellent. But sometimes I doubt that his level of organization (and cost) is really required. The race went just fine for the 40 years before him.

But after Dave took over Falmouth, the price started climbing quite a bit. Same thing happened with Mount Washington.

This is likely the situation going on all over the country. It is not unique to Falmouth. Watered down fields are going to become the norm at all major races.

Look at what the brojos posted about Chicago this week - the field was significantly watered down this year and it looks like it's set up for a Galen Rupp victory ... a strong showing by Jordan Hasay, and there will be a lot of press for Joanie going for a record.

And that will sell/garner a stronger return on investment than hearing about how the top 30 men were all under 2:15 or something like that........

Let's put it this way - in Doha, the brojos lost their minds because the top 10 were all under 2:06 one year (or something crazy like that). Can you tell me who won the race in 2015? And who came in 5th? No - because it really isn't that interesting of a story. A bunch of runners you have no interest in, who likely doped, ran quickly.

Times change wrote:

Unfortunately young fast runners are simply not interested. They want to save themselves for bigger races. They have been brainwashed into thinking racing too much is bad for you. That, and they're all too busy with strava.

1970s US Road Hack wrote:

10th place at Falmouth yesterday 35:16 - 5:00 pace. This run would have barely cracked top 40 '80-'82. Where the hell are the road runners? Seems like fewer and fewer good US Distance men are running the complete road circuit as they did '78-'88 window when the roads were the path to a living.

Actually, a lot of talented runners can't afford to run. The days of flipping burgers and running and paying your rent are LONG gone. The boomers forgot where they came from and they are scalping every young runner and its pushes them to work real jobs where running hard workouts at 4am are more detrimental than helpful.