Carlsbad elite field.... Lol. WTF!

Elites were unaffected by trains. Field size was half of last year. Perhaps it did help world half championships were same weekend

instagram wrote:

It's not updated yet. There is a famous instagram gal who is raving about her 19:35 huge PR. She is currently waiting for the official results to be posted.

I think I know who you are talking about. I am happy for her, she worked hard for it, being truthful and not doing all positivity only posts like other people. A real person...

The #9 elite woman only ran 17:53! How do I join the elite race?

https://track.rtrt.me/e/RNR-CBAD-2018#/leaderboard/elite-women-elite-5k/FINISH

Anyone know the relationship between Iron Man and Competitor Group? I thought Competitor Group had their hands on this race...

Ironman owns Competitor Group as of Summer 2017. This coincides with the demise of Carlsbad and every RnR race in the US.

http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/news/articles/2017/06/ironman-acquires-competitor-group.aspx#axzz5AxEdNiMv

Brojos, what do you think of doing an article on Ironman killing all these races? It's terrible for the sport. If more races go this route without any backlash, the already small pool of money available to elites will totally disappear.

Remember when Competitor tried to cut elite support and prize purses back in 2012-ish? There was such an uproar that they reinstated most of the money. Ironman has quietly done the exact same thing.

Carlsberg don't do races, but if they did, they'd probably be the baddest races in the world. Does my wit have any limits?

moist wrote:

Brojos, what do you think of doing an article on Ironman killing all these races? It's terrible for the sport. If more races go this route without any backlash, the already small pool of money available to elites will totally disappear.

Remember when Competitor tried to cut elite support and prize purses back in 2012-ish? There was such an uproar that they reinstated most of the money. Ironman has quietly done the exact same thing.

+!

Now owned by China. Cheap low quality. What'd you expect?

When Competitor Group cut the elite fields about 6 years ago, it also fired Matt Turnbull.

After the uproar, CG reinstated the fields and rehired Matt.

Matt is still the elite field coordinator and I am sure you can ask him some questions and get honest answers.

Also ROJO - you all posted the press release that is linked above on your website. Didn't anyone take a look at the names being announced as their "WORLD CLASS ELITE FIELD" ??? None of the names were trailblazers and the lack of any PR announced next to most of the names was a pretty obvious sign that the times were going to be slower.

ROJO - here's the press release that you all reposted at the end of last week. Did no one take the time to give it a thorough read????

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2018/03/2018-carlsbad-5000-sunday/

It is sad Carlsbad has been gutted but I am not surprised. The Rock N Roll Races have suffered from a lack of quality elite fields for several years, so it was inevitable this was going to happen. All to save a few bucks (or in the jargon used, to restructure their race model and spend the event dollars on the everyday competitors versus the elites). Sad. From seeing some of the best 5000 meter runners compete to this.

Was packet pickup as bad this year as last? It was a mess last year, took forever. The race itself was good, but seemed lacking in spirit. I had fun, but I skipped it this year.

SDRunner wrote:

14:15 and 16:04! This race is officially dead. Iron man completely effed up this race. I remember being in the beer garden when smiling Sammy Kipketer came through in 3:59! Remember when Deena broke 15 and Defar ran 14:46!

Attendance will plummet! Now just another meaningless people's 5k.

OK. So? They don't offer elite's big $$ any more. And, the performances are not at the level of the A-1 elites due to that. Duh. So, what's your point?

456 wrote:

SDRunner wrote:

14:15 and 16:04! This race is officially dead. Iron man completely effed up this race. I remember being in the beer garden when smiling Sammy Kipketer came through in 3:59! Remember when Deena broke 15 and Defar ran 14:46!

Attendance will plummet! Now just another meaningless people's 5k.

OK. So? They don't offer elite's big $$ any more. And, the performances are not at the level of the A-1 elites due to that. Duh. So, what's your point?

You are obviously new to the sport of running, and you have zero knowledge of the history of the Carlsbad 5000. Sad. So very sad.

It is a shame. I have run Carlsbad many times over the last decade plus and have seen the quality of the race decline inexorably over the past 5 years sometime after Competitor took over the race. I have nothing against the mass appeal type of events that have proliferated over the years. I am just not interested in participating in them. However, when those few competitive running events that still exist decay away and turn into just another party run, then something has truly been lost from the sport. Carlsbad used to be an iconic event. No more it seems.

My exact thoughts! To see the prize money dwindle to such low levels another great race goes to sh%^%^.

Oh well good days are gone for some elite road racing at carlsbad.

I've run it a few times but watched it several times. The main reason to get out there to watch: Gebremeskal, Kipchoge, Cheptegei, the Dibabas, Defar, Lagat...etc.

Now the field is going to be sub-elites and nothing close to world class. I'm a big fan of the sport of running but it's not worth heading to watch now.

Chinese Government has posted new regulations/rules last years, restricting investment in Sport, Movie, etc. outside of China. Jianlin Wang and the Wanda Group was among one of the companies that were picked for criticism by Xinhua/People Daily, the official media of Chinese government. The reason is beyond the scope of this discussion. Wanda has since sold the share of soccer club Atletico Madrid and many other foreign investment and re-shift the focus on domestic market. The purchase of Rock'n'Roll and Triathlon were all happened before last year before the new rules. So I am not surprise to see the drop in the quality of the elite field.