March 1st, 2008
USATF = AARP?
We have often suggested the PGA TOUR as the model for professional running, but here’s a model that USATF or Running USA should consider for banding together the millions of runners who race across the USA.
- London Recap - May 4th, 2010
- What are you running for? - May 3rd, 2010
- Solinsky AR 26:59.60!!! - May 2nd, 2010
- London Preview - April 23rd, 2010
- 1988 Olympic Gold Meets 2004 Silver - April 21st, 2010
March 1st, 2008 at 7:47 pm |
Despite the way the above post reads, Toni is no doubt still lobbying for the PGA Tour model for professional running. If you doubt me, play the above post backwards and it sounds like:
U FAST = A PAR?
Although thinly veiled, this reference to both running fast and playing golf is subliminal advertising at it’s finest…
March 1st, 2008 at 8:04 pm |
Good catch, Dave. Yes, I think we need a PGA TOUR like model to handle professional running, and an everyone-gets-a-temporary USATF or RUN USA card who enters a race model at the grass roots level. Build your base as broadly as possible, then offer it opportunities at a mass scale not at the single race level. Use our growing numbers, excellent health, and sterling demographics to the benefit of us all.
March 1st, 2008 at 9:11 pm |
Very well said Toni and I hope someone “somewhere” - if I only had a map! - will pay attention.
That said, what initially gave you away in terms of my deciphering your original post has nothing to do with the fact I used to – at a very early age – work Jumbles in the newspaper with my great great grandmother and everything to do with my having been a math major.
After all, every mathematician worth a grain of salt knows that:
If A = B and B= C, then A = C.
That said, if:
A = USATF
B = PGA Tour and,
C = AARP
Per your previous post(s), A clearly stands to equal B!
However, when it comes to B = C, “Get in the hole!” has an entirely different connotation which to me at least implies the two are not equal, despite the fact they do coexist peacefully for years at one point or another.
Hence, if B does not equal C, A cannot equal C.
So, we’re left with A and B and sorry for the gallows humor but then again, we US Americans – even those of us without maps! - should be doing a whole lot more to preserve, protect and promote our beloved sport…
March 1st, 2008 at 9:28 pm |
With inestimable pride (and certifiable proof) I admit not to have been a math major, a math minor, nor be math literate. Hence, WTF did you just say!?
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:48 am |
I’ve been looking at this website for a few weeks now and I am surprised that the PGA and NASCAR are held up as the two models to emulate as the way running can be built up as a popular sport. When you watch a PGA tournament, it is obvious the individual players are doing something an ordinary person can’t do on the golf course. With NASCAR there is that factor plus the real possibility someone will crash. As great a sport as running is, it will never have this at an individual level.
What I would tune in to see though, is whether a team representing my city won a race (maybe on a highlight show like Running on YES after I ran the race myself). Multiple person teams would probably create more finish line duels to get crucial 2nd, 3rd and possibly 4th and 5th scoring places to win a team purse. If my local team offered coaching for ordinary runners, I would pay to attend and would definitely buy the team merchandise.
I think of the Westchester Track Club as a nonprofit model for this type of team. It is a two tiered track club that appears to dominate the NYRR club competition.
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:24 am |
Bob,
Good points. Yet professional runners are obviously doing what ordinary people can’t do. I still like your idea of linking the average runner with the pros. perhaps making each pro a team captain where everyone in the field is on a team and their times count toward a series of prizes.
What PGA does is require a player to qualify for the tour, and then make X number of appearances per year in order to participate. We need rules and regulations so a stable circuit of athletes is competing over a known number of events rather than every event making up its own competition every week. Nothing coheres in that non-sysem. It’s the implementation of a system that makes the PGA a good model.
Certainly, the team aspect repping cities is much better than shoe company logos which don’t touch the heart.
March 2nd, 2008 at 8:12 pm |
I know, you get some real news to dominate your website, perhaps
parachute Matt Taylor into a meet in progress. Then you get him to jump into the race and start running like hell to catch up with the leaders. After a performance like that, I doubt anyone would compare running to the AARP.
March 3rd, 2008 at 6:44 am |
Toni
Thanks for responding. I see what you mean about qualifying runners for a circuit and requiring a set number of races. It would be like an appearance fee buying group for race directors instead of every race for themselves. That could counter a trend that has been commented on here of viewing events as jogging festivals instead of a competitive events.
I think doing the same thing for regional franchises should be considered though. Being a USATF (or IAAF?) club could be a requirement. You also could also have cohesiveness by organizing races into regional grand prixes with an overall prize. It would be up to teams wether they filled their rosters with pro’s or a mix of pro’s and non-pro’s. You would probably find teams holding local time trials to identify team members.
The main thing would be that if race purses were awarded by team, geographic focused teams would have an incentive to recruit and train runners. Well funded teams would look beyond their local area but local teams would take a shot as regional races.
Thanks again. This is a fun site.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:24 am |
Taken a step further, how difficult would it be, logistically, for professional runners in a given area to organize into a professional team, and give their city/area someone to cheer for?
If Anthony Famiglietti won Olympic Gold, I am not so sure he’d get a parade down the Canyon of Heroes, because the average New Yorker has no sense of ownership or identification with him, as an individual. But I wonder if there was a New York track team who took on a team from Boston and from DC and from Philadelphia each year at Icahn Stadium, with subsequent meets hosted by those other teams during the summer… would New York runners follow them (albeit to a lesser extent) like their other pro sports teams?
March 3rd, 2008 at 2:35 pm |
You guys are definitely on to something. A year ago I talked with Craig Masback for nearly three hours down at USATF headquarters in Indy. My original plan was to talk with Craig about our sport and ask his opinions on a few things, while discussing a few ideas I had.
If any of you have met Craig before, you know he is a talker. I asked him two questions, which took up nearly an hour. It was amazing getting his thoughts on so much. Just when I thought our time ran out, he asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with him and talk a bit more. Of course I had to jump at that chance.
During lunch, I brought up the idea of a city v. city championship. Instead of having a club championship, USATF could host a city or state championship. My basic proposal was to have a city or state qualifier in each area where the top 5-7 athletes would qualify for the team. Then, those teams would travel to the national championship to compete against each other. I broke it down to where it would be an actual series, with multiple races and professional teams, but I won’t throw all the details into this comment post.
Anyways, Craig loved the idea, but his last comment was, “how could we fit that into our club championships and make it work.” He was stuck on the club championships…that it needed to stick around.
My point is, in order to create any new venture or put into practice any new idea, people like all of us need to ban together and make it happen. It needs to be its own identity, not bunched with USATF. Honestly, road racing is one area where our sport can really rally. Our top track athletes go to Europe for their best performances and cross country is a prep/collegiate sport. Road racing is where we can start from scratch and actually make something happen. USATF does VERY LITTLE for road racing, so why not start a new company that puts on the race circuit. I would pay good money to see Chicago v. New York. Man I hate New York! It would be awesome.
Ok. Enough for now. Lets keep this discussion going.
March 3rd, 2008 at 9:54 pm |
Can’t we get past the Chicago v. New York, (its beeen done, open your paper tomorrow)
and maybe have
1. Free Speechers v. Morality Preachers
2. Extraordinary Renderers v. Drawing Boarders?
Something along thos lines and I’ll jump clubs.
Antonio
March 5th, 2008 at 5:39 am |
The think the shortest way to having team competition is to put the monetary prizes out there. The Boston and NY marahons already have three person open and masters team divisions. If there were meaningful prizes for these majors like $50K, $30K, $20K, then highly competitive teams would organize themselves.
I like Scott’s idea of a city time trials team. You could have dueling marathons where the race director of one like Chicago picked a team for NY by holding a local runner contest within his or her marathon by asking Chicago area runners to add some amount ($10, $15) to their entry if they wanted to be considered for Team Chicago to compete in NY. Proceeds would be used to send the top 4 Chicago runners by chip time to NY and give them a free entry into the following years race to defend against a visiting NY team that could be selected the same way.
If decent prizes were available, I think the more permanent teams would grow out of the existing clubs, not replace them. Each team would make its own choice on how to organize, but I think the most sustainable model would be a two tiered club with 10-20 professional runners being supported to some degree by 1,000+ nonprofessional members of the club. This isn’t really so far from the PGA model in that it would be like the members of a country club supporting and getting coaching/lessons from a club professional.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:30 am |
But again, if these city teams run in the current marathons as presently staged, with the limited TV focus and resources trained on the professional race, then where is the pay-off for this team format?
It would have to be the centerpiece competition of a race with live TV to make it appealing, and without the top runners on those team would sponsors, race organizers, and especiall TV, pay any attention? It must be able to be sold - like the Japaneses ekiden corporate relays - to be viable as an alternative to the current system. Just having anothr add-on element to further dilute interest in the lead pack wouldn’t work.
March 6th, 2008 at 6:02 am |
I agree that gaining media attention would be the challenge of a team format. I think it could come down to the size of the team prize and the number of local fans a team could recruit. Large prizes would attract talent and coverage.
Even if the team prizes weren’t as large as the individual prizes, I think a team could educate the sports writers in its area to follow it. The athletes would have an incentive to coach, blog and generally interact with their local fans. This would create a system where an individual runner would not have to win a major race to even have a chance of being known to a fan base. The dedicated local team fans would know his or her name before national prominence. State/city support could open sponsorship and advertising opportunities from larger local businesses like cat dealerships, banks and law firms.
I have to disagree with you that having team competition would only distract attention from the lead pack. Unfortunately, many races seem to be dominated by one individual who has a commanding lead at the end. Exciting finish line duels at the end seem to seldom occur. If you had multiple teams of 3-5 runners competing for different places, I think that it would create more duels and generally enlarge the pie of scenes a TV person would want to put on the air. TV and online graphics like the ones used in NASCAR could give a fan the status of their team. That would be more exciting than for example watching Ryan Hall celebrate for the last 1/4 mile of the Olympic trials, as nice as it was to see his accomplishment.
Thanks again for replying,