The Toni & Matt Show #6
Mary Wittenberg and Bill Rodgers highlight Episode #6 of The Toni & Matt Show. This is a show you don’t want to miss. Let us know what you think; call the comment line at 206-888-0346.
In this episode:
Comment from Dwight: Should marathons split their professional and citizen races? A good argument, although I love meatloaf…
We chat with NYRR President and CEO Mary Wittenberg.
Will she apply for the USATF position?
What can agents do to better the sport?
How does NYRR balance it’s non-profit mandate with the professional side of the sport?
And much more…
Paula Radcliffe is out of London.
Should running promote the sport more like boxing than NASCAR and the PGA?
Will New York benefit from Paula’s withdrawal at London?
Do professional athletes bring value to road races?
Toni gets in trouble at the LA Marathon. Have we reached the point where a white guy can no longer call another white guy a white guy.
Gate River, World Indoors, and Steve Scott.
Comment from Billy Borkus.
Toni runs Jamaica Pond with Bill Rodgers…in 1982. If nothing else, listen to this four-minute segment that starts around 51:30 in the podcast.
What did you think? Do you want to hear more of Toni’s conversations from the 1980’s? Should we henceforth refer to Toni as “Toni the Tangent”? Contribute to the show; call the comment line at 206-888-0346.
[Music is “Sunshine” by one of my favorite artists Raul Midon.]
Last 5 posts by Matt Taylor- The Toni & Matt Show #17 - Vin Lananna - July 9th, 2008
- LetsRun.com Eugene '08 - June 30th, 2008
- The Toni & Matt Show #16 - June 17th, 2008
- USOC to USATF: Change Now! - June 14th, 2008
- The Toni & Matt Show #15 - June 11th, 2008
March 9th, 2008 at 5:10 pm |
Having tagged along on some of those once upon time runs in the 80s when Toni was interviewing the likes of Bill Rodgers, you don’t want to miss out on this…
After all, runners in their element tend to be totally different animals than runners sitting across the table from an interviewer holding a microphone.
Additional kudos to Toni: Even small tape recorders weighed a ton back in those days so put yourself in his shoes of yore - Imagine yourself running and carrying a brick at mouth level while maintaining a lucid conversation with Bill and/or other world class runners.
‘nough said…
March 9th, 2008 at 11:36 pm |
Guys,
Great job again this week. I especially liked having Mary on to share her views on the sport. I know this would be a lot of work, but you guys should have on more people, maybe a race director or business oriented person each week. Perhaps have an athlete on one week getting their views on the sport, or an agent, or someone at USATF or Running USA. It just adds extra insight into our growing site here. Great job once again!
March 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am |
Excellent show, once again.
I’d like to comment to Mary’s comment after Toni asked her on why there was no coverage in the NY Times for the IAAF World Indoor Championships.
As she stated, “the indoor season doesn’t have any relevance to anyone in the U.S. right now.”
I could not agree with her more. It’s our own fault. We have this huge overlay of three seasons all going on at the same time in Feb/March (if you are a distance runner) with XC, Indoor and Outdoor.
It feels as though the USATF Cross Country Championships were just a few weeks ago — wait, they were.
The World XC Champs are in a few weeks. How does that make any sense to the fans and media when the World Indoor Champs just ended?
So, to recap…we just had the World Indoor Championships, the USATF XC Championships and the World XC Champs are on March 30. I also forgot to mention, there have been a few outdoor meets taking place around the world too.
Shouldn’t the XC season end before the indoor season?
Where is Alan Webb? Why are athletes like him not competing right now? As Mary stated, tell the story and what people are watching.
It’s as if we’ve got our sport in a blender and the grind button is constantly being pressed.
The months of Feb/March are so confusing in our sport to the average fan and national media.
March 10th, 2008 at 9:41 am |
Well put, Tom. I wonder if this is one reason that the indoor track scene here in the States has eroded - a nondescript, lost- in-the-shuffle World Championship manages to undermine the US circuit (which has now has shriveled to, essentially, Millrose and Boston Indoor Games), yet fails to create enough Indoors buzz for those remaining meets to capitalize on in any meaningful way.
Thoughts?
March 10th, 2008 at 11:29 am |
It was great to hear Mary’s comments on the marathon and running in general. She has made progress on many fronts. Mary is the type of “can do” person we need more of in this sport.
I also agree with Tom concerning the odd juxtaposition of seasons. A huge problem in our sport is that we can only guarentee a meet with all the best athletes once every four years. There are many reasons for this, but having overlapping seasons doesn’t help.
March 10th, 2008 at 3:46 pm |
This was a great listen, Mary really knows her stuff!
March 10th, 2008 at 5:56 pm |
Whites aren’t white, Toni, they’re European-Americans.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:16 pm |
Great show! I rarely use my iPod, so I just listen to it on my computer in between classes or before I go to bed. I like the hour+ length and the topics you guys discuss, especially the business/marketing side of the sport.
It’s too bad Mary won’t apply for the USATF position, but she is doing an excellent job with NYRR. The OT and NYC Marathon were amazing.
As far as other marathons go, I don’t think the pros should race on a separate day. I doubt the average joe runner will come the morning before their race to watch. Even at the OT marathon, there were far less spectators than at the NYC Marathon the next day.
It’s unfortunate that many “runners” do not follow the professional side of the sport. I think it would be better to have appearance fees instead of prize money, or maybe a combination of the two. Somehow the athletes need to be recognized. This could make road races more profitable if people wanted to register because they would be running in the same race as their idols (assuming they ever become idolized).
I also wanted to say that the old interview with Bill Rodgers was interesting. Runners always have a lot to say while running, but I never imagined taping an interview while running. Good idea.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:07 pm |
Stephanie makes some good points. I think this is a worthy debate, although it will ultimately be the race directors call.
Here’s why I stick with my split marathon proposal. Again, the b-list marathoners may actually enjoy being able to see the top runners, instead of following miles behind. Sure, fan numbers on Saturday would be far fewer since you could never fill Central Park with the amount of people who line the race course. But the people who would be there are the fans of the sport - the ones we should be rewarding by providing a quality event that is more than just watching the runners go by once. At the Olympic trials we actually got to see the ebb and flow of the race as surges suceeded or failed and could actually feel the competition. Watching a point to point marathon is like looking at a snapshot - nice - but not compelling.
I still thing the separated format could work, and would eventually improve the professional side of the sport by encouraging the multiple loop format and its’ superior fan “involvement”. I look forward to the women’s trials in Boston to see just that.
Lastly, I’d like to see if Toni or Matt could get a comment from a few trials runners concerning whether they felt running the 5 borough course would have been more exciting to them because of increased fans. They looked excited enough to me!
March 13th, 2008 at 12:28 pm |
I don’t want to be a Gloomy Gus, but I just don’t think a split format would make financial sense for the vast majority of races. You need to mobilize your whole operation for an extra day, and you’re still not going to be generating ticket-based revenue from all these people that may or may not show up the day before their race.
March 13th, 2008 at 1:35 pm |
At the same time, one of the benefits that golf and tennis have over running is the multiple-day formats. Golf goes Thurs thru Sunday. We come and go in one morning. It’s not enough time in the public eye to generate interest. I think splitting the pros off to a Saturday race in a criterium format designed for spectating would be a good idea to try. To assist, link the pro race up with the kids races on Saturday so moms and dads would bring the kids to run with the pros as the showcase event. They did this very successfully at the Waikiki Mile in the mid-90s the day before the Honolulu Marathon. Gives the press, sponsors, and the public a second hit of racing while creating heroes linked to the kids. The next day you’d also get a legit local champion on the traditional road course. Something worth trying, I’d say.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:54 pm |
Note that Falmouth has been doing this in recent years with their elite mile the evening before the race itself.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:30 pm |
The more I hear her speak the more it saddens me that Mary is not applying for the USATF position. She does an amazing job with the NYRR, and I think she is exactly what USATF needs right now.
September 18th, 2011 at 11:35 pm |
Great…
love your blog, http://www.soulcast.com/bernadine ,Thanks again….