I'm with you. I dig the trials weekends, but without the open marathon the next day, not sure I'd travel just to watch the trials.
LRC should get ahead of the game and co-ordinate a large Sunday morning long-run with a party afterwards. Get a band, cater food, see about getting some of the trials participants to show up and schmooze.
Exactly. I live in Chattanooga and its hilly. I don’t understand why USATF is making the mistake again. Atl was hilly, japan was not. Paris is hilly, Orlando is not.
In fairness, the Japan Olympics was scheduled to be run on a hilly course and Atlanta was a great duplication of that course. Then Japan switched the location of the Olympic marathon due to weather worries so it became a flat course.
In this case, I am wondering if the flat course is because runners this time will need to make the Olympic qualifying time. We don't know those details yet but that may be the reasoning.
Different courses suit certain runners better than others. I know Atlanta was selected before the course was changed. To me it makes sense to send the best athletes for a hilly Paris course the trials should mimic that.
IMO the only competitive purpose for attending the Olympics is to try to medal. The US marathon field is not so deep and competitive that someone with the potential to medal in the Olympics will fail to even qualify on a course that doesn't suit them.
To wit, a world class marathoner using 2023 to prepare for the Paris course hills should have no problem placing top 3 at the trials on a flat course.
It can be pretty nice at that time of year but can also be very humid and unpleasant. They can get some hills out a ways from Orlando, but I don't think there's much anywhere near downtown, other than maybe bridge hills, and the Paris course is not going to be flat.
It can also be cold. I went down from MI in February 2004 and it was 34 in Orlando and 36 in Detroit on the same day. I definitely didn't think I'd be going down to Orlando and have worse weather than Detroit in february. It was right back into the 70s a few days later but it was cold.
It will not be fast. The weather will be low 70s and humid. Same as NY this year. Flat does not necessarily produce fast. I predict Americans that were born in Africa to fair better because of the conditions. Just like NY. The exception will be those that understand their current fitness level and don’t act stupid like most of the Americans in NY.
So you think it's hot in Orlando in February? Might wanna check the weather. People who don't have common knowledge of Florida think it's sunny and 80 year round.
Different courses suit certain runners better than others. I know Atlanta was selected before the course was changed. To me it makes sense to send the best athletes for a hilly Paris course the trials should mimic that.
IMO the only competitive purpose for attending the Olympics is to try to medal. The US marathon field is not so deep and competitive that someone with the potential to medal in the Olympics will fail to even qualify on a course that doesn't suit them.
To wit, a world class marathoner using 2023 to prepare for the Paris course hills should have no problem placing top 3 at the trials on a flat course.