Toni Reavis and the "sport of running"

Thanks for posting this, I didn't want to go to joggersworld to read it. It is ironic that they would post something like this since they have turned into a fitness magazine, but perhaps this is part of their strategy to appeal to the broadest spectrum of runners. I don't buy the notion that sports have to be team sports to be successful in the US. As Revis himself suggested, figure skating is doing quite well. What running needs in this country is money (for purses) and for the races to take back control over their races, which are being hijacked by charity runners, gallo-blockers and penguins.

Ive always had this similar thought of running too. Its turning into more of just a "fitness" activity than something to be considered a sport and "racing". A funny side note, if you watched Around the Horn yesterday on ESPN Max Kellerman said something funny about that 14year old girl golfer whos going to be playing with the pros in some tournament, he said: "People are always debating wether or not golf is a sport. Well here's a definition of a sport for you: If a 14 year old girl can compete with grown professional men, it is not a sport!".

Ok just wanted to share that, but back to running. Ive always thought of running/racing as something of an underground sport. I mean most elite runners arent out there to become rich and famous ya know NFL-style or anything. Theyre out there for their own personal goals. Id like to know what some of them think about this. Anyways so what if only a small collection of the US population know anything about elite runners. I think running is just one of those underground sports where unless you are really into you dont know much about the pros. Yeah I agree that people like oprah and p.diddy make a mockery of the pros and ya know they go on TV and was like "my fat ass ran a marathon!". Runner will never be a popular mass media and for me thats ok.

Also I think a good idea would be to have "elite-only" races that aired on TV... ya know like the marathon trials. I think that elite road runners need to have their "own" races with the oprahs and p.diddys inorder for them to get their own recongintion. The marathon olympic trails is a good race and I hope that they air it on ESPN7 or something...

is it a sport? (golf that is)

i dont know exactly how it is defined, but i do know if you can drink a six pack while doing it, its not a sport.

this takes out bowling and bridge, 2 more "sports" some want to add to the olympics.

you can drink a 6 pack while running a marathon.

Instead of griping, lets take back the sport.

Forget the big races, race directors, etc. We can do this as a grassroots thing much like road racing was in the 60's and 70's. No frills. Put together races in parks or office complexes away from traffic. Measure it accurately. Have some water on the course. Most of us ran high school XC races that were put together on shoe string budgets and didn't complain. It's the frills that cost money and force race promoters to whore themselves to the masses to turn a profit.

Let's make these races both "elitist" and underground. Only invite the fast guys and girls in town to compete or set-up a verifiable standard for entry. (Want to run my 10K? That will be $5 and I need to see a recent 5K clocking under 18:00. Please provide a race results URL.)

This could be our way of keeping running a sport, thumbing our noses at Penguins and Gallowalkers, and insuring that good runners can race other good runners without spending obscene amounts of money or enduring the current hassles associated with big "for profit" events.

its funny, we complain about "our" sport being hijacked by oprah and p. diddy. we mock other sports, for not being "sports" (ever seen a hash-a-thon: drinking and running. does that disqualify running as a sport?)

the burder falls squarely on us, and more specifically USATF. it is its job to regulate and promote the sport, and it does a terrible job. in fact it is god awful. we can't even have an outlet that will provide real time coverage of the olympic marathon trials!!!! no tv. no cable. (wouldn't OLN be interested in something like this). no radio. no webcast. we have to rely on people who are there with cell phones or hopefully blackberrys to relay information to this message board.

it seems that USATF hasn't really understood what it takes to build support. its good at getting sponsors for big meets where marion jones will run. but it is terrible at getting sponsors for anything else. how much would a webcast cost? even a guy sitting at a laptop typing the mile splits and who the leaders are?

someone mentioned that track is an underground sport. we need to take advantage of underground resources to promote the sport. someone needs to step up and become the mark cuban of track and field.

I'd love to see the Olympic Marathon Trials on TV. I'd watch the whole damn thing, and I'd tape it to watch again later.

But I realize that only a handful of Americans would watch (most of whom post on this board). The average person doesn't care to see Meb, Culpepper and Wejo run through Birmingham, regardless of what's on the line. It might seem crazy to us, but only because we've surrounded ourselves with other competitive runners.

A few more people are interested to see if Marion can regain form to win multiple golds this summer. But even that number pales in comparison to the legions of fans who are hoping Dale Jr. wins the Winston Cup.

USATF can't create interest in the sport. Our best hope is that someone at a network comes up with a better way to package it. Look at Ironman Hawaii. Do you think USA Triathlon came up with that idea? Hell no. Someone at NBC figured out another way to make money.

Right now, there's no money in putting a marathon on TV. I've never understood why so many runners don't get that.

Portland Runner's comments are pathetic and obnoxious. Jesus, some of you people are so clueless as to the realities of life, I'd swear you were hatched in petri dishes in the lab just yesterday. Ask people like Paula Radcliffe and Deena Drossin Kastor and Culpepper, Meb, and Dan Browne if they'd go along with the kind of race restrictions you suggest, and they'd say "no, I make a living off of race sponsorships and middle of the packers' entry fees, thank you very much."

Need it be said once more that the efforts of the bulk of the runners do not in any way infringe on the striving and achieving of the elites? In fact, very much the opposite is the case.

The problem that people see here is purely a public relations one and needs to be addressed as such. I see major races coming in and out of cities without much effort being made to connect the top runners with the local media, and that's a simple enough task to do. It just needs to be made a priority, and it requires people with energy and initiative and common sense. There are such people around.

Exactly right woodman. on face value a marathon appears to a non runner is incredibly bland, and frankly, not that challenging. they've no idea the preparation, the "skill", dedication, etc. of running 26.2 at 4:50 pace. but ironman, of course that's cool, you've got

* three different sports!

* lava fields!

* 110 degrees!

* shark infested water! or whatever.

but anything can be have mass appeal -- in fact, running does have mass appeal, which is the flipside of what we're talking about. We'll bitch and moan about the lack of tv coverage and respect for competitive runners and in the same deep breath complain there's TOO MANY people running -- but they're just not playing by the rules as we understand them. Face it: we're fringe, and most people get EXACTLY out of Running the Activity/Sport/Whatever that they want.

Nike, ING, Rodale, RnR, etc., has discovered how to make money on running, and they're making a lot. They're just not making it on us, let alone, Ryan Shay or Haile G. Can't balme 'em, it's good business.

So in my estimation Portland is right: take it back. If we don't like what "they" are doing to "our" sport, then step off, start our own subculture, and move on. We can't wait passively for ESPN and Nike to invest capital where there's no return.

I think that the reason people don't consider it a sport is because track has more downtime than any other sport, and it seems anytime it's on tv, distance races aren't covered in their entierty. In my opinion marthons are the more accepted of any running events because they take so long to complete, people can sit down and relax to watching a marathon. Track and field on tv is more of an event to watch because of how much they are skipping around to different events.

My idea is not for the elite. It's a discussion point for those on the board who are tired of events geared to the lowest common denominator.

Elite get free entry, appearance fees, plane tickets, hotel suites, and prize money. No one here expects them to give that up nor should they. My proposal targets the local runner who is tired of paying or can't afford $25-40 for the "privilege" of racing his local 5K and 10K races. I grew tired of paying the fees since all I wanted to do was race. I couldn't give a crap about t-shirts with four color printing, post race brunch buffets, goodie bags, souvenier posters, pre race aerobic dance warm-ups with live music, etc. That's what is killing the sport for local heroes and fresh post-collegians who have not reached elite status.

I am not oblivious to the business of creating "runnertainment" for the masses. I am merely suggesting that some of us who want no frills racing for the sake of racing can utilize a do-it-yourself approach instead of always paying for the "Walmart" version of running. It's greater than a PR problem. Running in the USA is a consumer commodity more than a sport.

What's wrong with a little grassroots "purity"?

my point isn't that there are tons people who are dying to watch the trials and can't, i know that. but that the USATF doesn't make the sport available to even those who want to follow it.

sometimes it seems that the usatf goes out of its way NOT to promote the sport. how about xc nationals? you can't tell me that the cheap technology isn't there to put race results immediately up on the web. simple as that. its not a revolution, but a start.

what about results from europe? even those casual fans who will follow marion jones don't know that there is a european "season" and that track folks compete regularly.

the usatf doesn't promote its own athletes - it lets them do it. it doesn't do the little things to promote actual grass roots efforts to develop the sport. heck, the closest thing you have in the nike camps or the travelling shoe bus.

i don't believe track will ever be as huge as the nfl, but there isn't any reason in this day in age to rely on second hand information about races. and there is no reason that when information is available about the sport that it is so tough to get.

Here are three thoughts that I have had that might help promote the sport and knowledge of people...

Why don't races stop distributing T-shirts, even though they are "free" they still cost the race money. Then put the money from the T-shirts into prize money, that way there is a real incentive to win/run fast. Now I know that sponsorship money comes from their names being plasterd all over the damn things, but I have some T-shirts with no ads on them. How much revenue do they actuall generate. Imagine more local race being able to give out $100 or so to the winner, it might create more interest in the local hotshot racers and eventually work its way up to higher levels.

Second, why don't shoe companies say so and so runs in this shoe and he ran 2:08 for the marathon or at least more actively say that these people run in their shoes. For instance, Tergat runs for Nike (as do Webb and many others) why don't ads in magazines say Tergat wears Nike and he just ran the WR in the marathon, may be you should too? I would think that it could help the company's sales. Nike's bottom line might not be affected since they market a lot of shoes to non-runners, but what about New Balance advertising it relationship with Khannouchi more, or Adidas with Culpepper?

Third, why not make it more of a team oriented sport? Wouldn't it generate much more interest in the distance events at the olympics if an American team gold medal came down to whether or not Meb got fifth place in the 10K? As evidence. the non-distance guys on my track team suddenly become much more interested in the distance events when a team championship was on the line. They would ask who was good in the steeple or the 5K from other schools and what our chances were of getting points.

Just thoughts.

The American public are not going to care about running, probably b/c they are not able to relate to the runners. Most middle-aged men played football/baseball/basketball in high school, so they have a tie to that sport. They enjoy watching professionals play because they can relate to what is going on. It could be that trying to relive their glory days is the driving force behind their love for the sport, or it could just be that they understand more what is going on. (Look for this to happen in soccer in the next few decades, as more and more kids who played early in life hang up their cleats)

Another thing is that running is hard. I work with people who are completely out of shape, such that they have heart disease. Getting them to walk around the gym can be a tough task, and trying to convince them that running can be beneficial to their health is impossible. It is the same with the masses. They see a Kenyan (or anyone fast for that matter) as an untouchable freak who has severe mental issues. My grandma and my uncles still think that my dad is nuts because he runs, and he is a 4 hr marathon guy. If they can't relate to him, how the hell are they going to relate to an elite? Nascar fans (I'm in NC, so I know plenty) tend to watch it for a) the fact that it's a car doing the work, b) the crashes, or c) they sit back in their Lazyboys and say "Dammit man, I could drive like that!" (either that or they are too drunk to realize that they spent 3 hours watching cars drive around in circles).

Back to running...the interest in watching a marathon is just not there for the average joe. They don't know what it feels like to run for that far or that fast. There are no unexpected events during a marathon, maybe a fall at a water station, but nothing explodes, no one loses teeth or bleeds, and there's really nothing we can do to change that unless we change the basis of the sport (which wouldn't work for us as athletes). What is the track event that draws the most spectators? (besides the 100m?) Steeplechase, at least in my experience. And where do they go? The water pit. People want action, they want to see falling, tripping, colliding, anything that deviates from the norm of the race. Until we can promise that every time a race is run, we won't have the fans.

The baby-boomers grew up in an era of what we think of typical American sports. The football captain dated the head cheerleader, etc. They control the majority of the market for sports entertainment, so the ads/money making will be directed towards them. Running is a foreign sport to them, and it probably will be until they die.

I think there are two or three different issues here all tumbled up together. I'll try to separate them.

(1) Television coverage. No one will dispute that the mindless masses can be persuaded to watch, and take an interest, in anything. Survivor VI anyone? Skateboarding in the half-pipe, which is all I seem to find on ESPN2, is a great example. When I was a kid, a few kids had skateboards but it wasn't a subculture like it is now. Thanks ESPN. And OLN has done wonders for cycling in America. I don't know if the number of cyclists in the US has increased but knowledge about the sport has gone from non-exisitent to vague awareness. If you go to their website now, you'll see that they are still working on ways to innovate even further including a new 12 week "behind the scenes" show which will spot-light how USPS prepares for this year's tour. Think of it: 12 weeks with Gebreselassie. That said, OLN is reasonable. Theirs is not wall-to-wall cycling. You can only watch so much of your favorite sport. Could you really watch the coverage of a marathon every day? No. Could you watch one a week? Probably not. Could you watch one a month? Yeah, that sounds about right. I think there is room for increased coverage and for the courage to broadcast distance running events in their entirety but within reason. How many 10000m races would you really watch in a year? Maybe a dozen or so of the best ones would be enough for me. Finally, I think the olympic TV coverage ought to take a hint from the coverage of the NCAA XC finals: the golf-cart vantage point is an excellent one for truly giving the flavor of the race. If the goal is to increase fan interest, such innovations need to be taken seriously.

(2) Running as a grassroots sport. This is a slippery slope. Isn't most training already "grassroots." You and a few guys meet up and go for a run or hit the track or whatever. So what is wrong with there being a lot of races, some half-ass, some not. In the Boston area (where I am) there are half a dozen and often more races every weekend, almost year round. Sometimes many more. A selection of these are the more serious races, which draw runners of good level. Funnily enough, they all seem to show up at the same races. The plethora of options means that even when you find yourself at some podunk race where the handing out of the t-shirt is taken more seriously than the measuring of the course, you shrug it off with the knowledge that (a) you won't return and (b) there's always another race. The idea of turning back to the days of handing popsickle sticks out at the end of a race to mark placement are gone, and good riddance. The key to building long term interest in the sport will come precisely from a graduated process on (a) increasing runner participation (b) finding ways to attract the best athletes to the sport (c) supporting those athletes. We are only in phase I right now. To turn our backs on the gallow-walker is also to turn our backs on the gw's kids who might just decide to emulate their parents only better. To use an example from another sport, the reason that the Brits are so fanatical about soccer has to do with the fact that (yes they have a history too) it is a club sport ALL THE WAY DOWN. Kids play in clubs. So do their parents. Every town has a town club or two. Every county has one. And so on up. 50 year old duffers don a uniform and play for a club. (It's the same whereever soccer is played well.) The United States Soccer Federation realized a generation ago that this was an excellent model for how to build a fan base in the United States and are just now beginning to see the rewards of their effort. The MLS has survived, has a good business plan, and gets a lot more air time than does running. Why? Becuase its owners can demonstrate to ESPN and others that there is a demographic of viewers who will buy what's advertised during the games. The USATF ought to follow suit.

(3) The dumbing down of the sport: It's not just running. Dumbing down has become the American raison d'etre. We can blame the Galloways of the world or we can realize that we can get more involved in helping to foster an interest in the sport at a high level. How many of you who've complained are involved in coaching those who know less than you about the sport? Again the USSF has thought this through as well and offers licensing clinics which will train people to be anything from a card-carrying soccer mom (and F license) to someone eligible to coach at the college level or above (and A license.) F, E, and D licenses don't require the ability to play but C, B, and A all require skill tests as well as game playing as part of the practicum. Something similar ought to developed for running, to good effect.

CGrad wrote:

The American public are not going to care about running, probably b/c they are not able to relate to the runners. Most middle-aged men played football/baseball/basketball in high school, so they have a tie to that sport.

more high school kids compete in track and field and xc than in any other sport. thats a breakdown for guys and girls! and for the most part it has always been this way. and there is a huge base of at least casual knowledge with the sport - whether it is "dumbed down" or not.

like i said, i don't expect track to be the nfl, but it shouldn't be as bad as it is. from a pure demographic standpoint, running kills all other sports. it still sells the most shoes for nike and adidas.

the problem is the linking of that knowledge to the actual sport itself as practiced on an elite level. its hard, but doesn't have to be impossible.

Running is something a lot of people had to do in junior high as punishment, and it hurt. That's a psychological barrier they'd have to surmount before embracing running as fans.

agreed. done as punishment in other sports too. wish when i ran a crappy workout my coach told me to go shoot free throws.

"Without a cohesive program in place at the national level to monitor, regulate, and sustain interest in the sport of running, we will find interest levels continuing to dwindle. "

to me, this sounds like an indictment of the USATF.... i could just be reading it wrong. however, in terms of marketability to the public i would have to say responsibility at a national level lies primarily in their hands. over the last decade interest i believe has increased (or maybe mine has just increased). i dont remember seeing track on TV as a kid (born 1980)... until maybe 13-14... i think it would help the sport alot if those networks decided to hire good commentators... al carrie tollefson, someone who is informative (for the die hards) young and attractive (any Comms major out of college who ran track and XC) i think they had a good thought with torres, however, he just didnt make the grade as a TV commentator. get people there and some sweet corporate deals... someone who is in this sport, who is smart and has the motivation (ie. hansons) needs to set up a league, that gets clubs together nationwide. (even if it generates money like a minor league baseball team (WHO CARES!) people become interested... well that is the hope.

just my 2 pennies.