I made the suggestion on an earlier thread and wanted to get some opinions on it.
What if the NCAA had a half marathon (13.1 miles) chamiopnship road race in Feb. They could run 4-8 regional races in January with the top so-many qualifying for the NCAA Championship race in Feb. Since indoor track in basically sprinter, middle distance and field event oriented, it would give a proper base season for the true 5k/10k runners, rather than getting dizzy running 25 to 32 lap 5k's on a indoor track in stale air.
Since the race would be easily accessable on the road it could be covered by ESPN or Fox Sports fairly easily (similar to other road races) and the start and finish could be in a stadium for fans (ticket sales).
Many collegiate distance runners would benefit from having 2 months with only two races rather than a 6 to 8 race indoor campaign before a full outdoor season. Since indoor is more weighted toward the long sprinters and middle distance runners the asbense of the true distance would not be greatly missed (i.e. 5k could probably be dropped).
Lastly a road race would be something easier for the average collegiate fan to relate to as many of them have participated in one at some point (fewer have run cross country or track races) and many still compete in them.
And while I know the NCAA is not concerned with it, this approach would likely help produce better caliber marathoners in the US.
What if the NCAA had a half marathon (13.1 miles) chamiopnship road race in Feb. They could run 4-8 regional races in January with the top so-many qualifying for the NCAA Championship race in Feb. Since indoor track in basically sprinter, middle distance and field event oriented, it would give a proper base season for the true 5k/10k runners, rather than getting dizzy running 25 to 32 lap 5k's on a indoor track in stale air.
Since the race would be easily accessable on the road it could be covered by ESPN or Fox Sports fairly easily (similar to other road races) and the start and finish could be in a stadium for fans (ticket sales).
Many collegiate distance runners would benefit from having 2 months with only two races rather than a 6 to 8 race indoor campaign before a full outdoor season. Since indoor is more weighted toward the long sprinters and middle distance runners the asbense of the true distance would not be greatly missed (i.e. 5k could probably be dropped).
Lastly a road race would be something easier for the average collegiate fan to relate to as many of them have participated in one at some point (fewer have run cross country or track races) and many still compete in them.
And while I know the NCAA is not concerned with it, this approach would likely help produce better caliber marathoners in the US.
Comment