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Results of the Japan and US Olympic Marathon Trials:
Japan USA
2:08:18 2:11:42
2:08:36 2:11:47
2:08:56 2:12:02
2:09:25 2:12:35
2:09:55 2:14:37
2:10:07 2:15:03
2:11:01 2:15:18
2:11:42 2:15:36
2:12:11 2:15:44
2:12:15 2:16:27
Two different races under different conditions. But the contrast is startling. And says a lot about the state of distance running in the United States in general.
The Japanese race had foreigners and rabbits. Fine. But it also is not the definitive trials – there is a selection committee. So the best runners, e.g. Top 3 finishers at Fukuoka Kunichika, Suwa and Takaoka (who all ran under 2:08), did not even attend these trials. The average time for the top 40 Japanese runners (not times, runners) in 2003 was 2:11:44, while the average time for the top 9 US runners was 2:14:28 (the average for the top 9 Japanese was 2:08:27).
Japan is a crowded country w/ half the population of the US, and people with a lifestyle that is as unhealthy as anywhere else in the developed world. They have been in a recession for the past 12 years effectively, so corporate sponsorship money is doled out sparingly, if at all.
Which begs the question, why can the US not produce runners of a global caliber?
2 reasons:
1) Indoor Track - In every other city in the world, the major athletics facilities are built with a football (soccer) pitch surrounded by a track. This is standard. In every other country in the world, there effectively is no indoor track season.
By contrast, in the US, most major outdoor athletic faculties are built to accommodate american football. This has been happening in every major urban area, almost without exception. So the only way to have a serious, world class athletics meet in the city (and therefore convenient to a larger population), is to have it at the one place that can accommodate this – indoor facilities. The result is that the US has this over-hyped indoor track apparatus that is CLEARLY not in the best interest of developing athletes’ talents, but it is the only way the sport can attract $, because every sponsor knows nobody is going to drive 2-3 hours out to a world class facility in the middle of nowhere. A sponsor gets much more bang per buck w/ an indoor meet than they ever would with an outdoor meet.
2) “Training to train” - I notice recurring comments among US runners is “I did this workout, so I am ready”. Baloney. Nobody cares what workouts you did. You never read about the workouts of runners from other nations. They understand that training is a means to winning races. Bill Dellinger used to admonish his charges not to leave their best races on Tuesday’s practice track. In Jim Spivey’s recent comments on this website, he mentioned a runner who showed him his workouts and Jim realized this guy had amazing talent. However, who cares how fast he did 12x400m – he was not ready on race day, most of the time. Jeff Atkinson’s comments on the 1500 and racing – another salient point about how so many runners take each race too seriously, do not train through to their target races, and do not focus on competing.
Unless there is a de-emphasis of the indoor track industry, a creation of world-class outdoor facilities in urban areas, and a move to a selection committee format, distance running progress in the US will be limited to the efforts and talents of individual runners (which is formidable), rather than the deep resources pools that are available.
Japan USA
2:08:18 2:11:42
2:08:36 2:11:47
2:08:56 2:12:02
2:09:25 2:12:35
2:09:55 2:14:37
2:10:07 2:15:03
2:11:01 2:15:18
2:11:42 2:15:36
2:12:11 2:15:44
2:12:15 2:16:27
Two different races under different conditions. But the contrast is startling. And says a lot about the state of distance running in the United States in general.
The Japanese race had foreigners and rabbits. Fine. But it also is not the definitive trials – there is a selection committee. So the best runners, e.g. Top 3 finishers at Fukuoka Kunichika, Suwa and Takaoka (who all ran under 2:08), did not even attend these trials. The average time for the top 40 Japanese runners (not times, runners) in 2003 was 2:11:44, while the average time for the top 9 US runners was 2:14:28 (the average for the top 9 Japanese was 2:08:27).
Japan is a crowded country w/ half the population of the US, and people with a lifestyle that is as unhealthy as anywhere else in the developed world. They have been in a recession for the past 12 years effectively, so corporate sponsorship money is doled out sparingly, if at all.
Which begs the question, why can the US not produce runners of a global caliber?
2 reasons:
1) Indoor Track - In every other city in the world, the major athletics facilities are built with a football (soccer) pitch surrounded by a track. This is standard. In every other country in the world, there effectively is no indoor track season.
By contrast, in the US, most major outdoor athletic faculties are built to accommodate american football. This has been happening in every major urban area, almost without exception. So the only way to have a serious, world class athletics meet in the city (and therefore convenient to a larger population), is to have it at the one place that can accommodate this – indoor facilities. The result is that the US has this over-hyped indoor track apparatus that is CLEARLY not in the best interest of developing athletes’ talents, but it is the only way the sport can attract $, because every sponsor knows nobody is going to drive 2-3 hours out to a world class facility in the middle of nowhere. A sponsor gets much more bang per buck w/ an indoor meet than they ever would with an outdoor meet.
2) “Training to train” - I notice recurring comments among US runners is “I did this workout, so I am ready”. Baloney. Nobody cares what workouts you did. You never read about the workouts of runners from other nations. They understand that training is a means to winning races. Bill Dellinger used to admonish his charges not to leave their best races on Tuesday’s practice track. In Jim Spivey’s recent comments on this website, he mentioned a runner who showed him his workouts and Jim realized this guy had amazing talent. However, who cares how fast he did 12x400m – he was not ready on race day, most of the time. Jeff Atkinson’s comments on the 1500 and racing – another salient point about how so many runners take each race too seriously, do not train through to their target races, and do not focus on competing.
Unless there is a de-emphasis of the indoor track industry, a creation of world-class outdoor facilities in urban areas, and a move to a selection committee format, distance running progress in the US will be limited to the efforts and talents of individual runners (which is formidable), rather than the deep resources pools that are available.
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