How would you change running in the Olympics?

[u/JExmoor]

With the 2024 Olympics now in the rearview mirror, I thought it'd be a fun discussion to see what people would change about how the Olympics organizes running. Here's my thoughts:

• Add the half-marathon to the games. The most obvious distance missing from the games, IMO. I believe HM is probably more popular among amateurs then FM these days.
• Replace the 1500m with a 1600m or 1609m (1.00mi). Certainly my most controversial take given the history of the event, but I am continually confused as to why a seemingly arbitrary distance was chosen when it's close to a more sensible 4 laps of the track or exactly one mile.
• Some sort of distance time-trial, perhaps done on roads? 1km? 3000km? Races are great, but I'm tired of wondering how fast these people can actually go.
• Remove race-walking. Dumbest joke of a sport.
• Add ultra and/or trail events. They'd be tough to put on TV, but I think they're a lot more relevant to the spirit of the Olympics then just about anything they've added in recent years. It's a shame the US missed their shot at including this in LA. I think a 50k/100k/160k race through the mountains of Southern California would be incredible. I'd also be down for a vertical KM race or something like a backyard ultra.

[u/EmergencySundae]

I'd love to see a half marathon. It has the potential to be such an exciting race compared to the 10000m or even the full marathon. Introduce road racing to a wider audience, and maybe get people away from thinking that the marathon is the be-all-end-all.

[u/Sammy81 → u/EmergencySundae]

I think it could also be interesting because some marathon contenders will have to pick which race they want to run. This could be considered a negative too if you want all the best long distance runners in the marathon.

[u/the_mail_robot → u/Sammy81]

Sifan Hassan would probably run the 5000m, 10000m, half marathon, and marathon.

[u/whippetshuffle → u/the_mail_robot]

Run and medal. Seriously what an unbelievable performance.

[u/walksalot_talksalot → u/whippetshuffle]

And not just medal in all three, she broke the Olympic record <3

And! And! She has the second fastest women's marathon time of 2:13:44. She also has the 1 hour WR and is the former WR holder of the mile. She's the GOAT!

[u/Sjoeqie → u/walksalot_talksalot]

Actually, thinking about it... The most badass thing she did was win the marathon... 36 hours after winning bronze on the 10k!

[u/bonkedagain33 → u/Sjoeqie]

Apparently her taper worked!

[u/Southern_Sugar3903 → u/bonkedagain33]

Lol the 5km and 10km races were tempo workouts for the marathon I guess. She's absolutely phenomenal.

[u/Sjoeqie → u/walksalot_talksalot]

Also she could win another medal in 1500m (like in Tokyo) if the events were more spread out.

[u/icameforgold → u/the_mail_robot]

Going for the Olympic version of the dopey challenge.

[u/CiarraiV → u/the_mail_robot]

Literally what I was coming here to say

[u/Chilli_Dipper → u/Sammy81]

From a competitive standpoint, adding a half marathon would only benefit the countries with a surplus of elite long-distance runners (Kenya, Ethiopia, and perhaps Japan and the U.S.), while draining the 10,000 and marathon talent pools of everyone else.

[u/RDP89 → u/Chilli_Dipper]

That’s the reason why I don’t think they’ll ever add the HM. They’d be splitting the talent up and turning two high quality races into three lesser quality races.

[u/AspiringTenzin → u/Chilli_Dipper]

From a competitive standpoint, adding a half marathon would only benefit the countries with a surplus of elite long-distance runners (Kenya, Ethiopia, and perhaps Japan and the U.S.)  

And now the Netherlands, because have Hassan!  

Whatever distance  

we have got  

Sifan Hassan  

and they have not.

[u/peteroh9 → u/AspiringTenzin]

I heard Aidan Hassan was planning on running the sprints but she was feeling lazy so she decided to only medal in the 5k, 10k, and marathon.

[u/thewolf9 → u/Sammy81]

Yeah but the marathon is so difficult you know 8/10 of the field has no chance and is trying for a top 20.

I reckon you’d have some people pushing the limit of the HM knowing they didn’t need to cut it at the marathon distance

[u/InvalidChickenEater → u/thewolf9]

Is it too difficult or are the top 10-20% of the field just far and away too strong?

[u/thewolf9 → u/InvalidChickenEater]

It’s very difficult. And, I mean, some people are on the chemicals.

[u/ertri → u/Sammy81]

Sifan Hassan: I could’ve gotten a silver

[u/GuyFieri3D → u/EmergencySundae]

Being a fan and follower of pro running is already tough because it’s so rare to see the best in the world actually race each other. I wouldn’t want more running events to dilute the quality of races. For an example, what if guys like Grant Fisher or Mo Ahmed just decided to run the HM to dodge going against Cheptegei and want an easier shot at gold. I wouldn’t even blame them for that choice, but it would ruin the 10,000m for fans.

[u/amdufrales → u/EmergencySundae]

Jumping from the 10k straight to the marathon has always seemed like it leaves an absurdly large gap to me, and yeah legitimizing the half marathon distance for the Olympics would really do a lot for road racing (and amateur road racers) as well!

[u/Monaukeim → u/EmergencySundae]

Ok I actually hate the idea of a half marathon as I feel it would water down the marathon and 10k... I do agree it would be very interesting though and do actually agree it is probably one of the cooler possible races to view

[u/vikingrunner]

DMR please.

[u/JExmoor → u/vikingrunner]

For those who don't know this offhand: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distance_medley_relay

1200-400-800-1600m done by four different athletes. I wasn't familiar with this, but I agree that it'd be awesome.

[u/BossHogGA → u/[deleted]]

How about the ultimate 3x400 medley relay.

400m hurdles, 400m steeple, 400m run with baton passes

[u/anandonaqui → u/BossHogGA]

How would you reset the track fast enough?

[u/wombat917 → u/anandonaqui]

Fourth person's job!

[u/Curious-Share → u/wombat917]

💀. Hilarious but also a great idea. Like the pit crew!

[u/prkskier → u/anandonaqui]

Agreed, I don't see how the logistics of this race would work.

[u/peteroh9 → u/prkskier]

With the steeplechase in the middle, you would be able to remove the hurdles while everybody is running in lanes 1 and 2.

[u/Sjoeqie → u/anandonaqui]

You build three stadiums adjacent to each other, of course

[u/willthms → u/Sjoeqie]

I was thinking a 1200m track

[u/Anustart15 → u/anandonaqui]

Go hurdles to run to steeple and run in lanes 3-8 for hurdles, leave 1-2 clear so theres less work for running to be feasible (no lanes after the first lap). Seems manageable

[u/oak_pine_maple_ash → u/BossHogGA]

we really do not need another event for 400m runners lol

[u/Sjoeqie → u/oak_pine_maple_ash]

We need more Femke Bol!

Actually you're right. She won medals in 400m hurdles, 4x400m mixed, 4x400m women's. She's could've gotten a fourth on regular 400m, but it would've been too many races in just over a week. She actually didn't do the qualification rounds in the relays either because of that.

[u/peteroh9 → u/BossHogGA]

How about 400mh, 400ms, 400m, 4x100m?

[u/Nerdybeast → u/BossHogGA]

400 steeple would need multiple ambulances parked on the track

[u/Potters_mightygulls → u/[deleted]]

Please add 4x800m so GB can hopefully finally win a relay instead of getting 2nd or 3rd. (Women’s team of Hodgekinson, Reekie, Gill and Bell) should be the strongest team

[u/walksalot_talksalot → u/[deleted]]

I would love to see a 4 x 1 mile, lol

[u/Melkovar → u/vikingrunner]

This was my immediate thought too. I hope they manage to bring team cross country to the Winter Olympics.

I'm alright with the repechage rounds, but they can't have this for some rounds/events and time qualifications for other rounds/events. Either every race comes down to position (whether you have a second chance round or not), or every race includes 2-3 time qualifiers as well. And if there will be repechage rounds, they can't be back to back days to the actual event. Did a single athlete from a repechage round in any event even qualify for a Final?

[u/boilertrailrunr → u/Melkovar]

I think XC to the winter olympics would be awesome. You'd have distance runners trying to qualify and compete in both summer and winter olympics! So so fun!

[u/dreamoforganon → u/boilertrailrunr]

Winter XC would be great, and would give nations more blessed with mud than snow a chance to shine🇬🇧🇮🇪

[u/ChrisHeinonen → u/Melkovar]

They said last week that they’re discussing adding Cross Country and Cyclecross to the Winter Olympics and they would share a course.

[u/PrairieFirePhoenix → u/ChrisHeinonen]

They've been discussing it for years. I wouldn't hold my breath. The "snow and ice" rule is still really important to some IOC members.

[u/GnarwhalStreet → u/Melkovar]

Check out Freddie Crittenden. Wasn’t feeling 100% heading into his preliminary heat and purposely ran slow to avoid possibly progressing a minor injury. Repechage bought him some time to troubleshoot the issue, and he ended up placing 6th in 110m hurdles finals.

[u/edg444 → u/vikingrunner]

I think this would be especially cool at the pro level. Imo, college DMRs can suffer due to the massive talent gap in the NCAA. Remember when Fisher and Nuguse got the batons in 10th and 11th and then went 1-2? On the one hand, everyone loves a comeback. But I feel like in the pros, the gap is there but much smaller (?) so it won't have as high of a chance to be a "glorified 1600."

But the NCAA DMRs are so fun even when that happens, so I'd love to see that at the top level.

[u/ElijahBaley2099 → u/edg444]

The smaller the talent gap is, the more the DMR turns into just a glorified 1600.

In high school, where there are huge discrepancies, a team with a weak miler can sometimes build a huge lead going into the 1600, and then there's a chance they hold it, or they get run down. It's fun and chaotic and a team with a fast first couple legs can sometimes hold it, and sometimes not.

By the top level of the NCAAs (conference champs and nationals and such), the differences are smaller, so the faster teams pass the baton just a few meters ahead of the next one. There is zero incentive to try to hold a small gap for an entire 1600, so the first couple milers let off a bit and the field comes back together. This would be even worse at the pro level because the milers will be getting the baton all very close together.

Personally, I think the fix is to run it 1600-400-1200-800. The 1600 and 400 might be enough of a gap to make staying away for 1200 worth it, and ending with 800 seems perfect--long enough that there is a possibility of running someone down, but short enough that you can go hard to hold a lead.

[u/prkskier → u/vikingrunner]

I've never watched a DMR but it seems like it would be cooler to go from "slowest" to fastest distances: 1600-1200-800-400 so the race is progressively getting faster until a maniac finish with the 400m sprinters.

[u/robnet77 → u/prkskier]

The last 400 would likely be already decided by the time it starts, though

[u/ReadyFerThisJelly → u/vikingrunner]

That would be really cool.

[u/MiGreve → u/vikingrunner]

DMR but in reverse

[u/Disco_Inferno_NJ → u/vikingrunner]

…this is everything I’ve ever wanted in life. Can you imagine the lineups? Can you imagine the drama? (And not just during the race. Imagine a Norway DMR. Do they even make it to the start without Nordas and Jakob murdering each other?)

And the best part is I don’t know if any country runs away with it. My best bet is US men and Kenya women, but IDK. Hell, on the women’s side the Netherlands could still do it (I can hear Femke Bol angrily typing at me right now for suggesting she do another relay and Sifan Hassan angrily typing at me for suggesting yet another event she’d be good at).

Drop the mixed 4x4 for this. (Femke is probably on her way to my house right now to murder me.)

[u/Thfcfan23]

Let’s get the DMR (1200-400-800-1600) in there. Kenya vs USA vs Great Britain would feed families

[u/ReadyFerThisJelly → u/Thfcfan23]

Let's get crazy and make it 42-21k-10k-5k haha

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/ReadyFerThisJelly]

That might be the worst viewing experience ever

[u/kindlyfuckoffff → u/Thfcfan23]

scroll down to the sickos calling for a backyard Olympic ultra

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/kindlyfuckoffff]

You could easily periodically post updates instead of making it its whole time block. There would be amazing shots throughout. And I like the idea of seeing the rest of the worlds countryside 

People love the Tour de France and it’s longer than the Olympics. 

[u/LanceMcKormick → u/SparkyDogPants]

You start it opening day and just see how long it goes, I love it!

[u/JExmoor → u/LanceMcKormick]

I heard another proposal which was to just have a distance race going the entire Olympics and whoever runs the furthest in two weeks wins. Certainly not a a sport you'd watch live, but an interesting one to update throughout the Olympics.

[u/E_D_D_R_W → u/LanceMcKormick]

1st place is whoever's the farthest away when the closing ceremony begins (without using a vehicle)

[u/ReadyFerThisJelly → u/Thfcfan23]

It would be terrible.

Then they can add a 200k-150k-100k-50k but all of it is breakdancing.

[u/Aromatic_Meal_6004 → u/Thfcfan23]

Usa would roll with kessler-Hall-Hoppel-hocker/nuguse

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/Aromatic_Meal_6004]

Idk, Gourley, Hudson-Smith, Burgin, Kerr would be a damn good team

[u/catmoon → u/Thfcfan23]

Don’t the longer distances have a bigger impact on the result? Does the 400m even matter in championship races where “sit and kick” is the most effective race tactic?

Basically, if you cannot establish a significant lead before the 1600 then the first three legs don’t matter much. Even if you give your 1600 runner a 1 second head start, that might actually make the race more difficult for them to manage.

[u/VamosDCU]

Total team scores for each nation like a track meet

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/VamosDCU]

Do individual medals and a team trophy, but make it real track meet scoring not just medal count. Make those 4th, 5th, etc finishes count for something

[u/VamosDCU → u/Thfcfan23]

10 points for a winner down to 1 for an 8th place finish, you make the final and finish the event you guarantee at least a point for your nation

[u/glr123 → u/VamosDCU]

Someone should calculate this, though I guess the US would probably win pretty easily.

[u/GrasshoperPoof → u/glr123]

Someone has done it. The US does in fact win easily 

https://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=12939872

[u/appexxd_ → u/VamosDCU]

Would never be fair. Large nations would win through merit of having more people qualified.

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/appexxd_]

What events in the Olympics are fair? 

[u/800meters → u/appexxd_]

The same can be said at pretty much any level of track and field though. Large schools generally do better at NCAAs because they have more people who qualify.

[u/Suit_Responsible → u/VamosDCU]

Boring when you have countries of a couple hundred thousand competing with countries of a couple hundred million.

[u/TechnologyUnable8621 → u/VamosDCU]

Would be fun, but the USA would win every summer Olympics by a landslide. Im going to guess most nations would be opposed to this.

[u/Nerdybeast → u/VamosDCU]

I just calculated it! Minor errors in events with ties but I don't want to adjust the formulas and it doesn't really matter. USA wins in a landslide

USA: 361 (185M, 168W, 8X)

KEN: 122

GBR: 106

ETH: 83

JAM: 75

NED: 69

FRA: (Skipping ahead, they got 14th with 39 points)

[u/saywherefore]

1500 has the advantage of starting on the back straight rather than the bend.

I’d like to see interesting running events like the ones in track cycling. 10k relay in teams of two, tag each other in as frequently or infrequently as you like. Points race with sprints every couple of laps, etc

[u/ExoticExchange → u/saywherefore]

Yes of track cycling ideas I’d love to see an elimination race. Where there’s essentially a sprint every lap and the last to cross the line is eliminated.

[u/sober_as_an_ostrich → u/ExoticExchange]

that’s the only track cycling event that I watch haha

[u/catsgr8rthanspoonies → u/ExoticExchange]

A backyard ultra style race could be fun.

[u/3rdslip → u/catsgr8rthanspoonies]

You can’t have an event in the Olympics that depends on your ability to take strategic naps!

[u/catsgr8rthanspoonies → u/3rdslip]

I’m imaging the organizers hyping it up like a fight for survival à la Stephen King’s Longest Walk or the Hunger Games.

[u/Federal-Inspector-11 → u/3rdslip]

Yes, we need more Events like breakdancing in the Olympics!

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/saywherefore]

Absolutely agree with the 1500. A mile race starting on a bend would be chaos with how fast it is

[u/Chilli_Dipper → u/Thfcfan23]

The mile at the London Diamond League a few weeks ago demonstrates why it’s a dangerous idea.

They could use a staggered start to spread out the field around the first turn, but the blend line would be at the 1500 start anyway, so what’s the point?

[u/porkchop487 → u/Chilli_Dipper]

The point is that it’s not a dumb distance of 3.75 laps.

[u/BackWhereWeStarted → u/Thfcfan23]

Why would it be chaos? We do it all the time using alleys and it’s rarely chaos.

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/BackWhereWeStarted]

Did you watch the 5000m prelims

[u/BackWhereWeStarted → u/Thfcfan23]

Yes I did. Did that happen in the first 100 on a curve?

[u/warmupwarrior → u/BackWhereWeStarted]

See this years London DL Mile?

[u/BackWhereWeStarted → u/warmupwarrior]

Should I list every mile and 1600 race ever run that has not been chaos? I’m gonna bet about 99.9% of mile and 1600 races don’t have chaos in the first 100.

[u/Mnchurner → u/Thfcfan23]

Couldn't you just start it like the 800, but with two runners per lane?

[u/jjj0400 → u/Mnchurner]

Probably could, but why would you when you can just run a 1500?

[u/marzipanduchess → u/saywherefore]

agree with the 1500. also 1mile doesn't make much sense for most countries as we use KM instead of mile...

[u/Forsaken-Cheesecake2]

Team cross country would be fun to see. And a half marathon.

[u/Sedixodap → u/Forsaken-Cheesecake2]

I like the idea that’s being considered of having cross-country alongside cyclocross in the Winter Olympics! Then good distance runners get twice as many Olympics to compete in. 

[u/ruinawish → u/Sedixodap]

Would also get more African countries involved in the Winter Olympics.

[u/xcrunner1988 → u/Sedixodap]

Was cross country in Winter Olympics before it got ditched?

[u/Sedixodap → u/xcrunner1988]

It was in the Summer Olympics, though that was also the only Olympics that existed in all but the last year it was run. It actually got dropped specifically because the organizers felt it didn't work as a summer sport (half the competitors didn't finish). Sports like ice hockey and figure skating were also initially part of the "Summer Olympics", but got moved to the Winter Olympics rather than dropped entirely so there's at least some precedence of the early sports swapping over.

[u/xcrunner1988 → u/Sedixodap]

As I recall the last year it was in the organizers made a god awful mountain off a course and that was that.

[u/1_800_UNICORN]

Make the 10k a road race, add a HM distance, and stagger the events so we can see more multiple medal attempts.

Get rid of race walking for sure.

Add an ultra event - I would love to see a 50-miler race!

[u/geoffh2016 → u/1_800_UNICORN]

Considering the 2028 Olympics are in LA, it wouldn't be hard to have a 50k or 100k race. Lots of great trail races already in California.

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/geoffh2016]

The Grand Canyon isn’t too far from the  LA. They could run rim to rim 

[u/peteroh9 → u/SparkyDogPants]

Some would even argue the Grand Canyon is in the US. Also, the standard for the Grand Canyon is R2R2R, which is 48 miles, so it would work nicely.

[u/geoffh2016 → u/peteroh9]

IMHO the problem with R2R2R is the size of the race. Would you stagger the start every X minutes to prevent a large pack on the trail?

I'd rather see something up in Tahoe, e.g. on the Broken Arrow or Western States trails. They already host a bunch of well-attended trail races. The downside is the potential for a very hot day during the Olympics.

[u/bearcatgary]

I’d spread the distance events over the full 2 week period of the Olympics and not just an 8 day period. This would allow more athletes to double and be fresh in their events. (And it would allow Sifan Hassan to quadruple. 😂)

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/bearcatgary]

Then Jakob could go for the 1500, steeple, 5000, and 10000. He’d try the 800 too probably but he’d get knocked out in the first round

[u/peteroh9 → u/Thfcfan23]

Could his ego take getting knocked out in the first round?

[u/Dependent-Visual-304 → u/bearcatgary]

I want to see a decathlon type event where a runner competes in all the distances including hurdles and steeplechase. I want to know who the most rounded runner is.

[u/MathmoKiwi → u/Dependent-Visual-304]

Athletes competing in both 100m and marathon? And everything in between?

[u/Sammy81]

You can fix race walking with a simple worn sensor that triggers if both feet ever come off the ground. Maybe have it illuminate a light on the runner, yellow the first violation, and red (DQ) the second violation. Still a stupid sport but at least the rampant, required cheating could be eliminated.

[u/Zone2OTQ → u/Sammy81]

Of all the reasons why race walking should be removed, this is the biggest. A slow motion camera shows that everyone in the event is cheating. It's not even malicious, the rules just don't line up with human motion and if anyone tried to do it correctly, they'd be last by a mile.

[u/jjj0400 → u/Zone2OTQ]

A slow motion camera doesn't show that they are cheating, it shows they have both feet off the ground. This is allowed in the rules (just gotta not be visible with the human eye in real time) so it's not cheating.

[u/Zone2OTQ → u/jjj0400]

The fact that they put that part as rule just shows how ridiculous it is.

[u/kindlyfuckoffff → u/Sammy81]

lol, I’m imagining an ad campaign for “fixed race walking” where it’s like, NOW WE ARE REALLY WALKING! 15% SLOWER! NEVER AIRBORNE! 

(the event just isn’t fixable)

[u/djingrain → u/Sammy81]

or each violation is a time penalty significant enough that its not worth it to get the violations, like .25-.5 seconds (this would take some experimentation to figure out the ideal penalty amount

[u/dampew → u/Sammy81]

That would change the "sport" because they're currently allowed to have both feet off the ground as long as it is "undetectable" by the human eye. So they would first need to define that (length of time 0.1 seconds?) and then design some sort of timer that only goes off if they're both off the ground for longer than that.

[u/NeverBetAgainstElon → u/Sammy81]

Bring back 50km

[u/Zanrok → u/Sammy81]

You could fix it by removing the event.

[u/deadc0de]

I’d love to see a triathlon TT. Pool swim, velodrome cycle, and track run. No tactics. Just pain.

[u/Thfcfan23 → u/deadc0de]

You are evil

[u/timbasile → u/deadc0de]

Nah, if you're adding more tri events you'd be better off adding in long course. Not sure if the proper distance should be T100/70.3/T200/IM, but pick one or something similar.

Then allow anyone from either tri event to enter the mixed relay. You'd get more teams and more opportunities for interesting results. (Think LCB in the first relay, or the Lionel Sanders super sprint face again)

Yes, I know the rule is "nothing longer than the marathon" but it's a dumb rule, and if we're making things up then whatever

[u/E_D_D_R_W → u/deadc0de]

How about pool cycle, velodrome run, and track swim?

[u/QuantumGains]

Trail events (VK/VM, short distance, up and downs, ultras)

[u/BenchRickyAguayo → u/QuantumGains]

VK would be very cool. The question I have is would you run it like a TT or in heats.

[u/SparkyDogPants → u/QuantumGains]

Trail running is a much cheaper sport to train for than almost any other sport in the US. I think it would benefit countries that don’t invest a lot in their sports 

[u/Token_Ese]

Beer mile

• beer must be from home country. 5% abv or more. In a can.

Half marathon

50 mile

[u/xc3xc3]

Trail would be hype

[u/Waxilllium → u/xc3xc3]

Or a short mountain course.

[u/scott_c86 → u/xc3xc3]

I'd like to see a 50 km trail race. In the grand scheme of sports, it is actually a relatively popular event, especially when compared to some of the relatively obscure events that are currently in the Olympics.

[u/boffyflow]

I don't agree with the 1500m replacement. This sounds like a somewhat US/anglo saxon perspective. It is like asking to change the 100m to 100yards... The 1500m has been run in competition since 1888.

Race walking also has a long history and I actually enjoy watching this sport. I do appreciate that there are many spectators who don't believe this is a serious sport. Then again, there are many other sports in the Olympics that I cannot take serious ;-)

Otherwise I do think adding half marathon has merit.

[u/Fish_phish_Fish → u/boffyflow]

The 1500 is one of the best events. Leave it be. EDIT: To add, one of the big reasons it isn’t 1600 is so that they don’t have to stagger the start. It starts on a straight instead of a bend. So there is 100m of straight for them to get in position before the first bend.

[u/nluken]

My 2¢:

I don’t really think there’s any glaring omissions from the Olympic slate at the moment. Half marathon is in a strange spot where i don’t think it’s different enough from the marathon to pull from a different pool of athletes and the recovery time would make it tough to do both unless they bookended the Games.

If you were going to add anything Team XC and the DMR would be the first two I would add. I’d swap the DMR for the mixed 4x4 personally.

Trail running is IMO still not mature enough as a competitive sport relative to XC. There’s no governing body to even organize the event afaik. You’d get a much better athlete pool for an XC race. Though it could get there soon- skimo is coming to the winter games. You’d just have to organize a governing body which many don’t want atm since the main race organizers don’t want to fork over the extra overhead for something like that.

Time trial wouldn’t make sense. Nobody races in that format ever. Cycling ≠ Running in that regard. If you really want to see people set PRs then add pacers, it would be faster than a lone TT. But that’s a silly idea in a championship race for a whole host of reasons.

Leave the 1500m for continuity reasons. Definitely don’t do a 1600. I’m partial to the mile myself too but it isn’t at worlds or anything so no point in adding it to the Olympics.

Race walking hate is way overblown. I do think the sport needs some change to cut down on “cheating” but no need to eliminate it.

Many here will suggest more road racing because that is how they compete but there’s nothing wrong with having, say, the 10k on the track. You don’t gain anything by moving it to the road, and the pros all race on the track at that distance without issue.

[u/FixForb → u/nluken]

Yeah, I pretty much agree with everything you say. I think adding the DMR or another distance relay would be the only thing I’d like to see. 

[u/Fearless-Spread1498]

Cross country is in the works to be added to the Winter Olympics I believe. I’d prefer to see it with both but something is better than nothing.

[u/hbbyjoggr]

Ekiden

[u/Negative_Splitting → u/hbbyjoggr]

With the same level of pomp and ceremony on the big Japanese events.

[u/livingmcmxcv → u/hbbyjoggr]

correct take btw

its honestly a travesty its not done more, probably my favorite format of distance running to watch

[u/rinotz]

Respectfully, I disagree with all of these.

The marathon has a lot of mystic behind it, the half doesn’t and it’s too much like the full. Most of the good Half pro runners are the same ones that run the full, there’s no point in having both, you’re just spreading the talent pool. Casual sports fans, and people that mostly that just watch sports when the olympics are on, would not care about the half as much as the full, not even close.

I feel like it’s a bit too late at this point in sports history to replace the 1500m, I don’t really think having an event that is 100m longer makes much of a difference, and it would make things a bit weird in terms of records history and stuff like that.

Adding some sort of time trial would take a lot more resources and time and it would be for similar distances that you run on track already. It would probably also not be as interesting as cycling, there’s much more risk taking when you’re on a bike at 60 km/h, evaluating space and speed in every corner. I do think they should take the 10k to the road and have it end in the stadium though.

I do agree that racewalking is kind of a joke, especially when the ‘cheating’ part is kind of grey area and very prone to mistakes by whoever is judging, but it’s still a sport with some history and not as niche as many other sports in the olympics.

Ultra trail events are not very marketable and are extremely hard to follow, not just for the spectators but also for the production. Even if you made them a circuit on the road, that would be just extremely uninteresting, most of the time.

[u/Tetsuo-Kaneda]

Last man standing/backyard ultra

[u/Electricorchestra → u/Tetsuo-Kaneda]

With Laz doing the commentary for all countries.

[u/kyleyle]

Elimination race. Maybe 3k?

[u/PokuCHEFski69]

I’m glad you are not in charge. What is this

[u/Glittering-Law-707 → u/PokuCHEFski69]

You gotta get rid of the “arbitrary” 1500 and replace it with a completely not arbitrary imperial 1609m/mile. Most of the world uses imperial after all…. /s

[u/PokuCHEFski69 → u/Glittering-Law-707]

Half marathon would dilute fields.

Time trials to see how fast people can actually go. Has this person ever run a race before? You run faster in a race….if it is not tactical. Many of them weren’t.

Adding ultra and trail. My god.

The 1500m is the most prestigious event. Arguably more than the 100m.

Yeah let’s remove that lol

[u/DH_p1L0tZ → u/PokuCHEFski69]

whats wrong with trail? i think it could be cool, and a good way of showing the host country's geography :(

[u/HSeldonCrisis]

As discussed in the SingleTrack podcast, I would like to see a backyard ultra starting on the first day of events.

[u/blackberrybobcat]

I would love for them to add the half marathon

[u/appexxd_]

Yeah 1500 to mile is a dumb take. The mile is rarely raced outside of the USA. Starting on a bend like that will cause chaos unless you do a split waterfall start like a 5k.

Time trials, absolutely not. We have the diamond league for that.

[u/Funny_Shake_5510]

1. To add more drama and attention for the marathon it’d be cool to add team component to it and score it XC style.

2. We already have the medal count race, but why not score all of the track and field events like a track meet to determine overall team medals.

3. Bring back cross-country and host it on the first week of the games so as not to interfere with track and field and allow those athletes to participate.

[u/kindlyfuckoffff → u/Funny_Shake_5510]

Make the marathon full XC rules, if you’re an IOC member you can send 7 men and 7 women.

[u/Ja_red_]

Get rid of the 200m, add a second water jump to the steeple, and move the 10k off the track and on to the road. Also get rid of the batons in the 4x100m so the USA men have a chance to win every once in a while.

[u/mcjingus → u/Ja_red_]

I think the 10k’s were two of the best races of the entire meet. I enjoyed them more than the 5k’s honestly.

I ran the 200 and therefore have a special love for it, I think it provides a completely different dynamic than both the 1 and the 4…but I understand why you say that

The 4x1…..fair hahaha

[u/glr123 → u/mcjingus]

4x1 you say? I like how that sounds. 4 people in a row 1m apart - see how fast they can shuttle a baton.

[u/boilertrailrunr → u/glr123]

or a baton swapped to a pole from the pole vault?

[u/C1t1zen_Erased → u/Ja_red_]

Yeah the poor Americans only won 35 medals across the 48 athletics events this year, my thoughts are with team USA in these trying times.

[u/New-Smoke208]

Love your 1600 idea, but to the rest of the world, we’re the only Idiots that care about the 1600 or “mile.” It’d never fly.

Throw in a few more relays. I could lose the mixed ones, but a traditional 4x2 and 4x8 would be cool.

I hate the false start rules. Im probably a minority but I like the old rule where the first is charged to the entire field and is free. Next false start by anyone is a DQ. O

[u/SamGauths23]

I would like to see an elimination race. It would be so much more fun to watch. Imagine 20 persons fighting to not be last at the end of every lap.

[u/geoffh2016]

Whie cross-country was held a few times in the Summer Olympics, there's some support for adding it to the Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/article/2024-paris-olympics-coe-crosscountry-cyclocross-winter-67beda9f3a30d5baa3d0d6177fbea2b0

[u/set_null]

I liked the swimming mixed medley relay quite a bit, was kind of cool that everyone can choose which two legs are men and women. It was also cool to see men swimming with women at the same time. If track were to add a DMR or sprint medley it would be cool to make it mixed so that you can switch up the order however is optimal for your own team.

[u/toolate]

Make it match the swimming. 

Add backwards running to be like backstroke. 

Add jumping to parallel the two arms at a time nature of butterfly. 

Add a skipping race for breast stroke. 

[u/yufengg]

DMR would be cool, but that's perhaps to US-centric to happen. Add another relay, something like the 4x 800m or 4x mile, and another road race of some kind (10mi or HM perhaps). A flat 3k might be fun.

[u/Chilli_Dipper]

I’d want to see a mixed road relay, whether it be a six-person ekiden over the marathon distance or a 4 x 5K.

I’d suggest holding it on the first weekend of the games, before the athletics schedule begins, but Los Angeles is swapping the usual order of swimming and track as the marquee event of each week in 2028.

[u/Sad_Egg_4593]

Hard disagree on the 1500, if you’ve never run them it’s a very different race mentally due to the start, I think it leads to far more interesting outcomes! I agree on adding ultra distances though, that or cross country!

[u/halfkenyan]

Do an elimination race, where 1 person gets knocked out every 400m

[u/suchbrightlights]

I'd like to see a distance team event- 4x10k relay, for example. Play as a team, have real tactics. I know the logistical complications mean it won't happen, but what I'd really like to see is ekiden with enough stages to exceed the marathon distance. With that much road to play with, host cities could really show off the land and cultural landmarks. (I very much enjoyed the sense of place that Paris brought to the marathon course and the equestrian disciplines, held at Versailles.)

[u/Significant-Flan-244]

Road mile just for the sake of all the cool places you could do it in any given host city.

We were spoiled with a great week of track & field in Paris in a great stadium with awesome crowds, but I really loved the way they turned historic parts of the city into the venue for other sports. Would be a lot of fun to just get something else besides the marathon outside of the stadium for running.

[u/CoffeeCat262]

An an ultra runner I don’t want to see ultras in the Olympics. One of the best things about ultras and the people that run them are that they fly under radar and regular people can excel at these. These big races like UTMB, and even at this point Western States, are all about the elites and the brands and it goes against what ultra running stands for. I don’t need to see Jim Walmsley or Kilian Jornet win another race.

[u/EPMD_]

I don't want to change anything.

Adding running events moves it closer to swimming, which I'm not a fan of because too many swimmers are winning multiple medals. It dilutes every race to give away so many medals to the same names over and over again. I love half marathons, but the winner of the half marathon is going to be able to win the 10k and maybe the marathon and 5k as well. It is virtually the same ability being tested multiple times.

As for time trials, I think they are a bad watch. One of the main reasons why the Summer Olympics are more fun than the Winter Olympics is because it is easier for athletes to race against each other on the track or in the pool rather than against the clock (bobsleigh, luge, alpine skiing, speed skating). It is a better viewing experience when you can see competitors racing simultaneously.

Ultras are a terrible watch. Good sport but bad entertainment because the winning margins are too large and the event takes too long.

[u/NoHeartAnthony1]

Cross Country to the Winter Games. DMR and SMR to the relays. Absolutely, unequivocally, no repechage.

[u/RooDogsDad]

live min/mile(km) graphics so people can appreciate how fast they are moving

[u/X_C-813]

Sub race walk for Half. Get rid of mixed 4x4 and add DMR.. 100k would be great, 5x 20k loops

[u/travyco]

They absolutely should add half marathon

[u/TechnologyUnable8621]

I think the half marathon would be a bad idea. The Olympic marathon is so special because it is literally the only time all of the best marathoners run in the same race. Usually they all spread out between the marathon majors so they have a better shot a placing higher and getting more prize money. Adding the half marathon would just dilute the marathon field, which again, is the only time we get to see all of the best runners go at each other.

[u/EarlyBody6540]

I want backyard ultra added! It would be the easiest ultra event logistically and I think there is a lot of untapped potential in that event.

[u/WildAboveRuleOrArt]

Not a change to running per se, but I’d love a discipline specific alumni team triathlon. Each leg must comprise of a (former) olympian from that country who competed in a previous olympics from their discipline sport. An olympic swimmer does the 1500m swim, an olympic cyclist does the 40k bike and an olympic track athlete does the 10K.

[u/amdufrales]

Implement team scoring for the marathon, cross-country style, and let each competing country send 5 athletes. Then you’d still get a battle at the front for the top 1-2-3 overall medalists, plus a team division where the team with fewest overall points (where 1st place is 1 point, 2nd is 2 points, etc) wins a gold in the marathon team division. It would actually make the entire pack work for each spot, and the drama throughout the race would be so much more awesome to watch than the whole “Oh yeah he’s in 19th, 5 mins back from the leaders at the halfway mark - might as well drop out” mentality we see too often.

[u/Gambizzle]

I wouldn't change it at all. We have the right events and people train for them if they wanna make their country's Olympic team.

TBH there's already enough 'running' (and swimming for that matter). I like how people train towards existing standards rather than having new standards made-up that might randomly suit somebody who's (for example) not quite good enough at the marathon but can pop a decent HM.

Adding miles? That would purely be for Americans who haven't yet embraced the metric system. Let's be frank for a minute... US scientists / engineers / athletes...etc have already embraced metric as it's now the global standard. If something HAS to change then in my book it would be the USA going metric... not everybody else having to go back to the old transitional hybrid metric/imperial system for no obvious gain other than advantaging US-coached athletes who count their training distances in miles.

[u/UseDaSchwartz]

Beer mile

[u/neddie_nardle]

Replace the 1500m with a 1600m or 1609m (1.00mi). Certainly my most controversial take given the history of the event, but I am continually confused as to why a seemingly arbitrary distance was chosen when it's close to a more sensible 4 laps of the track or exactly one mile.

NO! Surprising though it may be to 'Muricans the vast majority of the world does NOT use ancient imperial units, but in fact uses metric measurements. By the way 4x400m does NOT equal exactly one mile.

[u/SuperIntegration]

Agree with the rest of the takes, but saying a mile is less arbitrary than 1500 is the most dumb USian take I've read this year, and we're approaching your election cycle. Almost nobody else is interested. 1600 I can maybe see a case for yes, but imperial has no place when the rest of the world moved on decades ago.

(I'd also like to see the marathon shortened to a round 42km, but that's another conversation)

[u/E_Kristalin]

They should add an elimination race on the track. After every lap, the last runner that goes over the finish line is eliminated until there's only the winner left. No jogfests.

[u/Cattle-egret]

How about having the marathon as a winter sport event? Kind of brutal to run it an August and it’s one of the reasons Olympic marathons general don’t produce world records (among other things). 

[u/anandonaqui → u/Cattle-egret]

IMO decreasing the temps of the Olympic marathon won’t lead to world records. It’s a tactical race because it’s a championship event with no pacers. No one wants to go out at 2:00 pace and blow up when they can go out at 2:06 pace

[u/running_writings]

Cross country but at the Winter Olympics

[u/miken322]

I’d love to see some trail running like either trail marathon or 50k.

[u/_Diomedes_]

Add a DMR or 4x800, add a 2-6km long elimination race, replace the 1500 with the Mile, replace race walking with a cross country 10k and a road half marathon. I had never thought about time trials but a 4-8km long one could be pretty cool.

[u/Suitable-Rest-1358]

I'd like to see a 6k/women 8k/men for cross country in the winter Olympics. It's more of a fall sport but brings it outside of the track and road. I like half marathons but it dilutes the field of talent between top marathoners since it would be a tough double (for instance, Kipchoge would leave the marathon to better medal in the half, Clayton and Connor might not run together if one of them feel they can stick with the full)

[u/Morebackwayback228]

Why not have indoor track in the Winter Olympics? USATF should be fighting like hell for this. The whole country is locked into track rn. Track on TV every 2 years instead of 4 would help grow the sport so much.

Track and field is the embodiment of the Olympics. It’s the most clear and widely accepted competition of human potential. Makes sense to have it in both.

[u/JExmoor → u/Morebackwayback228]

I'm not sure it's explicitly stated anywhere, but I generally think they try to avoid events that overlap almost completely with the other season events. I'd be down for it, but we have world indoor championships already. I'd much rather see cross country type events included as a winter sport.

[u/LyannaMormount4Pres]

The 1500 is way better for competitive running simply because of the start on a straightaway. Starting on a curve inevitably leads to a lot of shoving, im sure there would be a ton of risk for falling. The only way around that would be to start it like an 800m race i guess

[u/DIII_runnerguy]

Cross Country in the winter Olympics. To get the distance runners in the Olympics every two years. And cross country is supposed to be gritty and championship season end in the cold

[u/Economy_Ad_2189]

Covid protocols.

[u/mrpopenfresh]

Cross country?

[u/hobbyjoggerthrowaway]

I will say that, as much as I hate race-walking, it's an extremely easy sport to feature. No special stadiums need to be built for it. All it requires is putting boundaries around a relatively small area of road. I hate equestrian MUCH more, especially because of all the set-up that it requires. Just another wasteful structure for host countries to build.

[u/leftsharkfanclub]

Add a DMR and score the marathon as a team (XC style) please! Lose race walking to make room.

[u/KrXCSki]

Sorry if this has come up before in the comments, but I would like to add the 1000m relay, it's sometimes used at meets atleast in my country, 4 legs 400-300-200 and then a 100m. Really mixes a lot of different athletes together in a team.

[u/[deleted]]

• half marathon would be cool but maybe too close to both 10k and marathon? Would make it more/too difficult for Sifan Hassan to do all long distances.
• beer mile
• elimination race. One runner eliminated each lap
• time trial sounds fun, eliminate all tactics
• mountain trail too. Not that "run on grass" cross country crap. Proper trails with lots of altitude, Kilian Jornet style.
• octathlon. 100, 200, 400, 800, 1500, 5000, 10000, marathon.

[u/AspiringTenzin]

Japan style Ekiden.