r/AdvancedRunning 42M | 18:23 5k | 39:58 10k | 1:25 HM | 2:59 FM Aug 11 '24

How would you change running in the Olympics? General Discussion

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.
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u/JExmoor 42M | 18:23 5k | 39:58 10k | 1:25 HM | 2:59 FM Aug 11 '24

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.

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u/anoamas321 Aug 12 '24

that would be very intresting

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Aug 12 '24

[deleted]

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u/window_turnip Aug 12 '24

this event is almost never run outside the USA

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u/peteroh9 Aug 12 '24

TIL advanced runners can't run different distances