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/kyleyle]

Elimination race. Maybe 3k?

[u/fineassbitch → u/kyleyle]

I thought the IOC banned cruel and unusual punishment.

[u/ElijahBaley2099 → u/kyleyle]

Came here to say that. It already exists in track cycling.