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Is the move of Outdoor Nationals earlier in the year to June/July a good move?
Poll ended at Sun May 04, 2008 6:36 pm
Yes, it's currently too late in the season 50%  50%  [ 6 ]
No, it should stay where it is 42%  42%  [ 5 ]
Doesn't matter, I'll be going anyway and adjusting my training accordingly 8%  8%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 12

Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:36 pm

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Looks like the Outdoor Nationals meet will be moving to early July next year in Florida and then again (possibly even into June) in 2010 in Sacto. Good move?



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Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:42 pm

 
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Not if you live in New England! Well at least in Maine. I just got on the outdoor track two weeks ago. I doubt I'd be ready to run my best races in June. Yikes.



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Thu May 01, 2008 6:39 am

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I agree with Kim W - in the northeast it is hard to get outside to train before mid-April to early May. Ok - of course we can train outside as long as the tracks are not covered with ice and snow but it is darn hard to do anything resembling speed workouts when it is barely above freezing with a raw wind.
There are few outdoor meets available for masters in this area until mid-June - at the earliest. It is very difficult to "peak" for a late June early July national meet. My experience at the National Senior Games - late June - was that it was pretty much a training exercise - certainly not something for which I felt ready having not had any prior competition.
Anyway - so you have the national masters in late June or early July - manage to get into peak shape for that - and then what?
For many folks who do not live in the sunbelt - summer is just beginning and we are certainly not ready to compete in real heat. Perhaps heat is not a big deal for sprinters but for middle distance and distance folks - it is a significant problem.
The next WMA outdoor meet - in Finland - is in early July - probably heat will not be an issue but being ready for international competition that early in the outdoor season is a considerable problem. Fortunately for me - I will be at the top of my age group and can use that as an excuse for slow times! :roll:



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Wed May 07, 2008 7:35 pm

 
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I agree with runfast70, Having the meet in early July is a good idea for HS or college kids for a championship meet at the end of a season, but for the masters, it seems like a poor one.

To me, at any level of masters experience, you would want to have the meet in late July or August after having a few competitions under your belt. in order to be at peak form. It also would seem baffling to travel and train to go the National meet, and then do a local development meet two weeks later?

I mean it could be entirely possible that if you run an event such as the Steeplechase, your first time out for the season could be at the National Masters Championships. if it were held early.

It also seems like a contradiction from the Indoor masters championship, which at the end of March, is practially the beginning of a spring season.

at least these are my thoughts



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Wed May 07, 2008 8:23 pm

 
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The Elephant in this room is the fact that nationals are held in early August to accommodate the host cities more than the athletes.

USATF already has a hard time finding cities to bid for outdoor nationals. If the meet were specified for June or July, it might be harder yet.

Another wrinkle: USATF sells masters as a boon for tourism. If local organizers can't count on a big turnout, they won't bid.

Truth is, many masters are involved in teaching professions, and the best time for them to travel is mid-summer. If you eliminate educators from the equation, you lose a big share of masters athletes. There goes the numbers.

And numbers equal dollars. So follow the money.

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Last edited by Ken Stone on Fri May 09, 2008 8:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Wed May 07, 2008 8:47 pm

 
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Masters events for me happen in mid-June and July. August for a national event sems most appropriate. I would not attend if I didn't feel that I was in peak shape. My 2 cents.

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Wed May 07, 2008 9:35 pm

 
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Nice to see some good conversation on this topic. I was pretty mixed on when masters was and, being new, was previously not entirely sure where I stood.

PDelis, you bring up a great point about the steeple. As that is my event, I ran two Sundays ago in a youth development 2K steeple as my first steeple of the year (first in 7 years actually but that's beside the point). Not the preferred way to do it but fortunately there were only 2 other people in the race, one being a kid and the other his dad so I didn't feel too out of place. But I don't want to rain on the parade of youth competitors even though they open it up to open/masters athletes so will likely not do that too often.

Then, I ran last Friday in my 2nd steeple, this time a full 3K at a D3 college invite. It was nice because I was pulled along and finished 8th of 12 runners. However, I fully realize that at some point (and some point fairly soon), that no longer will be a viable option for me.

Ken, you bring up another great point about teachers. Being that I am one, yes, August works well. But so does July. However, the other masters meets on my schedule for July are good preparation for the August National Meet.

So, being that ultimately, I'll be running masters meets in June/July as my first meets in the steeple, I hope that the schedule goes back to August based on what I'm hearing.



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Wed May 07, 2008 10:44 pm

 
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This is a funny topic...living in Arizona. It's generally well over 100 degrees day and night from late May until mid September. By mid June its hard to get in a decent workout because it's so darn hot! :shock:

August seems like an eternity away knowing what is about to happen here weather wise, but I'm sure Spokane in August is a wonderful place to be. We get to train outdoors year round, so I doubt many Arizonans would mind Nationals being earlier in the season.



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Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:00 am

 
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I heard that the dates of the World Masters meet in Finland in late July predicated that the National meet be moved up a month.



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Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:40 am

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The dates for the WMA meet in Finland are July 28-Aug 8th. This conflicts with the National Senior Games - not an issue for the under 50, but an issue for those of us 50 and older who otherwise might compete in that meet. I had seen somewhere that the National Masters Outdoor Meet for 2009 - Clermont, Fl - is in early July - not sure where I saw that. It would make sense as scheduling it for the more usual early August date would conflict with both the WMA and Senior Games meets. A Florida track meet in the summer will be a challenge for those of us who do not live in hot and humid climates. A good test of how well the National Training Center deals with heat and humidity and older athletes will be the NCCWMA meet there in late August this summer. I am planning on going to this meet - and if they manage the heat issues as well as was done at the WMA meet in Puerto Rico in 2003, then I am likely to go to again next summer. If they pull a Charlotte job - forgetaboutit.



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Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:11 am

 
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Keep us posted, runfast. I'm tentatively planning on going to Clermont next summer for nationals but must admit the proposition of running in July in the heat and humidity down there is far from appealing.

The dates for the National Meet next year were listed on page 20 of the January Oregon Track and Field News as "July 9-12 (date not confirmed)."

http://www.usatf-oregon.org/files/2008%20Jan%20OTF.pdf

Have yet to see the May/June newsletter on the site which I'm hoping will have that information updated and not sure why it's not on there yet as we're quickly approaching August.



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