Masters meet smack dab in the middle of the Trials?
Yesterday on a Track & Field News message board, Olympic Trials meet director Tom Jordan posted this revelation: āThere will be all-comers meets on the two ārestā days, July 1 & 2. July 1 will be for kids; July 2nd for teens and up. Very limited slate of running events; no field events. Itās mostly to give interested athletes the chance to run on Hayward Field during the Olympic Trials.ā If this pans out, it sounds like a dream-come-true. Running on the same track as the team bound for Beijing!
Many masters secretly (and not so secretly) wish masters nationals were held in (usually) cool and comfy Eugene every year. But the soonest Eugene will host nationals again is probably 2012, and we havenāt heard a peep about their interest in making a bid.
Even if Masters are squeezed out of the all-comers meet, older age-groupers will still have showcase events during the Trials themselves. According to Mark Cleary of Southern California, the coordinator of these invitational events, a Masters menās 3,000-meter run and a womenās 200-meter dash will be held at the Trials ā in front of the paying crowds and world media.
Hereās what you need to know about these two races:
āTo apply for entry into masters invitational events, you must have met the following standards in 2007 or 2008 (priority will be given to times run in 2008). Fully automatic timing (F.A.T.) is the only method of timing acceptable for qualifying marks. Relay splits may not be used for qualifying.
Event Standard Field Size
Masters Menās 3000m 9:35.00 12 with 3 alternates
Masters Womenās 200m 28.80 8 with 3 alternatesā
The application deadline is 9 p.m. ET June 11, 2008.
4 Responses
Agree with you completely, David. I’m guessing they want the track to be available to the Trials athletes. Nevertheless, I’m still a bit confused why, with these events on off-days, why they’re offering only a “very limited slate of running events.” Seems to me that you could offer several events and still only take up the track for a couple hours.
I’m still boggled by the timing of the Hayward Classic this year with it being so close to Nationals…
In a post tonight, Tom Jordan writes:
“The all-comers will be the only chance for the public to access the track. Plans for how the races will be run are still in development. There may be as many as 1000 (or more) show up each night, which takes some planning.”
So stay tuned.
FR: David E. Ortman (M54) Seattle, WA
Ummm. Two rest days. Why not run the Hayward Classic during those days? Right now the Hayward has been shifted to August 2-3, less than a week before the National meet in Spokane. I suppose rooms will be be scarce, but I’d be willing to stay in Portland and drive down. As is, it is likely that Hayward ciykd be poorly attended with the August dates.
Here’s hoping for a long shot that they include the steeple amongst the events…ok, a real long shot…
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