Supertramp
Active member
I do not understand the appeal of this event, but I keep seeing it more and more at meets.
Not only does it take considerable time (25-30 minutes for some of the slowest teams) but aside from the leadoff leg, the majority of the athletes are running entirely alone out on the track.
Why not just run multiple heats of the 1600m and add up the times? I know some meets in the past have done this, but I'm not seeing it much anymore.
If you have 12 teams of 4x1600m for Boys and Girls, that is 96 athletes. You could run that in 4-5 heats, and the athletes would actually have people to race against. But running the same athletes in two 4x1600m essentially is like running 8 heats of the mile, and 6/8 of the heats are essentially solo time trials.
This is different than the other relays (4x800m and shorter) as they are actual OHSAA events and far more entertaining, as well as less time-consuming. Even the DMR, while not an OHSAA event, is typically far more competitive and entertaining with how the order is structured.
And even the most elite teams trying to run the 4xMile at NBN are wasting their time since NBN will take your team's 4 best open 1600m/Mile times.
Stop running the 4x1600m as a relay. Just run heats of the mile and add up the times.
-It will save time during the meet
-Athletes will run faster with people to race against
-It will be far more entertaining to watch as a spectator
Not only does it take considerable time (25-30 minutes for some of the slowest teams) but aside from the leadoff leg, the majority of the athletes are running entirely alone out on the track.
Why not just run multiple heats of the 1600m and add up the times? I know some meets in the past have done this, but I'm not seeing it much anymore.
If you have 12 teams of 4x1600m for Boys and Girls, that is 96 athletes. You could run that in 4-5 heats, and the athletes would actually have people to race against. But running the same athletes in two 4x1600m essentially is like running 8 heats of the mile, and 6/8 of the heats are essentially solo time trials.
This is different than the other relays (4x800m and shorter) as they are actual OHSAA events and far more entertaining, as well as less time-consuming. Even the DMR, while not an OHSAA event, is typically far more competitive and entertaining with how the order is structured.
And even the most elite teams trying to run the 4xMile at NBN are wasting their time since NBN will take your team's 4 best open 1600m/Mile times.
Stop running the 4x1600m as a relay. Just run heats of the mile and add up the times.
-It will save time during the meet
-Athletes will run faster with people to race against
-It will be far more entertaining to watch as a spectator