101 Reasons why you should have attended last summer's Irish National Senior Champs

These are the 151 reasons I shared last July via Twitter on why you should attend the Irish Senior Championships. It turned out to be a pretty memorable championship, and most of these reasons are valid every year! See you all in Santry in later June 2024.

I was going to do a preview for this weekend's  #NationalSeniors, but thought that was too obvious, so instead I'm going to attempt to come up with #onehundredandfiftyonereasons to get your backside to Morton Stadium on Saturday and/or Sunday.

1. At 151 consecutive editions, it is the longest running national athletics championships anywhere in the world. Ever.

2. You might see someone you used to run with at college 20 years ago (I'm being generous). You remind each other of the good ol' days and that unforgettable intervarsities, and you'll both walk off thinking "gee, haven't I aged better than them!"

3. The weather is usually 'fresh' in Santry!

4. It'll get you off the sofa for one afternoon

5. The men's 1500m. Always the men's 15!

6. Waterjumps, especially if it's raining!

7. You won't have to sit through ad breaks!

8. You'll can do your own punditry, and see if you really are all that!

9. 400m heats! With no semi-finals at Irish nationals, the 400m heats are usually crazy (occasionally there are more heats than there are places in the final, so not even the winner is guaranteed a spot).

10. The women's high jump. Four athletes on the entry list have season's bests between 1.78 and 1.81. You try choosing a winner from Lecky, Kealy, Rogan and Rochford (or could it be someone else?).

11. Michelle Finn chasing down her 9th Irish steeplechase title. She already has more titles than anyone else in the event; if she wins her 9th she'll have more than EVERYONE else added together (that's a boast not even Terry McHugh can make!)

12. The men's 800m; always the men's 800m.

13. Not having to sit in an assigned seat; in fact not having to sit at all!

14. The women's LJ featuring the equal 2 second-longest Irish long jumpers ever. Ruby Millet and Elizabeth Ndudi both have PBs of 6.44. Ndudi took the title indoors, but who'll come out on top this time?

15. Getting to watch badass events like the weight for height. You don't get that at the diamond league!

16. The men's shot put. Eric Favors has thrown beyond 19.25 (the current CBP) in every one of his 14 outdoor competitions this year. And on Saturday last he got within 15cm of the Irish record he set way back in March. Expect him to add to his single outdoor title from 2019.

17. Nicola Tuthill. She, like Favors, has been super consistent this year with almost every throw further than she'd ever thrown before 2023! Her recent 4th at Euro U23s is the highest ever finish by an Irish field eventer at that level!

18. Ranking points. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely hate them, but the fact that some athletes still need them to get to Budapest should lead to some 'heroics'.

19. Possibly related to number 18: somebody will blow up and while we don't like to see that, the passion that makes it happen is exactly the reason why we love nationals so much.

20. You'll get to see the reigning #fantasynationalindoors champion (who also happens to be Ireland's fastest man) run the 100m!

21. Relays. Nobody stays for these, but that’s their loss. Don’t miss out on watching @RatoathAC, the Belgium of Irish inter-club relays, doing their thing! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

22. Olympians. Watch many of them, too numerous to mention individually, compete! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

23. Witness @fintanreilly cover more ground than all the athletes put together #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

24. Tom Barr, already a 10-time champion, has run 49.something in 7 different countries so far this summer; can he add Ireland to the list? Or is the second half of the season the 48.something tour? #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

25. There’ll be European U18, U20, U23 and senior medallists competing! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

26. There are at least nine national senior record holders entered. That number could rise as well as fall over the weekend! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

27. You could get to see Ireland’s fastest barrister zooming down the home straight! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

28. That one race that you think is weaker than normal and that then turns out to be an unforgettable battle #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

29. A cagey affair. Or two. #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

30. The pole vault. #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

31. The men’s 5000m. Darragh McElhinney won a very exciting race last year. But if both himself and Brian Fay show up, this could be even better. Both would like to sit and kick, but McElhinney still needs B standard and big points for Budapest! #onehundredandonereasons #nationalseniors

32. The men’s 5000m not all being about McElhinney and Fay #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

33. The women’s 1500m. If the top 3 race, it’ll be the highest standard domestic women’s 1500m there’s been in Ireland; if they don’t, it’ll be an exciting battle to see who can snatch a medal. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

34. Because we have no idea who the real star will be! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

35. The fact that there are Road to Paris ranking points on offer too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

36. The men’s 200m. A big performance could see Mark Smyth sneak into quota spot for Budapest. He gave us fireworks indoors; could we get fireworks outdoors too (where they’re a bit safer)? #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

37. The weather! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

38. Sarah Lavin will be chasing her 8^th national 100m hurdles title. Derval O’Rourke holds the record at 9, but her CBP of 12.95, run with a +4.1m/s wind will be the first of her marks that Lavin will be chasing down. Will she even need a tailwind! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

39. Rhasidat Adeleke! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

40. The lovely new blue track #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

41. I’ll be there! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors #scrapingthebarrell

42. The men’s 400m. There are mixed relay spots on the line. While it may appear obvious right now who’ll be getting those, you never know who could spring a big surprise. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

43. Nostalgia. Particularly if you remember the shed! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

44. Pre-competition nerves, especially if you’re not actually competing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

45. The women’s 5000m could feature Roisin and Eilish Flanagan, who’ll both be looking for their first national senior title! Roisin has been very close to both the B standard for Budapest and a quota spot; perhaps they have a plan! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

46. All the other potential stories in the women’s 5000m. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

47. The men’s LJ could be every bit as good a battle as the women’s equivalent! Reece Ademola, Sam Healy and Shane Howard are the ones to watch out for, but it’s long jump, so don’t expect it to be a foregone conclusion! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

48. Saragh Buggy. She already has 10 national titles (7 x TJ and 3 x LJ). Not only is she the clear favourite for the triple jump (where she holds the CBP at 13.01m), but she is the third best long jumper in the country this season. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

49. Women’s 100m. Bet you nobody is going to pick that one in #fantasynationalseniors! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

50. The men’s b and c 5000m races. They won’t be the highest quality races of the weekend, but don’t expect them to be any less competitive! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

51. Getting to see airplanes heading out from Dublin airport #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

52. Ikea: either having the opportunity to hit it on the way there, or having an excuse not so spend Sunday afternoon there! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

53. Decathlon (the shop, not the event; multis were last week!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

54. Hoping it’s warm/dry enough to sit on the grassy bank! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

55. It’s free in for those under 16; much cheaper and less noisy than Playzone on a Saturday afternoon. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

56. It’s only £10 per day for grown-ups, which is much cheaper and a lot easier than [whatever concert they’re all in a queue for today]. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

57. The 10-lane home straight! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

58. Circuit-level lane packing in the 800m finals! (If you’ve ever watched a world tour gold meet from anywhere in Europe, you’ll know what I mean!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

59. Joining the dedicated souls who’ve taken up residence on the back straight stand, and dearly wanting to be part of their community! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

60. The general buzz #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

61. @gabrielkehinde0 might get to interview himself and his fellow sprinters again; you wouldn’t want to miss that! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

62. Someone will win their first national title and doing so will mean the world to them! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

63. You could be inspired to chase your own sporting goal! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

64. There’ll be at least someone trying to catch the action for free from behind the gate in the park (did I mention already how cheap it is?) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

65.  You’ll get to have that conversation again about how Morton Stadium could really do with a couple of big screens on days like this, preferably showing live field event results. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

66. You can share your opinions on how there’d be a bigger crowd here if you were in charge! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

67. You might get to catch up on some gossip #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

68. The hurling is over. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

69. You get to spot who’s been called for doping control! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

70. You get to sense how everyone thinks they can win with men’s 800m with 220m to go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

71. You get to sense how everyone thinks they can win with men’s 1500m with 420m to go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

72. retweet one

73. You get so see some racewalking up close! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

74. The women’s 400m, and not really knowing who’s in what shape until they line up and race each other! It’s not like they haven’t been racing all season, but there’s still the expectation that none of them have quite peaked yet! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

75. Having 151 opinions on who should get the relay spots! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

76. Ciara Mageean. She’s broken three national senior records (800m, 1500m, mile) and won Commonwealth Games and European Champs medals since last year! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

77. Seeing the pure joy on the faces of children who are here for the first time. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

78. Remembering your first time! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

79. Sophie O’Sullivan, and being reminded that you’re old enough to have seen her mum run here too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

80. Getting to cheer on your #FantasyNationalSeniors team in person #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

81. You might get to see Ireland’s fastest quantum physicist in action over two laps! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

82. The women’s 800m. Always the women’s 800m! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

83. The men’s 110m hurdles and seeing if last year’s record -8.3m/s headwind can be beaten #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

84. The men’s steeplechase and seeing just how close Jayme Rossiter gets to those barriers! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

85. Having a day off ‘listening’ to me on Twitter #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

86. There being at least one finish that’s too close to call, but still being sure you know who got it, from your slightly obscured vantage point near the 100m start! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

87. You might get an autograph or two! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

88. Seeing past champions being honoured (do they even do that any more), and berating yourself, again, for fluffing that one shot you had at a title back in 2010, for example. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

89. The athletes deserve a crowd. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

90. The athletes will appreciate a crowd. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

91. You’ll be missed if you don’t go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

92. You’ll miss out if you don’t go! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

93. Because three years ago we couldn’t attend! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

94. Your sofa needs a day off too. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

95. You might get to see someone who set their PB in the 1980s compete! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

96. You can’t really get a full appreciation of how complicated the pole vault is until you see it in person. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

97. You won’t have to cut away from the steeplechase at the 2k point to see a foul in the long jump #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

98. You won’t have to cut away from the long jump to watch the steeplechase. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

99. You’ll be reminded of how young you once used to be. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

100. Maybe nobody will notice if you hop on the track for a nostalgic lap after the event is over. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

101. Because the Olympics are less than one year away; there’s no better way to start the hype! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

102. Have I mentioned the men’s 1500m already? It could be magic #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

103. If you cheer the athletes, they’ll might actually hear you. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

104. Someone might (accidentally) as you for your autograph! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

105. You can rewatch all the action on the Player/Youtube later, so you might as well come soak up the atmosphere. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

106. You definitely don’t get the full atmosphere on the telly anyway. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

107. You might get so see some of the rising stars before they head away to the Euro U20s. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

108. You might get talking to somebody more interesting than yourself. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

109. You might see an old friend.

110. You might make a new one. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

111. It’s cheaper than the Olympics. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

112. It’s cheaper than most other sporting events. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

113. There’s no lottery for the tickets. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

114. It might be fine enough on Saturday for a pre-event picnic! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

115. We can argue about the recycling of the 150^th thing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

116. We can celebrate the lack of recycling the 150m thing! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

117. You might realise you’re not the biggest athletics nerd around. 118. You might realise you are! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

119. You’ll be able to say you were there, did that, and bought the tee-shirt (there’ll definitely be tee-shirts for sale, right?) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

120. If you’ve written a book about running, you could probably sell a few copies. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

121. You might get to see Niamh Fogarty win her 5^th national senior discus title #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

122. Someone might come from the depths of hell #depthsofhell #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

123. You will hear @FeidhlimKelly shouting for this @dublintrackclub athletes. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

124. Have I mentioned the men’s 8 and the men’s 15? Andrew Coscoran dropping down to the two laps makes both of them more difficult to call, and potentially far more exciting. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

125. The more people that are there, the less windy it’ll feel! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

126. It’ll be less crowded than Dundrum Town Centre at the weekend. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

127. You might get to see Michaela Walsh win her 6^th consecutive national senior shot put title. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

128. You might see Sean Mockler winning his third consecutive hammer title. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

129. Somebody might actually break 15 metres in the men’s triple jump! Three have been very close so far this season, which could make for a close and exciting event. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

130. Nobody has successfully defended their 10km walk title since Alex Wright in 2016. Will it be another new winner: the 6th different one in 7 years since; or will David Kenny add a third title? Come and find out. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

131. Day 1 will be way better than your average Sat at nationals. The 3 women’s track finals should feature the superstars Rhasidat Adeleke (200m) and Sarah Lavin (100mH) and double Olympian and 8-time national champion Michelle Finn (3000m S/C). #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

132. And Nichola Tuthill (HT), Saragh Buggy (TJ) and Eric Favors (SP) should ensure some field event fireworks on day 1, with a potential too-close to call, 4-way battle in the women’s HJ. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

133. Morton stadium always scrubs up well for the big occasion! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

134. You’ll get to see some national U20 and U23 champions crowned too! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

135. You might see David Cussen win this 4^th national title, and thereby become the most prolific male high jumper this century! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

136. You’re guaranteed to see a brand new, first-time champion in the men’s javelin! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

137. You might see a great battle between Grace Casey (2017 and 2021 champ) and Kate O’Connor (2020 and 2022 champ) in the women’s javelin. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

138. Half the 8-man pole vault field have won this title before (including one in the 1980s); but there are at least two others who could win if the stars align for either of them on Sunday! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

139. There will be no final three nonsense. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

140. There will be no repechage rounds. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

141. There will be no hot seats. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

142. You might have to walk a mile to the stadium, but the exercise will do you good. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

143. You could bump into your old biomechanics lecturer! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

144. It’s the last big domestic competition of the summer (masters athletes, I know; don’t @ me!) #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

145. You might get to meet the infamous seagull! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

146. You can join the stampede to leave the stadium at 8.25pm on Sunday! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

147. I’ll make sure the word ‘innovation’ isn’t even mentioned! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

148. The weather might actually be ok! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

149. It will be great. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

150. It will be really great. #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

151. Because I went to all this effort to let you know just how special National Seniors are! #onehundredandfiftyonereasons #nationalseniors

National Seniors Reimagined

Imagine if we could have the major international championships first, and then the national championships!

Imagine the introductions!

Ciara Mageean: Recent Commonwealth and European 1500m silver medallist. 

Mark English: Irish 800m record holder. European 800m bronze. 

Rhasidat Adeleke: Fifth in Europe. Ninth in the world. The one who, draped in an Irish flag, made a point of acknowledging the Irish supporters in the crowd after she broke the Irish 400m record in Munich. 

Israel Olatunde: the fastest ever Irishman. European 100m finalist at twenty.

Sarah Lavin: World Indoor and European outdoor finalist. 

Fionnuala McCormack: Ireland's most capped female. Seventh in Munich. Understated. Underrated. Underappreciated.

Efrem Gidey and Brian Fay: European top eight finishers. 

Louise Shanahan: European 800m finalist. Irish record holder.

Sophie Becker, Phil Healy, Sharlene Mawdsley, Roisin Harrison and Cliodhna Manning: European relay finalists along with Adeleke. Six of the 10 fastest 400m runners we've ever produced. Healy, Becker, Chris O'Donnell and Jack Raftery: World mixed relay finalists. Olympic mixed relay finalists in there too.

Andrew Coscoran. European 1500m finalist. World and Olympic semi-finalist. Morton Mile winner.

Kate O'Connor: Commonwealth silver medallist in the heptathlon.

Reece Adamola, Nicola Tuthill, Nicholas Griggs: World U20 finalists.

Darragh McElhinney and Sarah Healy: Irish U23 records each at three different distances outdoors in 2022.

Luke McCann: Irish senior 1000m records, indoors and out, in 2022.

Thomas Barr: 10-time Irish 400m hurdles champion. And the rest.

Michelle Finn, 8-time Irish steeplechase champion. European finalist.

The list goes on.

Imagine how easy that would be to promote. 

Morton Stadium would be packed!

For reasons I don't need to go into here, you could never hold your national champs after the majors, but there's got to be a way to capitalise on the enthusiasm created by such a successful Irish team. And it only needs to be done once. If Morton Stadium on nationals weekend is the place to be, then Morton Stadium on nationals weekend is where we'll be.

Morton Stadium on nationals weekend definitely did not appear to be the place to be in June 2022.

I arrived to a near empty stadium, coinciding with a seemingly intended and prolonged gap in the track programme on the Sunday afternoon. After two years missed due to the pandemic, I could hardly have felt more let down. Yes the pace eventually picked up. Great races were had. And apparently the evening finals slot came across well on tv. 

But it did not have me reaching for my diary and marking the date for next year's event (ok, that's not true; the likely date was already in my diary, but imagine for a moment that I'm not me!).

The event needed a good boost of energy from somewhere.

And the schedule? With 150 years of practice, you'd think someone would at least have nailed the schedule by now!

Something clearly has to change.

I appreciate how much effort goes into running not just the national seniors, but the whole series of national championships held weekend after weekend right across the summer, and how much hard work is done by unpaid officials and committee members. And there are costs to running such events which clearly are not being met by the dismal attendance figures. And I am hesitant to criticise those who are doing things that I am not willing to do myself. But I'm also too passionate about this to say nothing at all. As a reasonable compromise, I'm going to focus mainly on some possible solutions.

Santry needs people on the back straight. Without people on the back straight it's always going to look and feel empty. Good weather helps. But people on the back straight also need to be able to see the results and hear the commentary. Give them a reason to get out of the stand and surround that track.

Many of the people who could/might attend have or are children: recently retired and former athletes, young athletes, children who've watched the Olympics or Europeans on telly and have been nagging their parents to see some of these stars up close, the children of immigrants who would benefit from seeing positive integration into the Irish community... the list goes on. So attendance needs to be child friendly - either a Sunday finals slot which isn't after their bedtime, or a Saturday slot which somehow caters for the attention span of the average nine-year-old (or more importantly their parent).

And we need it to be a place for those who used to run to meet up with old acquaintances. To re-connect with the sport. To see the possibilities of where and how they could continue to be involved. Or, for once, to just enjoy the sport from the other side of the fence.

So, how about this?

Saturday afternoon - heats for pretty much anything that their needs to be heats for. Use pre-registration to ensure these run off as slickly as possible - you should know on Friday just how many heats you'll have in each event. Have commentators loaded to the gills with interesting facts and information about every single athlete competing. And really think about how you can best showcase your field events during this time. 

Have the final of whichever sprints need to be had on day one.

Then put barriers in lane three. Bring the crowds in around the track (nothing new or novel at this stage - and we know it works). And run off all the distance races one after another. The various races of the men's 5000m. The women's 5000m. The walks. The steeplechases. A junior race or two. Fill that back straight with cheer. The place could be hopping.

See, that would get me to Dublin on the Saturday. I might even stretch to a hotel room for the night, even at Dublin prices! Livestreaming viewing should also be through the roof, as those with a distance-running interest tune in not just from across Ireland, but across the world. Put your best commentators on commentary and reel in the punters. There may even be the potential for this to be shown live on tv. Imagine it was good enough to get people to say, 'Wait, I could attend more of this tomorrow, in person? Pass me the credit card now.' 

We could even cleverly showcase certain field events during this time, the men's and women's shot put for example. Use the crowd to give them a boost too.

We could do this better than any other national championship in the world!

The Sunday probably doesn't need to change that drastically. You'd be missing a few events - a steeplechase, the walks and some 5000m races. But there's no reason a condensed programme, without the silly gap in the middle, wouldn't work. Three rounds of the 100m might be an issue, but we'll work on that one too. 

Again, clever showcasing of field events would help. But people need to be able to follow what's going on with those. A big screen with live results would be the dream, but there's no reason someone with a giant whiteboard, some marker pens, and a little bit of humour couldn't work wonders on that front. 

Have people greeting those arriving who've never been to an athletics event before, and ensuring they have the best possible experience. Put together idiots guides. Tell them what they should look out for. Take them to the heart of the action. God, imagine if we could get athletes to do this. It would be a great use of any top athlete not able to race that weekend. 

Ok, maybe now I'm getting a little bit carried away.

And we need to decide if filling the stadium with children, or having the live tv slot well past their bedtime, is more important. But we need that stadium full. It doesn't matter if they're paying or not. Just get them there. And we only need to do it once. If it's a positive experience for all those who attend, then the next time it's will fill up itself.

Imagine the potential!

Unfortunately we can't have nationals after majors. But we could still have the best nationals in the world! After 150 years of trying, it's about time we did just that.