The flurry of activity at the bottom of the pyramid (recreational sport) does not necessarily mean much change at the top of the pyramid. The success in elite and competitive sport is bedeviled by many factors, which include (but not limited to) poor, spiteful administration, quota systems, emphasis on "youth development" at the cost of lifetime sport, government interference, parental domination, administrative fatigue, the collapse of the culture of volunteering, primadonna sportsmen, incestuous reasoning, and redundant funding models. I foresee that the "run sport like a business" mentality will eventually suck all the money out of trail running and cycling (seriously damaging both sports), and the park run model will eventually reinvigorate the road running club model. Trail running will also have to eventually start standardizing and regulating itself, so as to make it more accessible to a larger community. At this stage it is rather niche with the big races protecting their "brand" with limited entries and hefty entry fees.
