The Fabulous Life of an Elite Runner
Many have written on the struggles — financial and otherwise — of breaking into professional track and field, but I find it especially eye-opening to hear of struggles (”barely getting by”) from the runner’s own mouth (or blog). Such is the case with Brianna Glenn in her most recent post on her blog, which she calls “My so-called FABULOUS Life.” Brianna tells the story of how she became an elite runner, including the financial struggles, the “forgetting how to run and jump,” and her strategy to get back into shape. Now, she’s seeking a spot on the U.S. Olympic team in either the LJ or 200m. (she has PBs of 21-11 and 22.91, respectively). Here’s hoping she fulfills her dream.
Brianna’s story is important for a number of reasons. One, because it dispels the myth that all elite track and field athletes immediately strike gold when they get a sponsor or begin competing professionally. Brianna was competing every weekend under an Adidas sponsorship and claims she “barely got by.” This is the former PAC-10 Athlete of the Year we’re talking about here!
Two, her story underscores the uniqueness of our sport. If you play basketball well, you’ll have scores of people helping you along the way, offering wise counsel on big decisions, giving tips for improvement. For many elite runners, the only ones watching out for them are themselves and a coach, maybe. Oh, and their mom and dad. This has been said before (on this blog, I think), but track is one of the only sports that doesn’t reward athletes financially based on the potential for success. In track, your paycheck is determinant on your placing well — preferably first — at big meets. And any sponsorships are determinant on, well … the same thing.
Being an elite runner might be the most difficult profession in sports. No knock against LeBron James, but he doesn’t have to schedule his own games, book his own travel, or convince Nike that he is definitely going to score 30 in order to keep his contract or get a paycheck. His celebrity was set in stone before he even graduated high school.
Last 5 posts by Steve Holt- Who's the most exciting athlete on the planet? - September 6th, 2008
- Olympics Hangover - August 26th, 2008
- Yes We Can! - August 7th, 2008
- Gilbert - July 24th, 2008
- Now I can Sleep - April 23rd, 2008
March 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm |
I may contend that track athletes are signed for potential all the time - from a talent standpoint, as well as from a marketability standpoint. There might be a little less patience for results, though…
And, again, FWIW - for each bit of “wise counsel” LBJ received, how many folks do you think tried to hustle him by offering advice that would serve their own best interests?
March 19th, 2008 at 8:44 am |
You said it Jeremy — they’re signed for potential (who knows how they’ll hold up on the elite circuit, right?), but they’re paid for the results. No results, no $.
Regarding “wise counsel,” I very nearly put that phrase in quotes because I do acknowledge that not all — or even most, probably — counsel is “wise.” My point is simply that it is much more on the shoulders of track athletes to create their own destinies than it was for LBJ to create his.
One solution I’ve heard on this blog (Tony & Matt Show, I believe) is to have agents in track who are as concerned about marketing their athletes and getting them paid as they are about their individual training. Every other sport has those types of agents … why not running?
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:14 am |
Steve, and Jeremy, we are a small agency with big ideas for this sport and our clients. We sign clients based on what we believe they can do in the sport. We negotiate with meet directors, shoe companies, etc for our clients based on their potential. It is a hard sale, however, we have been successful in getting it done and our clients have proven themselves many times.
In our niche we realize that it is our primary job to market our clients off the track as well as on the track. Many of our clients are not the well-known names yet, but the marketing that we are doing in their hometowns, regionally and nationally helps us to help them. Each of our clients is provided with their own personal marketing strategy (press kit, brochures, posters, trading cards, etc) we utilize this strategy to create exposure for them off the track. Then we leverage this exposure to negotiate more opportunities. This kind of work goes beyond the normal 15% commission that we are paid and allows our clients to be able in the long run to achieve something that will benefit them after the track shoes are off. We believe in this sport and we believe in our clients.
Joseph (Codgie) Codrington
December 10th, 2009 at 7:07 pm |
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