Ultra running as a professional career

One ultra race I know of consists of 10 laps of a hilly wooded ten mile loop. Made me stop thinking about running an ultra.

Lots of ultrarunners get sponsorships. This guy lives in L.A. and is sponsored by NB.

http://dominicgrossman.blogspot.com/

He is probably the most dominant peron in the sport these days.

The fact that nobody has come close to Yiannis Kouros records is the biggest factor here.

Elites at shorter distances aren't elites at longer distances.

Well, given your PRs, I'm guessing a 60-second quarter isn't too tough for you. You could probably run them all day. But I also suspect you've never run a sub-4 minute mile. Same thing with scaling from a 10-mile run to a 100. 7 minutes sounds slow until you're doing it for 12 hours over god-awful terrain.

The reason that you hear stories about guys who weren't good in high school is because they make good stories. It's not very interesting reading about the high school stud, who had a good college career who then went on to do ultras. Pretty boring stuff. The other reason is that ultra running is so much more about mental strength than pure speed. That's why women are so much more competitive with men in ultras.

Not ultra but I know a few wrote:

I work with a top sponsor of ultra runners and must point out two things:

While a great guy and a decent runner, Uli is by no means dominant in ultra running. He is not really offered much by sponsors or paid to go anywhere.

There is a truckload of money in ultra running. Many of the top men and women are over six figures with all running income combined (sponsors, appearance, prize money, speaking).

Hey man, I'm assuming you are also a troll but could you point me in the direction of these top sponsors and ultra runners that make over six figures?

Right now I can see maybe Dean and Scott Jurek pulling that kind of income and that is with major book endoresements...

For the record when I was at Hansons and ran a 2:16:52 marathon guess how much money I won?....$0. Unless you pick the right marathons and win a couple grand for a 2:20 or so you aren't making anything (and that was with full housing/travel/gear support etc from Brooks). Granted 2:16 isn't very good on the US national scene...but how can you develop guys out of college when there is hardly any financial incentive? Same thing with ultra trail running: with more money there will be more speed and more course records.

PS Uli is more than a "decent runner"...the guy ran a 2:13 marathon!

Not ultra but I know a few wrote:

There is a truckload of money in ultra running. Many of the top men and women are over six figures with all running income combined (sponsors, appearance, prize money, speaking).

hopefully you people get the sarcasm here.

I train this boy in Kenya and he currently capable 2:03:30 worst. Like Abel Kirui, he simply not had perfect showing yet. If think you make big dollars in ultramarathon, you must at very least be capable 2:03:30 marathon.

Ultra Fanboy wrote:

Lots of ultrarunners get sponsorships. This guy lives in L.A. and is sponsored by NB.

http://dominicgrossman.blogspot.com/

He is probably the most dominant peron in the sport these days.

Not ultra but I know a few wrote:

I work with a top sponsor of ultra runners and must point out two things:

While a great guy and a decent runner, Uli is by no means dominant in ultra running. He is not really offered much by sponsors or paid to go anywhere.

There is a truckload of money in ultra running. Many of the top men and women are over six figures with all running income combined (sponsors, appearance, prize money, speaking).

What are the top ten ultras in terms of prize money?

Ultra Fanboy wrote:

Lots of ultrarunners get sponsorships. This guy lives in L.A. and is sponsored by NB.

http://dominicgrossman.blogspot.com/

He is probably the most dominant peron in the sport these days.

Not even close.

Most dominant? Please share what you are smokin'.

Ultra Fanboy wrote:

Lots of ultrarunners get sponsorships. This guy lives in L.A. and is sponsored by NB.

http://dominicgrossman.blogspot.com/

He is probably the most dominant peron in the sport these days.

Maybe you want to create a Wiki for him.

Randy Oldman wrote:

What are the top ten ultras in terms of prize money?

In the US, I believe that USATF requires national championships to offer prize money. So for example -

. Internationally, I'm sure Comrades offers significant prize money. I'd think some of the established 100k's like Winschoten might offer some prize money but maybe just when it's an IAU championship. The only person to request appearance fees that I've heard of is Yiannis Kouros. For the most part, running ultras is an amateur activity, at least in the US. Practically speaking, if you are really good and are selective about which races you run, you might be able to cover your travel expenses with prize money.

Lots of ultrarunners get sponsorships. This guy lives in L.A. and is sponsored by NB.

http://dominicgrossman.blogspot.com/

He is probably the most dominant peron in the sport these days.

Zach Bitter will smoke that guy at any race. He is by far the best ultrarunner in the nation!

Here's an article on ultra's prize money.

http://www.irunfar.com/2011/12/ultra-prize-money-doesnt-change-why-they-run.html

Run-Rabbit-Run appears to pay significant prize money but most of the prestigious ultras offer nothing.

http://www.irunfar.com/2011/12/the-answer-to-the-100k-question-the-run-rabbit-run-100-mile.html

Probably not full time like Sage C. mentioned. Dominic Grossman ran in college and has slightly slower times than you posted but still works at least part time despite being a NB ambassador, and little sponsors from Injini and Powerbar. He just mentioned getting a new job a month ago and noting it wearing him down for runs.

Grossman is not one of the top ultra runners. There are a small number of dominant guys and then a large number of guys like this behind them, but not close.

Can you swim? Can you ride a bike?

I know of a couple of triathletes that have 5k PRs in the upper 15s, and make a decent wage racing triathlons. One guy is also a Ford's model, so he marketable in that aspect. Both told me they make between 50 and 80k a year after taxes. One works part-time at a fitness club, the other is a full-time triathlete.

Their sponsors are the likes of Timex, Felt, Scott, Honey Stinger, and specialized.

Grossman is so awesome he lost to two grandfathers at Mt. Mitchell a couple weekends ago,

Place Name Age Sex City State Time Pace

1 Dave Mackey 43 M Boulder CO 4:33:14 6:50

2 Mark Lundblad 45 M Swananoa NC 4:48:26 7:13

3 Dominic Grossman 26 M Costa Mesa CA 5:02:38 7:34

4 Paul Scouten 42 M Black Mountain NC 5:13:19 7:50

5 Gregg Dean 50 M Fort Collins CO 5:30:37 8:16

Actually, the fool hasn't won anything in years. Sponsors are wasting their efforts on this guy, no ROI.

'12 North Face ECS San Francisco, DNF, Injury

'12 Xterra Turkey Trot 15k, 3rd, 1:06

'12 Xterra Point Mugu 18k, 4th, 1:14

'12 UROC 100k, 15th, 10:01 (got lost)

'12 Mt. Disappointment 50k, 2nd, 5:11

'12 Hardrock 100mi, 15th, 30:46

'12 Leona Divide 50mi, 9th, 6:57

'12 Old Goats 50 mi, 2nd, 7:47

'12 Ray Miller 50 mi, DNF, Injury