Great documentary. Thanks for posting.
I see that agents motivational talk when Felix was 3rd saw him end up 9th. He needs to let them run there own race as it looked like trying to drop the other guy finished him off
Great documentary. Thanks for posting.
I see that agents motivational talk when Felix was 3rd saw him end up 9th. He needs to let them run there own race as it looked like trying to drop the other guy finished him off
Dorando wrote:
The situation is no different than any sport (or really anything in the entertainment biz) when you are just sub-elite. The difference here to, say marginal Web.com tour golfers is the stakes are so much higher for these EA's Their life options are very, very few.
True, Volker comes off as a typical rather grubby agent, but provided he's not actually lying to them (hmmmm) he's just doing a job. Sorta reminds me of pro punters at horse races. How much better if his and all the other agents jobs were done PROPERLY by a benevolent govt. or agency (AK) - with the welfare of the athletes/country at heart.
It's not the same in every sport. The equivalent of Felix would play in the premier football league in the UK and make at least 10x what he could running. The difference is more apparent if he was a little slower at running. He'd make virtually nothing but could make s good living at soccer or tennis
ukathleticscoach wrote:
Great documentary. Thanks for posting.
I see that agents motivational talk when Felix was 3rd saw him end up 9th. He needs to let them run there own race as it looked like trying to drop the other guy finished him off
It's tough because he is running against guys with the same motivation. The marathon is different because of its difficulty, but that is often the pattern you see among these kinds of racers. Race like hell to stay in the money places because after that, it doesn't matter. Running your own race could see you dropped, and even if you put up the best time you could on that day, it's the getting dropped part that matters. With this style of programming - running the money races as often as possible- it doesn't make any sense to put out extra effort if you aren't going to earn anything.
So clipping along on your own more effective pacing strategy for the first 3/4ths of the race if you are still 4 places away from the money doesn't make sense. With flying-and-dying, you can get immediate feedback on how you measure up, and make decisions about your effort more effectively.
Does this fall under the umbrella of "human trafficking"?
hart crane wrote:
Does this fall under the umbrella of "human trafficking"?
Well, he held them against their will in that bungalow, by waving a contract at them, when they wanted to go home.
El Keniano wrote:
hart crane wrote:Does this fall under the umbrella of "human trafficking"?
Well, he held them against their will in that bungalow, by waving a contract at them, when they wanted to go home.
It's not an ideal situation but let's not go crazy here.
First off, agents like Volker have to exist. There have to be the high-risk agents than bring runners to races Europe/US/Asia for more permanent managers to notice them. If you want the petty managers like Volker to disappear, there would be no opportunity for Eunice and Rotich to run competitive, sea-level circuit races.
Second, they did sign a contract. We cannot say to what extent they were informed (outside of what was shown in the documentary) about the terms. We cannot say how prepared they were mentally by friends/mentors to travel. Yes the documentary really muted their level of culture-shock.
Moreover, they were not held against their will. and to compare their experience to actual victims of human trafficking is pretty disrespectful. Their families were not held hostage, they were not barred from talking with other runners/Kenyans. No indication that their visas were liked in Volker's safe. They were not bolted in their rooms.
They were as compelled to stay as any Freshman runner at a high-level college across the country. Sure, it sucks to be far from home, in a high-pressure environment, where everything is too new to feel like you can navigate your own way to success. But that's life, not human trafficking.
Thanks for posting this documentary. Interesting window into this aspect of competitive running.
I don't really get the criticisms of Volker. Sure he "charged them" for board -- $15 euro a night. How many hotels are available for that price ? 15 euro keeps the internet running, the lights on, and the linen clean. I imagine travel is probably what weighs most heavily on the prize purses though, and that is probably where most of the pressure for Eunice to stay comes from.
There may well be some athletes he doesn't make money on (if he paid himself and his wife a minimum wage hourly salary he might not have made money off Eunice). Much like the athletes, he's struggling in a very crowded field and at least on camera it seems like an honest struggle. He can't provide much in the way of guarantees but he can help find opportunities for them to excel. And when they do, they do have the option of looking somewhere else for an agent as Felix does because the contract is only one year.
One thing I've wondered about which hasn't really been covered, is, what happens to the more succesful B-level athletes when they are no longer able to bring home those prize purses. I remember a few years ago there was a post from a letsrunner seeking help finding gainful employment for former record holder (2:06:50) and four time Rotterdam marathon champ Dinsamo who was (according to the poster) somewhat down and out now that he was too old to put together 26 consecutive sub 4:50 miles
Wasn't Volker Tegla Lourupe's manager? Seems he's slipped a few rungs.