Cruz Culpepper (& Paige Stoner) to HOKA NAZ Elite

I used to be a NAZ fan, through some debatably questionable moves. No more. I’m sure Ben wants to be understanding to the Culpepper family supporting their kid. But damn they’ve been soft on Cruz. The Culpeppers weren’t exactly Rhodes Scholars, either. Putting all your eggs in the “he can sure run fast” basket is tragically stupid.

If it’s BS it seems like that would be Hoka/Alan’s boss’ concern, not other runners.

Yeah but my point is it isn't about the degree itself, but it is indicative of drive and hard work.

Plenty of successful people don't have college degrees but I guarantee you they work hard.

Seriously, getting a general studies degree and not having to work is one of the easiest times of your life. It is maybe 20 hours a week and very flexible hours.

Also if you don't like school, wait till your stuck in a crappy job 40+ hours a week. School will seem like a vacation then.

Fair points, certainly. However, Cruz is for all intents and purposes an adult so the ship has sailed on Alan and Shayne instilling a different level of work ethic at this point. The post by reporting chain has it right, ultimately. If Ben and Alan went to bat to get Cruz on the team and it blows up in their faces, that's their problem not anyone else's. Are there more deserving runners out there without a sponsorship deal? Maybe, though that's debatable. We don't know how many turned down legit offers from Hoka over not wanting to be married to Hoka's much maligned shoe tech. As for college prospects, it's never over (see: Fernando Cabada) and at the very least this could be the beginning of an avenue to being a tech rep for Hoka or some other shoe company if he does a good job promoting the brand and product in his new role. Who knows, it's even possible one day Cruz will be running LRC!

I think you completely wrong to put so much focus on a general studies degree. Honestly, I think it's better to quit school and re-group and not waste the time and money.

As far as thinking that sitting in a class room is somehow indicative of someone's work ethic, that's pure BS. Nobody is going to get anything out of a class where you have zero interest, it has zero relevancy to your life or goals, so of course they will be unmotivated.

You are just falling into the trap of thinking "any college degree" is better than none, and you couldn't be more wrong.

95% of well paying, easy, office jobs are the definition of "any college degree". That is just the game.

Don't get me wrong, I 100% believe college degrees are not the only path. But really they are one of the easiest paths, especially when he was likely on a scholarship.

I thought I'd seen it all in 22 years on letsrun until I just read a post comparing the talent level of Spencer Brown to Cruz Culpepper. Didn't Cruz run 4:00 in HS? At age 18, his 800 pb was better than Brown's lifetime pb. At age 20, his 1500 pb is better than Brown's at age 25.

I guess the 'endorsement threads' are going to end up being like the coaching threads - the hardest to moderate. There are so many people who are upset they aren't coaching or don't have a contract, they just tear down others that do have one.

I don't think the comparison is that far off at all. Spencer was 21 when he set all those PRs except the 3k (also before the advent of Dragonflys) and had proven that he could improve from the runner he was in high school. Cruz has had trouble transitioning out of high school and I don't think it's unfair to question how that may affect him going forward.

With all the talk about nepo babies in Hollywood it only seems fitting we discuss if Cruz is one too

Wait, he quit college as in he won't finish even on his own? Alan Webb quit, but he had a huge payday from Nike and finishes his degree on his own. In addition, he was capable of qualifying for Olympics/World Championships. What's Cruz's plan? He'll never run in the Olympics. So...what, he'll do the pro runner thing until his early 30s...and then what? His parents mush be rich and must be setting him up financially

they're not the only path, but it's not like Cruz is quitting to enlist in military or to become an electrician. He's quitting to become a professional runner, a path that has a very real ceiling for him

no one here really thinks not getting a degree is some kind of moral or personal failure. It's more a pragmatic thing. if the professional runner thing doesn't work out, he'll have, his high school degree to fall back on? Maybe that and his parent's money. Even if being a pro runner does work out, he'll be done by 30 and then what?

To put this all to rest, Cruz needs to go race TAS at Green Lake and take the record from him.

This is a hot take, but I think Cruz is going to go on to be pretty successful. I doubt he ever makes a team (It’s looking like we’re going to have a golden generation of 1500 guys, Hocker, Kessler, Teare, plus at few of these high school guys have to eork out), but from what I heard about him he had very little training in hs and still ran 4:00, and 3:57 is still solid, especially considering he’s still only 20. I can see him becoming a 3:33 guy if everything works out

So going with the parallel of being coached by a parent as a pro, better or worse career than Drew Hunter?

OK. I just read the Q&A. I was fascinated by on aspect of it. When asked, "Is there a certain quality that you think makes for a successful professional that doesn’t line up well for the collegiate system, here is how he responded:

I do think there’s a difference. There’s an underlying element of having to take more ownership than the typical collegiate athlete. And I think certain groups cater to certain athletes’ personalities. To fold into Bowerman makes for a pretty smooth transition for your classic collegiate runner who enjoys doing as they’re told.

But if you’re trying to join a group where it’s more solo then you need to have a comprehensive grasp on all pieces of the puzzle – which I believe I have. And that knowledge was why the college system was challenging for me because I couldn’t let that go. There were elements that ultimately felt detrimental for me and that’s not so much physical as it was mental – it was a constant taxer.

To me, the mental taxing thing would be to have to come up with the 100% right workout for myself each week. I'd rather have a coach I trusted just tell me but we are all different and he's the opposite.

I like how he admits there is no physical reason. I view coaching kind of like cooking. You can cook chicken a lot of different ways but ultimately the quality of the meat is key and it's way better to be a little under cooked than over cooked.

And to all the haters out there, he gets it. I loved his end quote:

okay, so, Alab Webb:

(1) broke the high school mile record

(2) had a multi-year Nike contract that worth over $1 million

(3) finished college

(3) set the american mile record

(4) qualified for many national teams

Cruz won't do any of that