That’s a good article. She ran a 5:15 mile when she was 12, just to beat her dad. That’s actually insane, considering she wasn’t even a competitive runner at that age.
Altitude seems to be very beneficial to training. Will she be training at altitude most of the year and only "based" in Boston?
That team does several altitude stints each year. Of course I think it is mainly 1500 m runners who are mostly better at dropping down to 800 than going up to 5000 (ESP maybe not). A 5000/10000 runner will be different.
Altitude seems to be very beneficial to training. Will she be training at altitude most of the year and only "based" in Boston?
That team does several altitude stints each year. Of course I think it is mainly 1500 m runners who are mostly better at dropping down to 800 than going up to 5000 (ESP maybe not). A 5000/10000 runner will be different.
Surprised she gave up on a strong altitude training connection for this group. I would think altitude would benefit her more than many runners. Obviously she can still travel to altitude for months of the year, but that extra travel is a big inconvenience.
I also can't see her loving the winter weather, but I think she has some connection to the NE (pre-high school?) so she must know what she is getting into. Best of luck!
This post was edited 4 minutes after it was posted.
That team does several altitude stints each year. Of course I think it is mainly 1500 m runners who are mostly better at dropping down to 800 than going up to 5000 (ESP maybe not). A 5000/10000 runner will be different.
Surprised she gave up on a strong altitude training connection for this group. I would think altitude would benefit her more than many runners. Obviously she can still travel to altitude for months of the year, but that extra travel is a big inconvenience.
I also can't see her loving the winter weather, but I think she has some connection to the NE (pre-high school?) so she must know what she is getting into. Best of luck!
They go to altitude and warmer weather often. Plus, with all her cross training she'll be inside most of the time anyway.
They better hope Athing comes back at her best or they aren’t going to have any top US women qualifying for the home country Olympics in 2028 at this rate.
They better hope Athing comes back at her best or they aren’t going to have any top US women qualifying for the home country Olympics in 2028 at this rate.
No Valby, no Tuohy, no Monson, no Wiley, no Whitaker, no Hiltz, no Markezich…
I wouldn’t but it passed any of the current/former BTC to qualify for LA 2028 but four years from now offers ample opportunity for regression.
I would have guessed that she would have gone to Nike like a lot of others I'm assuming guessed.
Either way, I don't think she'll ever be a factor on the world stage in terms of actually winning anything, but I guess this is good for her and New Balance in terms of selling shoes? I guess? Who knows?
I mean, Sydney is going to go down in history as one of the greatest track athletes ever, but does she sell New Balance any shoes? And Parker Valby won't accomplish a fraction of what Sydney has done, but will she sell New Balance shoes? I guess we'll see.
Does New Balance have a "cool" factor? It doesn't feel like it to me. I could have seen her going to On before New Balance, but it's of course her choice.
I would argue that NB has THE cool factor. They are old school.
NB has quietly become the brand for most of the coolest and most talented athletes in T&F. Sydney, Gabby, Femke, young Quincy Wilson, St. Pierre - just to name a few. Not to mention they sponsor the top (and in my opinion best) running podcasts Citius Mag and Allie on the Run. They are quality over quantity, and they have become the cool kids table. They have made some seriously huge scores, and Parker may be the biggest one yet. Girls and young women across the country will want whatever she is modeling. Scoring her will definitely go a long way to making NB THE brand.
Nikki Hiltz has talked about how training with 5000 runners like Ellie Henes has benefitted their 1500 performances. In that same logic, I think Parker thrown into this team is for all of their benefit. I am curious to see how fast Parker will be after doing track workouts with the fastest 1500m runner in the country. I have a feeling anyone who has said she cannot and never will be able to effectively kick will be proven as wrong as those of us who said she made a huge mistake using her dad as her agent (guilty, and standing corrected!) I am excited for indoors now to catch the first glimpse of the results of her being in this training group. Coogan is a great coach, and it sounds like he has respect for her training and what she has done with that and will manage all of that smartly. I am so happy for her!
NB has always been willing to give market-topping contracts when they think an athlete (usually female, very talented, and attractive) is worth it. It's a quality over quantity strategy, and it makes sense. If you have enough runners for your magazine ads and billboards, what's the point in signing another 100 athletes that you don't have the bandwidth to actually promote?
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