His best bet might be to actually run with this. Talk to Chipotle or some place like that. Get a Fau-burrito flavor out there. Get some commercials about a healthy marathoner eating burritos. There, he gets paid. And he can run in any shoes he wants.
How come this actually isn't a thing in running? Being sponsored by other companies. It's the main thing in cycling and a few other euro sports. I'd have no problem seeing runners in singlets for food companies or health insurance or whatever.
Because few runners (dozens of message board dorks?) know who the eff Scott Fauble is, let alone any significant minority of burrito eaters. Oscar the Grouch is a puppet and is far more marketable than Fauble.
yeah, I was liking the idea of multiple sponsors a la Nascar, but you are correct- I don't think Chipotle Rewards members are really Scott's target demographic
Fun fact: despite what he posted above, Rojo also never wore them or purchased them even while railing against them for nearly three years. Only recently did he get a pair, and only after being gifted them. He went for a walk in them and proclaimed them cheating.
That’s right, one of the sports leading journalists refused to try them out. And he is now lecturing you on them.
I mean it's just scientific fact that the shoes are going to make people faster. This isn't subjective...it's been proven over and over again in a lab and in races. Sure, a 4% improvement in Running Economy doesn't translate to a 4% improvement in time savings/speed....but it highly correlates to better efficiency. And efficiency/Running economy is the name of the game in 10km-Marathon racing. How much are carbon fiber plated shoes and super foam designs "worth"? Well that depends on one's running form (i.e. how much they "respond") and the exact design. But "the shoes" are certainly the biggest innovation (save from maybe certain PEDs) for major time savings and faster times across the board in the last several decades. To say otherwise would make one a simpleton.
I don't disagree with you (after all, all of what you wrote is common knowledge, although you forgot to touch on the most important aspect, one which drives the faster times: the recovery aspect) but you missed the point as it related to Rojo.
And as to your last sentence, I wouldn't label anyone who remains critical a 'simpleton'--that's lazy and dangerous groupthink and sets you up to look foolish if/when the science changes.
Comparing his progress (to me) isn't as cut-and-dry as comparing Boston races. One result I've been using as a reference during this analyzation is the Marathon Project 2020 result, featuring Bennie, Iacofono and Fauble. Iacofono, Fauble and Bennie both went 2:09, and today, Fauble was the only one of the aforementioned under 2:11. Of the folks who broke 2:10 in that race, the only one who has been able to match that result since has been Fauble.
He ran conservatively and broke 2:09. What's an even split worth? What are his solo miles worth with company?
I just don't see the benefits in sponsoring a guy like Fauble - literally NO ONE outside of this website knows who he is. There are two kinds of athletes that shoe companies look to sponsor: 1) Athletes that can compete on the world stage (Galen Rupp), or 2) Athletes that can sell product (Colleen Quigley). Fauble does neither.
If I'm a shoe company I'd offer him some free gear but that's it - wouldn't sign him for $1 per year. All that said, fairly impressive run on Monday.
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