Craig Engels explain why he left Pete Julian, "I saw him twice in 50 days. That was tough...almost a tipping point."

+100000 in defense of Pete

not +10000 on the craig hate

it’s okay to disagree but to cause drama over something the way someone said is insane

Hey Craig, shave the stash, cut off the mullet and act serious for a year and I'm betting that things will change for the better for you. Your self perception and confidence is affected by how others think of you.

Half of making a living off of this sport is marketing... His stache and mullet are his brand. Look at Troy Polamalu (sp), Brandon Marsh (Phillies), Clay Matthews, and many more--their looks are almost as memorable as their performance. Stylish or not, Craig's look is the most marketable thing about him.

If he was a better runner he wouldn’t need to rely on a silly hairstyle to get attention.

What you are saying about his image and marketability is that Craig is a life support system for a bad haircut.

Not even his coach takes him seriously, and sent Craig’s JV butt to toughen up at altitude.

Craig needs to understand that by not making the Olympic team, his coach’s priority had to shift to those competing at the Olympics. Coach probably needed to get Craig’s whinny, attention seeking butt away from his top athletes and sent him to “altitude camp.”

You are kidding right? 90% of the NFL and 50% of the NCAA football players do crazy stuff with their hair and clothes. Can you maybe think of a few shot throwers that do fine with crazy hair and make up? I can. It has nothing to do with anything. If anything it keeps you interested and feeling like yourself I guess? Hairstyle doesnt suck talent out of your legs. Dumb take.

...but that's incorrect.

And how many times has Craig “threatened” to quit running. At least once in college and a couple of times as a “pro.”

C.E. needs a 15 hour a day coach. C. E. needs to get his body in shape. Why should 145 pound T&F athletes have x 2 body fat as 145 pound m.m.a. athletes and/or boxers.

When does the paywall go down? It says the article was posted on 11/2 and 48 hrs. It's 11/4 now (48 hrs later)...

Honestly who cares how he looks with the mustache and mullet. It’s such an aging white guy trope obsess over one’s appearance that goes against their antiqued views of conformity. Which is funny when you consider their defense of freedoms.

That said how about the LetsRun trio promising Engels that they wouldn’t break the news till after he put it out himself. Only to break it to SS members. WTF Bros

The thing with Engels is, to some extent, he's a "victim" of his own marketing success (and chattiness with the media). He was successful with the mullet/stache jokey branding stuff but now he's closing in on 30. It seems like a holdover from the college days now. And while he's a good runner, his career hasn't matched his recognition-factor.

He also created his own minor drama over whether he wanted to continue in the sport (or whether he'd get a new contract with Nike). None of it is very interesting but it seems like he's a talented runner but his heart isn't really in it. Not to the level required at least (that's my opinion). And he's a clearly a social guy and not equipped for monk-line training. There was a video of Grijalva (on Sweat Elite maybe) training solo in Flagstaff. He commented that it's not always easy but he gets it done. The other thing is Craig E. talks about this stuff in public- his complaints about training solo, his coach, the deliberating about his track future, the jokey-party stuff... I'm sure many others deal with the same but they do it outside of the spotlight as much as poss.

Engels doesn't need to get rid of his look or change his personality. He obviously has talent and appears to me to need 12 months of hard training commitment. I think a lot of vitriol towards him is the perception that he is wasting his talent frivolously and keyboard warriors and many almost made its do not like that at all. I would like him to succeed because of no other reason than I would like him to succeed.

Love the irony in the handle. The beard!

One thing that no one seems to be acknowledging is that Vanhoy is simply a better coach than Julian

That's the key thing: "12 months of hard training commitment." So far it hasn't seemed to have manifested, according to C.E. himself (he's given lengthy interviews on the topic besides the LRC one).

The beer tab must have been outrageous, even for a pro athlete.

Engels is definitely shower beer guy.

You say that without shame. wow.

Do you guys understand the concept of core work and its importance in T&F? It improves balance, stamina in addition to mid-body workout. You might want to do a little research before talking about something you don't know. His coach, yes coach, had him doing this for core workout.