They are also making some fantastic running shoes. I have never been a New Balance gal but I just bought their Fuel Cell Rebel 4 and it is an excellent, comfortable and fast training shoe. I'm sold.
But i wonder, do real runners really care about what elite runners are wearing what shoes? I don't understand why.
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!
They basically only have Femke and Sydney as big athletes
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!
They basically only have Femke and Sydney as big athletes
You're probably right. Gabby Thomas has gotten no press this year.
No, seriously. I knew that Valby is "low-mileage", injury-prone, spends a lot of time on the arc trainer, etc. But few of the forum posts actually go into the specifics, so I never realized exactly how low-mileage this was. I do agree it's kind of funny that the first time I saw the actual numbers was in a post arguing the other direction, that 30 mpw is not that few.
I'm still in a mild disbelief: is 30 mpw actually right? If we took Valby's weekly mileage over the best parts of her 2024 season, during full-time training and racing, it would actually average less than 35, and perhaps less than 30?
Secret is that 30-35 miles is all the 3 workout days. The other 4 days are the cross training.
It's more like an 80 mile week with 2 workouts and a long run. Then 45-50 recovery miles equivalent on the arc.
The main reason Paker is getting a big contract is because is marketing. Her look sells, her running while an Olympic athlete in the US she's no Monson, if you get my drift.
And she’s an Olympian, ranked in the top 10 in the USA for the 5K and a 6 time NCAA champion. Not many have that resume coming out of college. And yes. She will outrun Monson soon.
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.
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!
They basically only have Femke and Sydney as big athletes
Coco Gauff and Bukayo Saka probably sell more NB merch than every track athletes combined
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!
And New Balance itself has been heavily invested in New England and Boston for many years. It has number of factories here (Maine I think). The indoor track is just one building in redevelopment of a previously moribund industrial area of Boston.
Not over SML! She has her own shoes and clothing line. NB heavily invested in her. Maybe Ohtani is outselling everyone at NB.
People/competition have been sleeping on NB. They've always been inset in inner city fashion since inception. They got pretty serious about upping their running/racing game in early 2000s.
I race in NBs in 100+ mile trail events. I love them partly because they're comfortable right out of the box and last over 500 miles run.
NB may, or may not have been the biggest offer. Valby seems very relationship driven, which is probably why this took so long. She wanted to make sure it was the right fit for her. It was stated in the article that Nike let her out of her contract, so she could have signed a while ago if she wanted to. I’m guessing a lot of athletes are so desperate to get signed, they make rash decisions they later regret.
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