After Trials devastation, Craig Engels thought about quitting....... Reinvigorated, he just signed a long-term contract with....

Is it a Kirk Cousins guaranteed contract? A nine year contract sounds great but ... . What does the fine print say?

Great news. Running needs this guy. And more like him.

philponderphoto wrote:

Great news. Running needs this guy. And more like him.

Why do we need him? Aren’t middling YouTubers doing more for the sport?

I could see him as some sort of rep after his running days, his demeanor and personality make him ideal for a rep position. Who wouldn't want to go have a beer with this guy?

"Great news. Running needs this guy. And more like him."

I agree with this. He has a very likable personality and both runners and non-runners gravitate towards him .He makes the sport fun, gives the casual fan someone to relate to, and he seems very relatable- almost like, hey... I can still enjoy life, have a beer, and run fast. Definitely good for the sport and fan base.

gina2002 wrote:

"Great news. Running needs this guy. And more like him."

I agree with this. He has a very likable personality and both runners and non-runners gravitate towards him .He makes the sport fun, gives the casual fan someone to relate to, and he seems very relatable- almost like, hey... I can still enjoy life, have a beer, and run fast. Definitely good for the sport and fan base.

He's a talent

gina2002 wrote:

"Great news. Running needs this guy. And more like him."

I agree with this. He has a very likable personality and both runners and non-runners gravitate towards him .He makes the sport fun, gives the casual fan someone to relate to, and he seems very relatable- almost like, hey... I can still enjoy life, have a beer, and run fast. Definitely good for the sport and fan base.

Absolutely- he's a likeable and positive personality. He can be a great influence on high school kids to stay motivated and running after.

Awesome! Love Craig. Our sport needs more charismatic personalities like him. Hopefully he pulls it all together and medals in Eugene.

Kobbs Hessler wrote:

Awesome! Love Craig. Our sport needs more charismatic personalities like him. Hopefully he pulls it all together and medals in Eugene.

In the 10K?

flyingfrog wrote:

I could see him as some sort of rep after his running days, his demeanor and personality make him ideal for a rep position. Who wouldn't want to go have a beer with this guy?

Yawn. Maybe if he didn’t love beer so much he would have made the team.

Craig MF Angles

Craig Engels is #GoodForTheSport so a 9-year deal for Craig Engels is similarly #GoodForTheSport. Hard to hate the guy and he brings loads of charisma to the track.

Good for him for getting that MBA as insurance but signing a 9-year contact and assuming he fulfills it there's little chance he gets much use out of that MBA when he enters the workforce at age 36.

His presence has neither enhanced not detracted from my experience as a fan. It would be nice to see him make a USA team. Has he considered the steeple?

Enemy of the Podcast wrote:

It would be nice to see him make a USA team. Has he considered the steeple?

Have you considered watching the 2019 USA Outdoor National Championship in the 1500m? Or perhaps the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in the men's 1500m?

Kipchoge's Grandma wrote:

Enemy of the Podcast wrote:

It would be nice to see him make a USA team. Has he considered the steeple?

Have you considered watching the 2019 USA Outdoor National Championship in the 1500m? Or perhaps the World Outdoor Athletics Championships in the men's 1500m?

Except he went backwards in the following two years as new talent has emerged. I'll change my tune if he gets on the team for Eugene, though right now there's no real sign that things have changed in his favor.

rojo wrote:

The swoosh.

The following article says it's a 9-year deal.

Must've picked up some pretty good negotiating skills during his MBA studies.

Enemy of the Podcast wrote:

Except he went backwards in the following two years as new talent has emerged. I'll change my tune if he gets on the team for Eugene, though right now there's no real sign that things have changed in his favor.

I'll stop trolling and get serious. I actually disagree that he went backwards over the past 2 years, it's just that the 1500m has changed at the championship level and Craig hasn't fully adjusted yet to handle that change.

In 2019, Craig Engels was a 3:34-3:36 guy with a very solid kick. This was good enough at the time to compete in championship races. Since then, there have been more runners who can run 3:33 from the front which has forced runners who excelled in the slower races to change their training (Craig was nowhere to be seen in the 2019 final because it went out fast). Craig, like many others, had to adjust to this. He has adjusted decently well to this and has improved his 1500m time. He ran his PB of 3:33 in 2021.

He also continuously seems to get boxed in during major races. I attribute a chunk of Craig's 4th place finish at the games to his positioning (he was in a solid position with 600 to go, but found himself really boxed at the bell).

He's pretty darn close to "being there" for major finals. It's just that the game has changed at the 1500m to no longer favor what his natural strengths are. He looks to be aware of this and is figuring it out, but improving from 3:36 to a 3:30 guy takes years of work for most people.

Meanwhile all you doing here is arguing semantics AKA trolling. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

American, white, good runner, nice guy with a solid social media following. This alone would give him a Nike contract. As for running with the best in the world at any distance I just do not think this an objective for him. Why should it be?