While I’m sure he thinks of himself as a professional rabbit these days (the world’s premier mid-distance rabbit) and probably has no illusions of making national teams or PRing, I was surprised to see how many 800s he finished last year. He ran a 1:45.50 SB for 3rd at the New York Grand Prix, qualified for the US Championship final and placed 7th in 1:46.01, and wrapped up his season with a win in Hungary.
Last year he started 41 races between 10 different countries. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig.
Being a reliable rabbit pays more than finishing in the middle of the pack at the big meets. Make the money while you can. He'll still do the US championship races and see what happens, but why not make money the rest of the year.
He makes enough money doing the rabbiting to prolong his professional running career. I would say he has got it figured out pretty good. He seems very realistic about his place in the scene but still gets after it and races more than most pros on the circuit.
He's the American Bram Som. Good for Erik for carving out a paid niche. He makes more money as a high quality, reliable rabbit than just a regular competitor.
ok real talk tho - why is he always looking around constantly while he paces? he'll look back at the runners behind him every few seconds... shouldn't he be looking at his watch constantly (if he's gonna look at anything?)
It’s because even though he’s given exact splits, he’s looking back to make sure guys are on him. If they aren’t, he adjusts so he’s still pacing the leader. Too many rabbits just run the splits while the race is slow. That’s what him a great rabbit.