Any Blue Collar Runners left?

redux wrote:

Does a GPS watch negate a "blue-collar" status?

Not really. But a 19:xx 5k time certainly does.

Don't you worry. That'll 18:xx soon enough.

What about that kid from Rock Hill, SC that got fourth at USAs? The teacher.

Also, I'm not aure a Dartmouth guy can be considered blue collar. That have to have gone somewhere like Appalachian State or Montana State... And no frat boys.

If blue-collar means shamelessly self promoting yourself, Getting free rent, Working in a cake job selling shoes and being an overall self-absorbed loser, then yes, Hansons is pretty Blue collar. Which probably explains their lack of any results better than their collegiate and high school contemporaries in the last six months.

You are going to have to look outside the country to find many blue collar runners. Most American runner just have too much going for them to be considered blue collar.

Hansons are NOT blue collar. Working in a shoe store isn't exactly considered a tedious blue collar job. I'd make the argument that most, if not all, professional running teams are not blue collar.

Why would you want a blue collar runner? we've figured out how to beat the Kenyans and elongate our best talent's careers...and it's by using all the "bells and whistles." I don't get why so many people are against this....

Somethingtoldthewildgeese wrote:

Hansons are NOT blue collar. Working in a shoe store isn't exactly considered a tedious blue collar job. I'd make the argument that most, if not all, professional running teams are not blue collar.

I agree with you and so would the Hansons. They never call themselves "Blue Collar". Those are things that others have said about them. K & K are proud of what they have and what Brooks provides the group.

In this thread: people naming guys with extremely white-collar jobs or schools (Kawauchi, Ben True, Matt Elliott) as blue collar runners...

Blue-collar really just means not using technology or large amounts of money and doing things the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately there are no blue-collar runners at the highest level just as there are no blue-collar NBA, MLB, or NFL players. When you want to be the best in the world you make the most of everything you can.

Matt Harvey is a blue collar guy - dude kept pitching with a nosebleed.

For that matter so Yasoel Puig. Love the defection and ticking off the veterans.

What exactly does "blue collar" mean to you? To me it means extremely high work ethic in your physical labor job and giving 100% effort every day in your physical labor job. I don't see how any professional could not be blue collar regardless of what s/he does when not actually running.

Gimmicks, whether NOP/Salazar's or not, can't make up for not giving 100% in training. If "gimmicks" can enhance the performances resulting from that training then not using them when you have access is stupid, not blue collar. It's idiotic to think a runner who's too stupid or unfortunate enough to not be able to use "gimmicks" is more blue collar than a runner who does.

Brian Sell was the last American blue-collar professional runner. 2:10 marathoner who worked at Home Depot and loved Big Macs.

I thought we were talking about 1. Runners and 2. Americans???????????

Brian worked in the running stores for all but 1 year of his running career. He worked at Home Depot because they let him work 20 hours a week and get paid for 40 hours. IT WAS EASIER. When Home Depot ended the Olympian Program Brian started working in the running stores again. I bought several pair of shoes from Brian, a nice guy, but not blue collar. That was something that was started by the Hansons or maybe Brooks for marketing purposes.

desi fan wrote:

I still like the Hansons.

Duh, who doesn't like the Hanson's. Doesn't get any more blue collar than this

off the top of my head wrote:

redux wrote:

What is "blue-collar" exactly?

If you have ever used one of the following, you are NOT Blue Collar.

1. Cryosauna

2. Underwater treadmill

3. Alter-G

4. Any Thyroid Meds

5. If you skip a race because of pollen count

6. Darth Vader Mask

Feel free to add to the list.

alter g's and underwater treadmills aren't uncommon in my area, but i'm guessing they'd be pricy to use. still, sounds like a nice way to supplement when you stand all day at work and are still running hard.

Are we talking blue collar, or the difference between new money and old money? Some would say like 75% of jobs out there are white collar nowadays because of the computer, but a lot of that work is boring as shit. Working in a shoe store might not be considered blue collar, but its a fun place to share your sport and a sales position to boot. One that makes you money.

Interesting conversation on if a GPS watch makes you not blue collar. At the pretty average middle class school I coach, over half the high school runners have GPS watches. To them its like what new N64 games, JNCO jeans, or Starter jackets were. This iPhone generation thrives on tech trends and for kids who are running CC, more and more of them are going to get GPS watches, especially as they become more affordable. Its why football players get new gloves (and yes they can get expensive), soccer players bay 200-300 bones for a pair of cleats, and basketball players like to collect shoes and socks. GPS is just becoming part of the watch. Just like the internet became part of the phone.

A blue collar runner is one whose focus is more on common sense application of effort than obsessive focus on perfect results. Only runners with top notch talent, extreme dedication, and vast resources are better off with the "white collar" approach. However, the publicized successes of the training techniques of white collar runners leads those without the talent, dedication, and resources to get lost in the minutiae. So what we're left with are high school kids who obsess over supplements, foam rolling, and shoe technology without first getting to the training volume and intensity where these things become really beneficial.

If you don't have a union card (or work in an industry where people do have unions, whether you're in it or not) you are not blue collar. It's that simple. Retail sales is no place for blue collar men. Or women.