Ultra Wake-Up Call

There are many others besides just Sage. I hate when my ultra friends shamelessly plug their sponsors on FB. Just upload a selfie and tell me how your run went. You don't need to continually thank your stupid drink sponsor and also say you wouldn't have made the distance if it wasn't for your amazing shoes. Stop peddling your crap to your "friends".

Anton is also a good example of having some class in regards to sponsorship. NB and Buff sponsor him but he doesn't seem to shamelessly whore him self out like the others. I have never heard him say, "thanks to my Buff head thingy I was able to win today's race and set a course record." He lets his running promote his sponsors for the most part.

I saw some ultra runners training this morning, and man did they look happy, which is totally stupid because running is not supposed to bring joy.

I knew they were ultra runners because one was wearing this Ewok (or something) 100k shirt and the other one had the audacity to actually wave at me.

Imagine that, another runner actually being nice, what a chump!

I could also tell they were ultra people because they were running so slow, and here I was banging out 8x200s while not acknowledging them at all.

Whatever, I gotta go masturbate to a pic of Galen Rupp hugging Alberto Salazar now.

Yeah as opposed to all those humble road racers who never mention their sponsors or how wonderful they are or how great their next race is going to go. Wait…what kind of shoes does Ciarian O’Lionard wear? How many pics of Centro’s shoes do I need to see? What is it that champions do? (yeah boy! Shabba!) At least Kipsang keeps his mouth shut and just runs fast.

Julio down by the school yard wrote:

Anton is also a good example of having some class in regards to sponsorship. NB and Buff sponsor him but he doesn't seem to shamelessly whore him self out like the others. I have never heard him say, "thanks to my Buff head thingy I was able to win today's race and set a course record." He lets his running promote his sponsors for the most part.

To be fair, he hasn't been in the position to plug a sponsor at the finish line of a win and CR for a while...

Krar is also a full time pharmacist. So he doesn't need the sponsor support. Sage makes a living off of his sponsors. Any of us would do the same to pay the bills.

Moby Dick wrote:

TinMan36 wrote:

Guess I'm just old school and fed-up with the ultra runners who constantly pimp themselves, products, their training, etc.

You can just say his name, he's not Voledemort. His name is Sage. He looks like a freaking Nascar vehicle when he runs with all his sponsors and his dumb videos. But you can't hate on the top guys like Kilian and Krar, neither of which are self promoters. Kilian of course has the entire Salomon machine behind him, but he's just along for the ride, and Krar just shuts his mouth and runs.

I respect that Sage does what he does to make a living. Guy's a monster runner.

Letsrun is not a place for ultra runners. I'm sure on I run far the they mock people that run fast or care about running fast.

lets run is more about the sport of track and road racing. RW and Irunfar are more about the social and "take in the scenery" types of runners.

Dean K is mocked here because he appears to be a colossal douche. I'm sure he's probably revered on the other two sites. Here's a guy that couldn't place in his age group a local race but he's a national celebrity in the ultra world. He's the ultimate example of this breed of runner.

Noone made you the lets run security force. Anyone who is interested in running or simply trolling is welcome here as long as they know which of the above choices is not an american runner.

NotanUltraGuy wrote:

Letsrun is not a place for ultra runners. I'm sure on I run far the they mock people that run fast or care about running fast.

lets run is more about the sport of track and road racing. RW and Irunfar are more about the social and "take in the scenery" types of runners.

Dean K is mocked here because he appears to be a colossal douche. I'm sure he's probably revered on the other two sites. Here's a guy that couldn't place in his age group a local race but he's a national celebrity in the ultra world. He's the ultimate example of this breed of runner.

NotanUltraGuy wrote:

I'm sure on I run far the they mock people that run fast or care about running fast.

Not at all true.

Okay I'll bite. I fully admit that I use (and likely blatantly overuse) social media A LOT to plug sponsors as well as my own running. This is not new. Sponsors expect a certain amount of social media exposure at times. Believe it or not, that is the truth and it's likely why you see a lot of ultra runners who may have very small sponsorship deals plugging the heck out of the few products that they get. Can one be more subtle? For sure -but I am not one of those people (and I apologize that it's ruffled some feathers within the running community).What I don't understand is why it bothers you so much? You don't have to follow my (or any ultra runners) Facebook, Twitter, Instagram posts....you don't have to watch my "stupid" YouTube videos... There is an "unsubscribe" button! Filter that sh1t out. I admit I'm also addicted to social media... and I love carrying around my camera and taking pictures and videos and posting about runs with links to companies/products that support me and allow me to run full-time. What I've found in MUT (Mountain-Ultra-Trail) Running is a refreshing change were you can actually race in t-shirts (or shirtless) with a beer company sponsor's logo on display (as well as multiple other sponsors which I fully admit to shamelessly promoting)...Compare that to the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials where the USATF put strips of tape on our Hansons-Brooks racing kits to cover up one too many Brooks logos. I find both scenarios quite entertaining. PS, if you're going to be critical and target me out at least have the decency to post under your real name next time. Thanks. I wish you the best with your training and future racing,Sage

Moby Dick wrote:

TinMan36 wrote:

Guess I'm just old school and fed-up with the ultra runners who constantly pimp themselves, products, their training, etc.

You can just say his name, he's not Voledemort. His name is Sage. He looks like a freaking Nascar vehicle when he runs with all his sponsors and his dumb videos. But you can't hate on the top guys like Kilian and Krar, neither of which are self promoters. Kilian of course has the entire Salomon machine behind him, but he's just along for the ride, and Krar just shuts his mouth and runs.

Nice job Sage.

Keep it up Sage. Haters gonna hate. If collecting a paycheck at an ultra was so easy all they have to do is line up against you.

Try racing trails before you judge. Running vertically is a certain skill set that translates into running hilly road courses. The arcane discussion about what counts as running is not what...I hesitate...real runners should do!

I was not referring to any specific runner. I know there are a few track and road runners doing the same thing, but in following all running, including ultras, I've seen a lot more of it with ultra runners lately. If guys are getting decent compensation for pimping products they gotta do what they gotta do, but I still don't understand a lot of what some post on social media. Seems pretty dramatic to me, but again I'm old school.

Sage, thanks for being big enough to chime in with some coherent writing... something mostly lacking in this thread. Keep doing what you do, many of us appreciate the insight into an elite athlete's world through your social media posting, videos, and Strava uploads.

To the haters in this thread, what the f$ck don't you get?? Whether it be on the track, roads, or trails, sponsors expect exposure from their athletes. Not only while running, but also across the social media available (FB, Twitter, etc.). That fact hasn't changed over the last 30+ years since Mean Joe Greene was drinking a Coke during tv commercials or Michael Jordan started pimping shoes. Old school or new school, athletes are expected to help their sponsors make money or they're dropped from the payroll, period.

If given the choice between:

1. "pimping" your sponsors and, thus, getting to run for your job!!

Or

2. refusing to pimp their products and getting to work a real job for 40-60 hrs. per week and then running for "fun" (like me and I'm guessing everyone else in this thread besides SC)

I'd think it would be an easy choice for most of us.

The great thing about running to me is that there are a great multitude of places to run. Track, trails, roads, bike paths, etc. I enjoy running pretty much anywhere. But don't knock ultras too much because there's a lot of different dynamics involved, especially with fueling. And just because one guy is a fast marathoner doesn't necessarily translate linearly into ultras. There are guys like Mike Aish who will crush pretty much anyone at the shorter ultras (< 50 miles) but at 100 miles the playing field is much more even. Although I do hope he finds his way to much faster times at the longer distances.

Another thing about ultra/MUT runners is that the vast majority are very humble and down to earth and great to be around. I'm not saying a lot of road/track runners aren't but from my experience the ultra/MUT people overall take the cake. This coming from someone who mostly races on the roads.

As far as "pimping their products"? Why not? They need to keep their sponsors happy and they're not afraid to show their appreciation. After all, there's not as much money running ultras and they need to make a living too.

You seem pretty much "no school" to me.

TinMan36 wrote:

I was not referring to any specific runner. I know there are a few track and road runners doing the same thing, but in following all running, including ultras, I've seen a lot more of it with ultra runners lately. If guys are getting decent compensation for pimping products they gotta do what they gotta do, but I still don't understand a lot of what some post on social media. Seems pretty dramatic to me, but again I'm old school.

First, Mr Sage, I'll use whatever name I want on here, it's freaking LetsRun. Second, the problem is, as you admit and reference, the "shameless promoting." Your training videos would be excellent if they didn't start with you taking a sip from your beer and promoting non-stop. Look at Tim Olson, he just writes a beautiful race report and at the end lists his nutrition and products used: sponsorship quota achieved.

Keep it up Sage. I love your stuff, I follow you on strava, FB, and youtube. Its great to see how a pro trains.