Shalane Flanagan Heading Back to Portland, Turns Down Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Really? You think that the American desire for mass shootings wouldn't disappear if there were no guns? As a non-American I can't imagine what being American must be like. Are you all terrified all the time, or are you packing all the time, just in case?

I used to be simple minded and think that we could outlaw guns, and it would prevent murder. Then I graduated from 3rd grade.

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For those who pointed out that Shalane went on GMA and Kelly and Ryan, those shows were at least eight hours before a Colbert appearance would have been taped.

you don't have to agree with someone politically to go on their show. I think obama did bill o'reilly's show and even trump did jimmy fallon's show. so even if shalane doesn't like colbert's politics (who knows if that is true) - that shouldn't prevent her from going on the show.

i'm disappointed she didn't go on the show. running as a sport has almost zero followers outside of hard core runners. it could use someone to help raise the profile of the sport, if for no other reason than to bring in more sponsorship money for other up and coming runners. shalane could have done her part and gone on the show to help the sport.

not to mention, doesn't it say something good about colbert that he wanted to cover running? it certainly won't affect his ratings to have shalane say 'no'... I appreciate that he made the effort and had the interest in our sport. I think it was the wrong call on shalane's part

One of Us wrote:

Lol. Whole lot of butthurt conservatives in this thread. What babies!

Use your brain. She turned down Colbert. Conservatives are happy because of this. Those criticizing her are "butthurt". Use your brain.

It could be as simple as wanting to share her joy with her family? Maybe she was drained, emotionally and physically? You guys make it seem like athletes owe us something.

Shalane, congrats and well done!

hrunner wrote:

i'm disappointed she didn't go on the show. running as a sport has almost zero followers outside of hard core runners. it could use someone to help raise the profile of the sport, if for no other reason than to bring in more sponsorship money for other up and coming runners. shalane could have done her part and gone on the show to help the sport.

Personally, this is exactly what I LIKE about the sport. Why do so many people want running to be "popular" or have a higher profile? Of course, if you make a living in the sport I can understand that, but that only applies to a small minority of runners.

Carnivore 69 wrote:

Colbert has a very biased liberal agenda. His personal brand has a limited reach, and I don’t consider him to be mainstream at all. Flanagan absolutely did the right thing by not tainting her personal brand (and the brands of her sponsors) by appearing on his show. There was little upside to be had by appearing on a show that appeals to specific, non-mainstream liberals.

A perfect instance of a ring-winger who is inherently only a little stupid, but looks extremely stupid here because his partisanship compels him to babble like a child.

Name ONE track and field athlete whose personal brand is so powerful that he or she would not benefit from the "limited reach" of Colbert's show. You can't.

Even Usain Bolt, if he cared to, would boost his profile by going on Colbert. Flanagan has maybe 10 to 20 percent of the name recognition Bolt does among U.S. viewers.

You're also making an extremely obvious and stupid mistake by asserting that going on Colbert's show implies an automatic hit to someone's reputation. This is absolutely foolish for at least two reasons: One, almost no non-political Colbert guests discuss politics on the show at all; and two, not everyone sees the world through your myopic redneck eyes -- they wouldn't associate her appearance on the program with the show's politics even if they didn't like Colbert's slant.

The fact that YOU don't consider Colbert mainstream means less than nothing.

Think how much better this site would be if there were 1. no old-man right-wingers, and 2. no young punk racist right-wingers.

Colbert also has a far left agenda and she has no reason to do his show. Jimmy Fallon does not have a far left agenda on his show. If you really think doing this show would help running then it makes sense why you don't understand why she said no.

Oh the irony

John Utah wrote:

Personally, this is exactly what I LIKE about the sport. Why do so many people want running to be "popular" or have a higher profile? Of course, if you make a living in the sport I can understand that, but that only applies to a small minority of runners.

As with 95% of the posts you make, you're not thinking this through, not that you possess the capability to do so.

If runners didn't go on TV or on social media and only ran races, you wouldn't know 10 percent as much about them as you do, and your hobby of sitting at home on a government check ranting about those in the sport would be hindered.

You also don't have much understanding of marketing. You say it makes sense for runners who make a living at running to seek publicity, but has it once occurred to you that self-promotion can be a way for runners to make a living from running? Dean Karnazes is a middle of the pack talent and a liar, but he managed to make some money by marketing himself. You can't fault pros for trying too. Man, you sound like someone who says "I can get why people with a ton of money want to go to work, but why do it for minimum wage just to survive?"

Here is her press!

sanchobaile wrote:

Fentrekker wrote:

Good point. However, I can't help recalling Joan Benoit's morning TV appearance after her 2:22 in Boston in 1983. When asked if she was tired she indicated it was less from the race than from staying up the entire night dancing. We were more wild in those days I guess.

Shalane went on GMA and Kelly and Ryan.

But did she stay up all night dancing?

jimmy fallon is left. and my other example is real - there are many precedents for liberals going on conservative shows and vice versa. going on show doesn't mean you agree politically. and this isn't a huge deal, it isn't like I think less of her... just that I think it would have been more upside for her and the sport

What Evidence Do You wrote:

Shalane did two early morning ABC shows which pretty much asked the same questions after having gotten no sleep, all before the press conferences Rojo mentions. Colbert tapes at 5 or 6 p.m. She could have anticipated being exhausted by that time.

Go to your fancy hotel, take a nap. Get chauffeured to the Colbert show. Yuk it up for like five minutes. Then go home to Portland.

Big time celebs have far greater press requirements and they do them because they know that it is worth it to promote themselves and all their brand.

Now I recall why I haven't been on this site for a year... Idiot Alt-Righers.... The Late Show isn't mainstream and has a limited reach? I just can't Isn't there a mainstream running board somewhere?

Carnivore 69 wrote:

Colbert has a very biased liberal agenda. His personal brand has a limited reach, and I don’t consider him to be mainstream at all. Flanagan absolutely did the right thing by not tainting her personal brand (and the brands of her sponsors) by appearing on his show. There was little upside to be had by appearing on a show that appeals to specific, non-mainstream liberals.

John Utah wrote:

Use your brain. She turned down Colbert. Conservatives are happy because of this. Those criticizing her are "butthurt". Use your brain.

You idiot. They only reason conservatives are happy is because they are butthurt that Colbert sometimes makes fun of their stupid opinions. And boy are they butthurt! They'd rather Shalane avoid a national tv appearance than appear on national tv with a liberal host. You idiot.

heyyo wrote:

celery wrote:

Why in the world would Shalane not want to go on a talk show where last week Colboring went on a "hilarious" rant where he used candybar names to call Amuricans "dum dums" if they don't like Carl Marx? It was so creative and insightful! How could you not want to meet him?

Wow, it's amazing to see which posts bring all of the LR crazies out of the woodwork.

Did you see the Colbert monologue I was referring to? He used candy name puns to go on a rant about how Americans who don't respect Carl Marx are stupid. Aside from the observation that using candy name puns is the height of grade school poster-board project witticism, Colbert is just plain wrong. You can call it LR craziness, but I don't particularly admire the philosophy that lead to the murder by their own state, of at least 100 million people in Russia and China. Call me crazy, but I don't respect a philosophy that is at its core, the vicarious promotion of envy. Marxism is a philosophy that misunderstands human nature, that misunderstands the nature of voluntary transactions in the market place, that naively thinks the social institution that hold a monopoly on violence can establish a social utopia. So Colbert can go ahead and call me, and everyone with even a modest helping of commonsense, a "dum-dum." And I can be happy when people don't go in his un-creative, un-humorous, left wing propaganda show, whatever their reasons.

[quote]Lada wrote:

Really? You think that the American desire for mass shootings wouldn't disappear if there were no guns? As a non-American I can't imagine what being American must be like. Are you all terrified all the time, or are you packing all the time, just in case?

Yes really. People who are hell bent on committing evil acts against soft targets would find a way. They would either build their own fertilizer bomb, drive a truck into crowds, or buy a gun illegally (and since they are buying illegally, they would go ahead a get a machine gun like they do in Europe).

Marketing & Promotion Department Mgr. wrote:

oh, and a related question

When BTC and NOP athletes travel to majors (track or road), do they fly a Nike plane or coach on a public carrier?

to answer this, a friend of mine was at the gate next to Shalane's flying out of JFK yesterday. She got a sweet photo with Shalane. I flew out of the gate next to Rupp's from after Boston this year. (I did not ask him for a photo.)