Reebok no longer sponsors Zap

That sucks. A good group of guys that deserve better than Reebok.

What’s going to happen to the elite zap team?

Is this public knowledge or is this Matt McClintock reporting?

I don’t think this is true. They have athletes posting about Reebok this week.

Would be a shame if Reebok dropped Zap. Their athletes are solid top 10 candidates at the trials in the 5k-10k-Marathon. They’ll regret letting them go. A lot of their guys are lining up at CIM for the USATF Marathon Champs, so hopefully they show Reebok what their missing in the future.

Is the On Running rumour true? Or did they negotiate and keep Reebok?

How can Zap get dropped but Coogan, Santos, Broe, etc get to keep going? These coaches have proven a thing.

In the name of live wrote:

How can Zap get dropped but Coogan, Santos, Broe, etc get to keep going? These coaches have proven a thing.

I think you meant "haven't"

Zap is far from being dropped they're a thriving fitness/retreat center in a Nature setting. Their unique because they take in various groups from all different backgrounds. The groups can be for a School, Corporate, Clinics with all the necessary accommodations. The Athletes all contribute to make this happen. Reebok's role was to be an apparel/shoe supplier and if you were good enough you could get a salary/stipend from Salomon/AG (Reebok's parent company)

I always thought with the right headlining/marketing you could get a lucrative deal for both sides one being a thriving business then two attaching all brochures, promotions of Zap Fitness with company x name logo.

Maybe Reebok did this to an extent but it just seems like the investment of a company into a direct fitness/wellness company is always going to show the bottom line better than "training group" that can't produce a Gain/losses report

I noticed yesterday that all Reebok stuff has been scrubbed from their website

The Zap homepage no longer has the Reebok logo, and it also no longer says proudly sponsored by Reebok. The site changed on 1-1.

Last I checked the online store still sold the shoes.

My favorite part was at CIM when Marty Hehir a member of the new Reebok group was debuting in the marathon. He was picked as one of the favorites. He ran 2:13.

Zap had 2 guys beat Marty who were also debuting in the marathon.

Typical.

One group is about pre race hype while the other is about results.

Boone Crew wrote:

Reebok adds an unproven group and drops an established group.

No more Zap sponsorship.

Not only that, but for years Reebok is barely in the running market at all, yet they sponsor ZAP. I could never figure out why. If it was so that ZAP would "advertise" their shoes and get people to buy them it made no sense because there were very few places that sold Reebok's very limited product line. Now Reebok wants to get back into running and one of the first things they do is drop the one connection to the sport that they maintained for years. Oh well...

Boone Crew wrote:

Reebok adds an unproven group and drops an established group.

No more Zap sponsorship.

Mostly because Reebok is dumb AF. Their corporate strategies, top to bottom, have helped them squander significant market share they had in the '80s to where they are now. Getting on CrossFit was the only smart move they've made since then.

It's addition by subtraction for Zap, frees them up to negotiate from a point of better strength relative to when they started with Reebok.

Reebok is a disaster internally, and has been for awhile - the company can't decide what it wants to be. They appear to be trying to get back into running, but the method boggles my mind - sign a track club, but get rid of ZAP, your ONLY connection to distance runner? Org is incredibly silo-ed , and the different departments rarely talk to each other. A shame, because their shoes are actually improving (though I still wouldn't sped $250 on their 4% "competitor" shoe).

The Athletes all contribute to make this happen. Reebok's role was to be an apparel/shoe supplier and if you were good enough you could get a salary/stipend from Salomon/AG (Reebok's parent company)

Reebok is part of adidas AG. There seems to be a lot of cross-over between Zap and the new Reebok team based in VA.

The new Reebok sponsored team is two tiers above the recently dropped one, Zap. This whole new team is a bunch of guys just coming out of college. Obviously you are very sore, and are trying to compare the immediate grads to guys who have been post collegiate for years. Marty is in Med school with a real future. Those Zap guys are in Boone with a future of working for running stores.

The new group will smoke Zap on the track this spring. Let’s compare their season bests this spring.

I was proud of the young Zap guys that knocked Martin Hehir around.

Marty actually has more road experience than either of the Zap boys and way more pre race hype.

I’m actually cheering for success from the American portion of the new Reebok Boston located in Charlottesville Group. I’m not at all interested in the Canadian portion of this group. It’s just meaningless when it comes to selling shoes in the USA or creating buzz around the sport.

Do you realize how poorly Ben Flanagan ran at the Canadian Cross Country Championships? Probably not because no one is interested.

There is a large number of us that will never believe in the athletes that choose to train in the US.

LoneStarXC wrote:

What’s going to happen to the elite zap team?

No changes. They have already secured a new sponsor. Jonathan Gault has the latest info: