Thanks for all the support and the kind, thought provoking comments so far on this post!
As many of you know Sage is working on an awesome film
called MUT Runner. The subtitle is “A new breed of Mountain Ultra Trail runner
has emerged”. In this case the word “new” just means some people are coming
from speedier (track/road) backgrounds and that there’s more prize money and
sponsorship. Otherwise, the only people in the sport are still going to be
people who love the trails and people who are crazy enough to see running and training
for ultras as fun.
There’s only one problem, a major problem in my opinion,
that’s new and I see as compromising the sport. I indicated that there is now
more sponsorship in the sport, which is true, but to be blatantly honest the
elite women are getting screwed. There, I put it on the table. Now lets go
deeper.
***Before I begin I will acknowledge that my knowledge is
limited to only elite American ultra-runners. I am also not acknowledging
myself as an elite runner and therefor am making no reference to myself or my
sponsors (which I of course only picked because they're awesome!). Also, this post refers mainly to major sponsors (companies with a lot of money to give), as some of the smaller companies are definitely doing it right!
Since I know a lot of elite female and male runners I have
gotten a pretty good idea of how much a lot of runners are making…or err
uhm…not making. It’s in most people’s contracts to not publicly say how much
they’re making so I won’t name specifics or names unless the knowledge is
already out there.
Let’s look at the guys. There are probably 5 elite guys who
are making enough money in ultras to live comfortably. The top paid guy are
making about 4-5 times higher than what the top elite females are making. With
prize money matching at least one guy made $40,000 last year from ultras. Then
there are quite a few guys who aren’t making enough money to live off of, but
are making enough where they don’t have to work full time. It’s easy to look on
facebook, read blogs, and watch irunfar race interviews to see that some guys
have been able to run for work and travel all over the world thanks to their
sponsors.
If we look at New Balance and Brooks they both picked one
elite guy to showcase for their trail running lines and gave them a nice salary.
Does Brooks even give free product to other trail runners anymore? (I’m just
asking here. I haven’t heard anything about their I.D. program in a long time.)
The least either company could do is pick one main female athlete as well. No
offense to New Balance’s or Brooks’ main trail guy, but they’re not going to
inspire me to buy something like an elite woman would. Also, I really hope that
Nike improves its 7 men to 1 women ratio for their trail team because it looks
really bad. Isn’t it bad enough they’re one of the biggest companies known to
treat their foreign employees like crap they don’t care about (obviously me
ranting here, sorry! On the plus side Nike has done a great job promoting their female road/ track runners. Maybe they'll do the same for trail runners.)?”
Honestly, I think this is wonderful for the men. I love
seeing people live out their dreams and I’m very thankful that companies are
giving them enough money to do what they love. It’s awesome! What about the
women though?
Does anyone know of a woman making a comfortable salary that’s
enough live off of (Not including prize money)? I’m hoping there are at least a
few women making close to $10,000 and sure, Jenn Shelton had (has?) a sponsorship
with Hundai but that’s only one woman. If Timothy Olsen and Rob Krar are
getting a lot from the North Face then Rory Bosio and Stephanie Howe should be
too, right? Why hasn’t this year’s female ultra runner of the year gotten a big
sponsorship? Pam Smith just killed it in 2013 with a Western States win and a
world record, where’s her big salary? She uses her kids as weights and put ice down
her pants to stay cool during WW100! She deserves a big salary too dammit! To make matters worse I know that many of the
elite women we saw in the top 10 for Ultra Runner of the Year make a whopping
$0. That’s right, no salary, no travel, no bonus. These women won some big
races this year and all they got were some free shoes and clothes. I’m not
saying shoes and clothes aren’t nice, but it’s not fair when I hear how much
the men are making.
I know in almost all sports women make a lot less than men.
The salary of a WNBA player compared to an NBA player is a joke. I also know
that there are more male ultra-runners than woman and the elite men run faster
than the elite women. Let’s move on to why this shouldn’t matter.
A lot of people still consider ultra running as a “pure”
sport where people share their joys and pains together. The sport itself is
awesome, but it’s not very pure to put the “glass ceiling” on female ultra
runners. Companies now put this dreaded obstacle over women. By the way, if you
don’t know this, it’s mostly men creating sponsorship deals for athletes. This might not be a good for the company or the sport and both are losing out. Just having a woman helping on the deals would be beneficial.
The fact that there are more male ultra runners than female
runners isn’t all that important. The number of women entering the sport is
growing too and more importantly, women really like to buy running clothes and
shoes. How often do you hear a guy say “I love your jacket! Where did you get
it?”. With sports bras, running skirts, and headbands there are more things for
women to buy as well. Guys are also more likely to wear the same sweaty clothes
a few times a week, thus not having as many running clothes. C’mon major
sponsors, women are great for promoting your stuff! In road running Kara Goucher, Shalane Flanagan, Desiree Davila, Lauren Fleshman, etc. have done amazing jobs showcasing their sponsors. Actually road/track running seems to have done a great job of treating men and women equally. Shouldn't we carry that over to the trails?
Unfortunately, the elite men will almost always beat the
elite women at races. It’s just life. There are a few things that need to be
remembered though. When Ellie Greenwood and Timothy Olson both set course
records at WS100, Ellie took two hours longer to finish. I GUARENTEE this
doesn’t mean that Timothy Olson was pushing any harder than Ellie. That means
Ellie is a complete badass for pushing that hard for two hours more. Seriously,
she’s a beast and women are tough! Furthermore, while the elite women aren’t
beating the elite men, they’re still beating a large majority of the field.
One other interesting thing to note:
I had a conversation with a few female runners this year
that really left a bad taste in my mouth. The discussion was about some of the
elite women not getting as much attention or support because they didn’t have “the
right look.” Unfortunately, as a fellow woman I can tell you this probably isn’t
just in their heads. It’s ridiculous, awful, sad, and wrong. Any guy in good
shape is considered good looking to a company; it should be the same for women.
Any woman who has the mind and body to run an ultra is stunningly beautiful
inside and out. Other ultra runners know that but we need companies who give
out sponsorships to see that too.
Again,
I think it’s great runners are getting better sponsorships. Most are working as hard
or harder than other professional athletes who make millions, so it’s about
time some ultra runners are making enough to live off of. Everyone deserves a
chance to live out their dreams, or at least see if that dream is right for
them. It’s just a shame women aren’t offered the same deals as men. This is the great sport of ultra running and
in my opinion the sport will lose some of its pureness if women aren’t
supported on the same level.
On another note completely
please vote for Rachel Nypaver, Valley Girl Adventures!!!!
Run Wild, Live Free,
Sandi
Always try to see the good in people. Its okay to have differences. It's even okay people make mistakes that bother you. The majority of the world has a good heart if we choose to see it.
