Ultramarathon Daily News, Mon, Aug 10

A thorough look at PEDs in ultrarunning. Anxious to read the rest of the series.

Did you know that Bob Becker (RD of Keys Ultra) just finished the Badwater double? That’s 292 miles in Death Valley. Oldest finisher to date was 58 years old until Bob finished last week at seventy years old. Wow! h/t to Scott J for pointing out that awesome feat!

Wow: Woman runs marathon with menstrual blood flowing down her leg…on purpose. And for a cause.

“I WOULD prefer to die running an ultramarathon than sitting on the sofa worrying about things that will kill me.”

—“Alrighty, then,” said God.

I’ve been open about my man-crush on Nick Symonds and his willingness to fight for athletes’ rights. Rather than being forced to wear an opposing sponsor’s kit off the track and out of competition, Nick dared the USATF to not let him run Worlds next year in Bejiing. Last night they made the decision and now our top 800m runner won’t be running for the US. In short, Nike completely owns the USATF, the USATF has no balls whatsoever, and Nick Symonds is seemingly the only pro T&F athlete out there willing to put up a good fight. Here’s some more back story, before the decision was made. How does this relate to MUT running? It doesn’t, unless you fall into the camp of wanting a governing body to cover all of the sport.

Read this too, about how Nike once was the trans-sponsor promoter of T&F and how it’s made a complete 180.

…and here’s Tony Reavis’ calm and well-reasoned response.

…and Brooks running has announced that Nick will be paid his World’s bonus “as he won USATF champs and deserves it.” #letnickrun

Hand-picked results from this weekend: Justin’s Week in Running will catch you up on what went down.

The most influential women in sport. As is often the case, “most influential” does not translate to “most popular” and this list seems to show that. Who are the most influential women in MUT running?

Naked runner causes 6 car pileup.

From the Did I Just See That file: A Reebok Pump commercial showing running shoes.

A financial newspaper asks a rock star about podcasts, and he mentions URP. Awesome! Thanks Ben!

Inov-8 is now owned by a Japanese company.

Have you had luck with acupuncture? Though this piece (NFI) seems like an ad for the clinic, there’s some interesting info to be had.

Fascinating story about the first guys to ever climb Mont Blanc. Of course, it includes a gourd full of brandy, crystals, and healthy cash wager.

Elite marathoner Liliya Shobukhova busted for steroids.

Interesting: This neighborhood banned cars for a month…and the people loved it.

Personal note: Sorry about inconsistencies last week. I had a set back on Thursday and spent some time at docs with chest pain. Nothing to worry about. I’ll find out more tomorrow.

Stay tuned for a new podcast early this week!

21 Responses to "Ultramarathon Daily News, Mon, Aug 10"

Mic Med says:

August 10, 2015 at 6:23 am

Let Nick run? Nick is choosing not to run. I’m all for his fight, and he’s doing it the right way. Don’t sign the contract and stay home and draw attention to the contract. BUT, USATF has every right in the world to make that contract, if people don’t want to sign the contract then they don’t have to and they don’t have to compete. If you want to play in the NFL, you sign a contract and have to follow the NFL’s rules, which aren’t necessarily the best for the individual athlete. To give some balance, it’d be nice to post a link to Max’s response which is calm and precise:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/273698298/Max-Siegel-USATF

Reavis’s response totally misses the mark, as the athletes including Nick don’t have a problem with Nike being the uniform provider. He also states that Nike is exclusive provider of shoes, which is untrue.Reference

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1. Mic Med says:
  
  August 10, 2015 at 6:33 am
  
  Also, what I’m getting at is this: I’m not in favor of the USATF contract, I’m not in favor of the USATF/Nike deal, BUT the people who think Nick is going to be able to sue and have this whole issue iron itself out are dreaming. This is a disagreement, nothing more. USATF will, going forward, have the contract available before you compete for spots on the team, and define when and where you must wear the USATF uniform. And that’s a victory, but again, USATF can write whatever contract they want so long as they are in charge.
  
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Jarrod says:

August 10, 2015 at 6:28 am

Congrats to Bob, amazing athlete and fantastic RD. Highly recommend his Everglades Ultras as a destination race.Reference

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Tha Messenjah says:

August 10, 2015 at 6:46 am

Geez louise. Take care of yourself 🙂Reference

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Tha Messenjah says:

August 10, 2015 at 6:50 am

I would say one of the most inspiring is Shannon Farrar-Griefer by far. Doing Badwater for the 6th time and 4th time after being diagnosed with MS. She is an amazing ambassador for the fact that we CAN do anything we set our mind to.Reference

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Sarah says:

August 10, 2015 at 7:14 am

awesome! That’s one way to reclaim derogatory comments like “…blood coming out of her, where ever.”Reference

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1. Teresa Smith says:
  
  August 10, 2015 at 7:43 am
  
  Sarah, What a good laugh at the Trump quote. That should be the headline of all running social media sites.
  
  Eric, Take care!
  
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Lt says:

August 10, 2015 at 7:59 am

MUT runners competing in any world championship event as part of a USATF team are subject to the same inane rules about wearing Nike and no competitors logos outside of competition as well (ie when sightseeing or lounging around the hotel before the race smh)

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1. Mic Med says:
  
  August 10, 2015 at 8:22 am
  
  They aren’t wearing “Nike”. They are wearing/using “USATF” gear, which is provided by Nike. Everyone wants to keep blaming Nike, but the contract between USATF and Nike was signed and delivered by USATF. If Nike said, “listen USATF, we want to give you $400 only, and you can only pick Nike athletes from this point on and if Nick Symmonds finishes first you must disqualify him for using his dumb gum.” and USATF signs that, that’s not on Nike, that’s USATF being idiotic. This contract is outrageous, but funnel the rage at USATF.
  
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  1. Lt says:
    
    August 10, 2015 at 12:18 pm
    
    Mike, you’re wrong on that point. Athletes have to wear the USATF Nike gear in competition, for awards ceremonies, at official team functions, fine. No one is complaining about that. Outside of these events, athletes are told that they when they’re not wearing USATF gear, whatever they wear MUST either be made by Nike brand or not display anyone else’s logos. Considering that USATF only covers partial costs for chronically underfunded MUT athletes to participate in world championship events, and that athletes may need sponsor help to make these trips, it’s a total dick move to specifically tell athletes that they can only pack Nike brand and unbranded clothes in their luggage, both on Nike’s part for dictating such terms and by the USATF for accepting it without any consideration for its athletes.
    
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    1. Mic Med says:
      
      August 11, 2015 at 4:48 am
      
      Lp, you’re wrong on that point. Again, my whole point in this, is that Nike doesn’t dictate the terms of the contract. I’m not debating whether or not the contract is fair or a “dick move.” (In my opinion it’s absolute crap) What I’m getting at is the hate needs to be directed at USATF. Nike has every right to demand outrageous control over what athletes wear, but USATF had every right to not make that deal. If Nike said that they want every athlete who competes on a Worlds team to have to get a Nike tattoo, and USATF agreed to that, then who’s the dick? USATF. Nike is 100% in their right as a for profit corporation to milk that deal for what it is worth, it falls on USATF to restrain the terms.
      
      Reply
Kashi D says:

August 10, 2015 at 7:59 am

Hope you are ok!

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eric schranz says:

August 10, 2015 at 8:07 am

Ah, but that’s inspiring. Who’s the most influential?Reference

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Beverley Anderson-Abbs says:

August 10, 2015 at 8:21 am

While in Qatar for the World 50k, team USA had not been provided team gear and all showed up in individual sponsor gear or jeans and t-shirts. Most of the other teams were team dressed. There were a lot of comments about how tacky team USA looked, all doing their own thing.. there were certainly no comments about how great it was that they were able to wear their various sponsors gear…so should a team look like a team, or not. If USATF and/or Nike is paying for an athlete to be at an event, that is their sponsor for that event, and if you sign a contract saying you will represent, isn’t that what you should do. Just a thought.

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Sabrina says:

August 10, 2015 at 9:01 am

Yeah, it’s pretty awkward for MUT runners because you’re definitely getting the dregs of the uniforms at that point. In 2013, the girls wore boy tops because they only had mismatched sizes in the half naked sprint tops, and we made the group decision to be awkward(!) but covered in the male equivalents of our sizes.

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Andrew says:

August 10, 2015 at 9:44 am

I am a fairly new ultrarunner (2 years now) and love the community. I prefer it to all other sports I’ve done. Every person has been welcoming and friendly and I hope to run ultras and be a part of this community for the rest of my life. Having said that what I will now run the risk at being perceived as a dick. I am a physician, done some minor research in the past, fairly well trained in the scientific method and part of the science based medicine movement. Running, as well as any athletic endeavor, involves a good amount of anecdotal training and “it worked for me”. Running also involves a ton of alternative therapies, supplements, and implausible ideas (gluten free, anti-gmo, paleo…) one of these is acupuncture.

Acupuncture has a prior probability of pretty close to zero. No one has ever dissected a meridian in anatomy lab. No one has ever detected any “energy pathways”, or documented acupuncture needles unblocking chi. All of the scientific articles looking at acupuncture consist of a few different wide categories. 1. Investigating the release of various chemical mediators as a result of sticking acupuncture needles into the skin and claim to have figured “how acupuncture works”. This is nothing more than research that shows sticking Someone with any needle causes ones body to react.
2. Comparing real acupuncture to a sham( a fake acupuncture point, a fake needle that doesn’t pierce the skin,, etc). Most of these studies show that both interventions are better than “standard care” and many of these studies show that sham acupuncture is as effective as “real”acupuncture. Many of these studies also use “electro acupuncture” which is not acupuncture it is electrical stimulation. If I were to say that a sham drug worked as well as a real drug and a pharmaceutical company tried selling it we would hear an endless stream of “big pharma” comments. Why should we treat acupuncture differently.
Acupuncture is completely implausible based on all of our scientific knowledge and the studies show the same. I didn’t even read the article that was posted above as I will assume it is an anecdote. Anecdote is very poor evidence and I have read hundreds of accounts of “how acupuncture worked for me”. I won’t be surprised if there are people that will say that everyone is different and one should remain open minded. Well I am open minded but not so much that I will let my brain fall out. Science and critical thinking are valuable tools that should be used by everyone. I will post a few links if anyone is interested in a following post. Thanks for reading if you did.

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1. Ethan says:
  
  August 10, 2015 at 4:35 pm
  
  Preach.
  
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Andrew says:

August 10, 2015 at 9:56 am

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-doesnt-work/

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-acupuncture-misrepresentation/

The first link has an article link published in “anesthesia and analgesia” that sums up the case against acupuncture much more elegantly than I am able. If you truly are intersted there are loads of articles at science based medicine website. Just searh for acupuncture.

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Francois says:

August 10, 2015 at 10:11 am

A few things here:
– I’d be interested to compare the USATF/Nike deal with other countries in terms of “constraints” to the athletes. It seems fair that if Nike pays the bill to fly athletes over, feed and accommodate them, bring the USATF structure (Indirectly of course, through the USATF) they get representation in return. I have images of Adidas or Nike athletes wearing a France Asics kit during worlds (the olympics is different as the nations have their own olympic teams stuff on top of the federations kits), and that’s fine by me.
– I’m surprised that Nick Symonds would knowingly sign a contract with Brooks that goes against the USATF (or any national association, as far as I can tell) sponsorship rules. Could it be a smart move from Brooks to publicize the conflict? They are known to eagerly play the rebel card in the T&F world (remember the plane dragging a “run happy” banner in Oregon a few years ago) and it might be their best shot at getting the visibility they want…
– in general in T&F there is something wrong about sponsorship. I read somewhere that on a regular basis, Adidas athletes wouldn’t get invited to Diamond League events sponsored by Nike, and/or vice versa. Meaning if you’re a big name under the swoosh and one of the biggest event of the year is sponsored by Adidas, you’re not going to be able to attend… I guess that’s part of doing business, as long as we agree that such events are not about sports (which I have a hard time to do)Reference

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Matt Flaherty says:

August 10, 2015 at 1:11 pm

A few thoughts on the USATF/Symmonds conflict, including some MUT implications:

– Kudos to Nick Symmonds. It is difficult to take a stand on this stuff because we as athletes are in such a poor bargaining position as individual contractors (i.e. no union, no power). Symmonds can do so now because (a) he’s sort of been-there-done-it on the international scene—if this was his first global team, I doubt he would take this stand, (b) he’s massively popular and has the media’s attention, and (c) Brooks supports him in doing this and will pay his bonus anyway (yet he still is foregoing a lot of potential revenue).

– The second link above (“our top 800m runner…”) has an outstanding 13 minute interview with Symmonds where he explains the various nuances of this issue, the vast majority of which aren’t being addressed by Max Siegl, Jill Geer, USATF, or other commentators. (E.g. why the NBA/NFL analogy is ridiculous because of the revenue-sharing that happens in those sports; how Nike athletes are treated differently at Team USA events—they can wear any Nike thing (e.g. Air Jordans) whereas others have to wear only the USATF kit (or more ridiculously, could go purchase Nike stuff??), which is often paltry and ill-fitting; and the real crux of the issue—the undefined contract term: “official” team functions).

– No one (Symmonds includes) really disputes the need to wear the USA/Nike kit in competitions, opening/closing ceremonies, perhaps press conferences, etc. As Symmonds has noted time and again, it’s the ill-defined terms of the contract and the attempted over-reaching by USATF (“pack only Team USA, Nike or nonbranded apparel”) that rankles. Walking around town to explore as a tourist or having a cup of coffee should not require wearing Nike/Team USA.

– Nike’s role is still a bit of an issue here in my opinion. They could take the high road and publicly say that USATF is requiring more of the athletes than the Nike/USATF contract requires (Symmonds noted that a Nike rep told him exactly this in person the other night). But they seem content to stand on the sidelines since they’re getting a benefit in excess of what they’re contractually due. They don’t have to help the situation, but they certainly could; and if they were better stewards of the sport, they would.

– Addressing Beverly’s comments above, the lack of USA team gear for the World 50K belies USATF’s support for MUT global championships. Many other national teams (including in the MUT sports) have way better support. (In fact, most give globally competitive athletes funding/stipends for the whole year, at least in track & field; not so much in the USA.) While we had gear provided for the two world teams I’ve been on, a lot of it doesn’t really fit or the right size isn’t available. Sabrina makes a similar point above about how the MUT runners are often not even outfitted in gear that fits (or is the proper style—say, men’s uniforms v. sprinter women’s.) If USATF can’t even outfit the team properly or provide full travel/room/board (which they don’t; they give some money, which I certainly appreciate as an athlete, but it is certainly NOT full support), it seems they shouldn’t be entitled to the “pack only Team USA, Nike or nonbranded apparel” overreaching. Yes, I signed a contract, and yes, I will follow it. But it doesn’t mean it’s not a crappy contract or that we shouldn’t be trying to change things. Again, kudos to Symmonds.

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George says:

August 10, 2015 at 6:54 pm

Hang in there, Eric! Hope you get well soon.Reference

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