On the Influx of Money to Trail Running.

This post is a response to the Trail Runner Magazine blog symposium question: is the introduction of bigger prize purses to trail races a positive or negative thing overall?

I feel rather unqualified to be speaking on this topic. I am at best a decent trail runner. As such, I am at no risk of winning a large purse. Geoff Roes has written eloquently and passionately on this topic, taking the affirmative position that prize money will help the sport. And I doubt you would find Dakota Jones arguing against large purses, with the $20,000 he took home for the TransVulcania last spring.  That prize allowed him to do his own thing, living out of his truck for the summer.

On the other hand, I saw the comments on the Trail Runner Magazine website responding to this symposium topic. They were resoundingly negative, concluding that the influx of money would destroy the sport, and lead inevitably to illegal drug use, cheating, and would destroy the “pure” nature of the sport.

While that is possible, I believe the opposite. I think that the influx of money will help the sport. Trail running has been growing in popularity in recent years, which has in turn led to more sponsor money, which has led to more exposure and an increase in popularity. This is due in no small part to characters such as Scott Jurek, who I am fortunate enough to call a friend and occasional training partner, and Anton Krupicka, Geoff Roes, Dakota Jones, and Rickey Gates, all of whom also call Colorado home.

The simple fact that so many of the top tier trail runners live and train in the Boulder area means that I have the opportunity to meet and talk with the top tier of the sport. For all of them, the goal remains the same: they love running. They love the trails. They love the mountains. They simply love what they do.

Without the money, without the notoriety, they would still be doing exactly what they are doing to the extent that they could afford to. Indeed, several of them (Scott Jurek, Dave Mackey, Buzz Burrell, and Peter Bakwin, to name just a few) have been around long enough that we can guarantee that they would, since they already have.

Rather than pollute the sport, the influx of prize money gives these athletes the opportunity to perfect their craft, and pursue their dreams in the mountains. Just look at AK’s flurry of FKT’s in the mountains this past summer for evidence, or That Dakota Jones’ summer in his truck, cruising the country and going for epic runs

Far from detracting from the sport, the influx of money allows those elites to make a living doing what they love to do. And not insignificantly, that same money gives us a chance to live vicariously through them via their pictures, their videos, and their writings. Do not think that, without the influx of interest and accompanying money, this would be possible for these athletes without even more extreme self-sacrifice.

I have focused so far on one primary reason I do not believe money will destroy the essence of trail running: the character of trail runners and the reasons that we run trails. There are, however, two further reasons I think play a role:

The first is a simple fact: there is still far more money in road running than trail running. By their very nature, road races are easier to draw people to than trail races. Road races usually occur in highly-populated areas, increasing visibility and drawing in both runners and spectators. This in turn attracts sponsors and prize money. Trail races, on the other hand, generally occur in remote and/or difficult to access locations, leading to less exposure and less prize money.

If your primary goal is to make money, road and track racing is still the place to look.

The second reason is limited to the United States. We have a very restrictive set of guidelines in the US regarding the protection of wilderness areas and national forests. The United States Forest Service must balance the needs and desires of a variety of groups when deciding what can happen on Federal lands, including but not limited to logging interests, off-road vehicles, hikers and campers, mineral prospectors, hunters and fishers, and of race directors. Just ask Dakota Jones if you want to hear about how difficult it is to get permits when the race crosses between two different national forests.

For this reason, races are often limited to just a few hundred entrants (or even fewer) after an arduous process for the RD. We are unlikely to see a major trail race in the United States on the scale of UTMB for this reason, unless it takes place entirely on Forest Service roads. Fewer athletes means less prize money up for grabs, and so I believe the prize money for most races will reach a firm limit.

So no, I do not believe that the increased size of prize purses in trail running will destroy the sport. There will always be small, local, uncompromising races for those that want to avoid the hoopla of the major races. But the bigger purses for the larger races will continue to let those at the pinnacle of the sport to pursue their dreams, and allow us to share those dreams. And not insignificantly, this money will push the excitement in the sport, and push the competition at the front of the field to ever more impressive and inspiring heights.