Track and Field is Broken: Could YouTube Fix It?

[@EdwardoTheSheep]

The world is increasingly becoming a place where it is no longer enough to just be dedicated, motivated, talented, driven, and smart, you also have to be charismatic, attractive, entertaining and marketable. Some of the most potentially world-class people, in all sorts of fields (not just athletics), will be passed over because they're not THAT person, and I think that's very sad.

[@remcodejong9149]

Just because you're good at something, doesn't mean you deserve a lot of money for it. Just because you find your hobby important, doesn't mean others should pay you for it.

[@jennierayner2152]

i was thinking about that while watching this video, obviously there's not one personality that makes a successful KZbin channel but also its not for everyone. you could be amazingly talented and dedicated but if on camera you have the charisma of a wood stump and people would rather watch paint dry, what then.

[@jennierayner2152]

@@remcodejong9149 it's a not a "hobby" though that's the whole point of the video. has capitalism really ground us down to the point where anyone doing anything other than soulless grind is being unreasonable in expecting a livelihood?

[@remcodejong9149]

​@@jennierayner2152 if you can't live off price money, and sponsors aren't interested in giving you more free money, then what you're doing is called a hobby. Many people love doing something, but can't (fully) get paid to do so. Get a side job or even a real one. Just like Philly has her KZbin side job, but that of course requires being interesting enough in the first place. Watching a man doing what he loves 24/7 complain about only getting 30.000 pounds worth of free money honestly puts me off a bit. People stand in factories five days week for that money, and here's Joe runner doing his hobby full time demanding more for it.

[@remcodejong9149]

@@jennierayner2152 if it doesn't make you a living, it's not a job but a hobby.

[@micawood]

omg thanks for the s/o 🥹 i started watching your videos last year during my last collegiate season! it definitely inspired me to continue to run post college. as someone who never became an all american or even qualified for track nationals, it was even scarier to try and keep competing to one day reach that elite level. watching you have fun with it and go after your goals was amazing, it’s not only helped me start my yt channel but keep going in this running world. absolutely love your content and i’m so proud of you for believing in yourself 🫶🏽

[@hanauhustle]

Daniel, what a massive effort to go spot all the NB logos and blurring them in the „old“ footage. Daniel is loving the grind too!

[@parkerwillett2238]

I was wondering is it ON (it seems like this video was shot before the ON deal was announced?), KZbin, or a personal choice to blur the logos? It’s, personally, distracting me from the message of the video. Though, it is kind of the message of the video at the same time, getting away from the big brands with their monopoly over funding. So I’m not sure what the better choice would be in this video! It’s not just the NB logos, it’s all the logos! All the Nike logos on the Ducks merch being one example.

[@MusclesandBooks]

Right? Literally even the logos on her SHOES.

[@RaymondStone]

Don't forget the Rode logos on the mics at 12:34. 😄

[@ChairmanAntelope]

@@parkerwillett2238agreed. I’m pleased for Phily that she has a new sponsor, but I can’t help but think that with the logo blurring there’s going to be On product placement all over her videos now. It’s a tough balance between getting paid and losing trust in whether your content is genuine or just selling your company’s stuff to viewers.

[@hanauhustle]

@parkerwillett2238 apparently it’s in the KZbin contract

[@meganeichler9645]

I LOVE it when pro runners have KZbin. It’s makes us feel like we get to part of your world!!! YOURE AWESOME! Philly!!!! Cheering for u!!!!!

[@WelcometotheWoodsBlog]

Phily, you spoke so eloquently in this video and Daniel’s editing was top notch as always. Thanks for the cameo; I’m so happy KZbin brought us together! 🥹

[@AzurePrior]

The community you’ve built has had huge knock on positive impacts. I know many many many of us will have been inspired to get out the door more or push ourselves to achieve new goals… but what you’ve also created is a group of likeminded people who can go forward and create their own positive motions from the inspiration you provide. I wear my “love the grind” T-shirt almost every time I run and people who don’t even know me cheer me on because you have brought together this beautiful community. Everyone here wants to see you and the running community thrive, and be part of this force for good. Never give up 💪🏻

[@SCATrackandField]

I must say it's an honor to included in your video. Thank you for sharing so much of your running journey with the world. I personally never made it to the pro level, but have friends who did, and I am aware just how challenging the road truly is. Track and Field is an amazing sport, and has way too much competitive interest at the youth and junior level for the professional circuit to have become as broken as it is at the moment. I do believe there is a path forward. And it will take a community effort from the athletes themselves to help lead us into a new direction. To some degree I believe there is a desire now, maybe even more than ever in recent memory to see that change come to fruition. Until that day comes, athletes like you are helping to push the needle in the right direction. The lack of transparency perhaps between the "track and field world" and the public is one of the biggest hurdle to overcome, and simply inviting us alongside your journey helps to close that gap. I have GREAT RESPECT for you and all that you do! Hopefully our paths cross at some point going forward.

[@RunnerBoi]

I think some pros are now realizing that the "shut up and run" era is long gone and that athletes in the sport *need* to be marketable in order to be profitable. I think some pros also severely underestimate just how great KZbin can be for runners as well, especially since there's some pros out there who farm 6-digit views off of well-produced training sessions alone. Running has a way higher viewer cap than some may think, so long as the vids are titled, thumbnailed, and produced correctly too haha. I've made comparison a dozen of times too, but a sport like Strongman had virtually no mainstream viewership *at all* like 10+ years back outside of World's Strongest Man getting broadcasted here and there, but now it's one of the most widely recognized sports in the fitness world. All because the best athletes in the sport decided to band together and make very accessible, well-produced, straightforward content that showcased the best parts of their sport, and now the sport and athletes have ballooned in popularity/money because of it. I know it technically doesn't address the top-heavy model of pay for T&F athletes, but I did wanna make a point about how KZbin content has gotten communities/athletes on the map solely because off of just making good content alone.

[@kylestephens9593]

The fact that people running way slower than even the most mediocre pro are able to make this running thing a career just make me giddy. Lot of pros (not everyone) are so bland and boring...

[@WILDFOXRUNNING]

Matt Fox from Sweat Elite, has talked about this for a while, lots more professional runners will have KZbin channels in the near future. It is working very well for long distance triathlon with the T100 series and Ironman series. Most pro triathletes have a decent KZbin channels that help bring sponsors and it engages the community. But definitely more money needs to be put in the sport. Keep up the great work Philly!

[@gainde1137]

It's all about personal branding as an athlete.

[@remcodejong9149]

Most athletes don't have the personality for this, they're just not interesting enough. I follow a few running KZbinrs, most of them are not pro's. I like their channels because they're interesting, not because they're good runners. In fact being relatable to Joe Average might be beneficial.

[@Leeroy49]

@@remcodejong9149 Creating on social media definitely isnt' for everyone. Agreed.

[@WILDFOXRUNNING]

@@remcodejong9149 that is very true, I think it can help if they have someone make the content for them. Check out Lucy Charles Barclay or Lionel Sanders, they have interesting personalities but its definitely the work of their friends/videographers that help them come up with great content.

[@WILDFOXRUNNING]

@@gainde1137 nowadays a 100% yes

[@MiaKiser693]

I love Allie ostrander I actually commented on one of her strava post that said something about cross training and watching her new video that you and her were my fav people to watch while xtraining

[@steved100]

You both are doing such great work! Would love to see a collab follow up to this vid in a bit, especially since I believe you're both living in Boulder at the moment... Love the Grind, Folks 😎

[@harmonydoa7808]

I've never interacted, though I watch your videos often. I wanted to congratulate you on promoting other fellow athletes and raising a flag on this problem. It is an even bigger issue in other countries where sports are under-funded and it is truly an act of love for the sport and a real sacrifice. Well done Philly! ❤❤

[@ellietess186]

This is brilliant, you are paving the way for athletes Phily! The community you have built is truly wonderful. I was running my local Parkrun last weekend in the deepest darkest depths of Cornwall, in my PB run club merch and heard another running shout 'Love the grind!' from behind me. It was so lovely to hear. Thank you for all you do xx

[@Alecmcq]

You have to find a successful individual sport model…. The model that comes to mind is golf… what is that model? The professional golfers got together and formed a club (PGA), and hired some professional marketing and organising managers, and got them to find sponsors and organise important events that TV wanted to pay for. A few decades on, they are rich as hell. Can that be replicated?

[@amystubby]

Sort of the same with tennis. Loosely organize, sponsor, hold big events, then pay EVERYONE. The wta and atp have their issues but it's certainly better than the setup t&f athletes have right now.

[@danielv1617]

You might compare Tennis to Sprinting but not to T&F as a whole. There is simply too much variety for the uneducated public to be attracted. Jumping and throwing events will disappear fairly quick in my opinion (currently only surviving because of larger than life athletes like Tamberi and Duplantis).

[@geogeotagz]

The IOC isn't doing anything to help with the sport, because they copyright strike any Olympic footage.

[@MyfanwyCollins]

You are the absolute best. I've been watching since the beginning when I was training for my first marathon in 2022. My son runs track and x-country and I'm on the board for fundraising for the teams. My absolute favorite sports! Thank you for being such a champion 🏆❤️!

[@wavey_95]

You deffinately inspired this girl to keep running fun and intentional and I have my first ever half marathon in Sept.

[@adriaantermors8122]

I love the content you and other youtubers are putting out there. It's entertaining, and also very helpful. I'm not new to running, but I've learned a lot over the past half year or so about training, nutrition, shoes, etc. For context, in my teens I ran but never raced, in my twenties I mostly cycled, in my thirties I did not do much of anything for health reasons, and now in my forties I'm loving the grind again and going for PBs. So thank you Phily, and good luck!

[@duncanjarm5765]

The like of Noah Lyles, Kenny Bednarek and the Nielsen sisters are doing a good jobs of utilizing KZbin to promote the sport and themselves. Especially Noah, his editing team always never misses with engagement.

[@acasualviewer5861]

Noah understands the assignment. Athletes are not just athletes, they are entertainers. It's irrelevant if Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali were the "best ever".. what matters is that they brought spectators to their respective sports (and they were also good, which is also a requirement).

[@PrincessLioness]

@@acasualviewer5861I know people don’t like him but his comment on the NBA gave him a lot of attention and the sport a lot of attention. Which was greatly needed after Usain Bolt retired.

[@mikedavis6690]

Liles got caught….. trying way too hard. lol his performance fits the results in that 200 . Classsssssss less

[@fpupesh]

you're the one who got me into running in 2022. thank you!

[@toddapplegate3988]

Your success "content creator, runner and life" is a great teamwork effort. Hard work and smart choices. Continue the evolution of KZbin ambassador of this sport!

[@timbrownblacksmithandknife5648]

This video is what I love about your channel. It's all about the journey.

[@markholliday6734]

I loved that. As someone who skips down the road after cutting my 5k from 32m to 21m I appreciate how hard people have to work to be ok at running. What you do is on a different level but the fact you have shared others stories shows the love you have for your sport, not your own personal journey. Good for you.

[@TS-eo9uf]

Philly, I love your content and play your videos to keep me motivated (and give me some "company") during my strength workouts! Thank you!

[@kim8919]

Love your channel and what you and Daniel are doing for the sport of T&F. I stumbled upon your channel as a nearly 60 year old woman, whose running days are decades behind me, because I could relate to your video about your experience with disordered eating. I stayed because of your passion for your sport, your creativity, and your slightly quirky personality. Your tag line “love the grind” is an appropriate way to sum up life - it’s a grind day after day. You can choose to hate it or love it, but choosing to love it makes it feel less of a grind. 😊 Your mindset is one to be adopted by young people. I am so glad you continued to make videos beyond that first week.

[@bubkabubka]

I love the phily icon in the corner!

[@timverkoyen8742]

Love the idea / thought process and taking it into your own hands. Loving the grind since you first started streaming ! ❤️

[@michaelkinsella1559]

After watching you and others e.g. running channel, has helped me return to running after starting a family. Thanks for the motivation.

[@hotwheels77]

ok THANK YOU for bringing this up. I’m a roller derby athlete and I love watching this content. Training, game/race day vlogs, etc. I was specifically searching for “Olympians with youtube channels” or “woman athlete youtube” and it is such a struggle to find anything outside of people who just lift weights. I want to watch training for events, not training just to train. Would love more channels like this and like yours!

[@emilyvdburt2453]

This is an excellent video Phily and I love your content and have been watching races and others content and engaging with them following me finding them from you. I love the behind the scenes content and seeing training and what goes into being a professional athlete. Thank you for everything you share and do and being the voice out there you are great!

[@mountaingoatgreg3594]

Great video! It's really cool to see all the different thought processes athletes have which I really enjoy seeing. And seeing others training hard makes training just a smidge easier and more enjoyable!

[@TheCineroo]

KZbin's interested in one thing, and that's making money for Alphabet/Google. So little of the money they make is shared with the content creators, and the pie is only so big anyway. Genuinely surprised you see this as a solution - particularly as many athletes wouldn't feel comfortable with or able to grow their community to a level that makes a financial difference to their day to day lives.

[@acasualviewer5861]

Same goes for Nike, Diamond league, any TV Channel, or anyone else that will give you money.

[@williegunn292]

Interested in why you know that so many athletes wouldn’t feel comfortable. I took it that she’s only pointing out that this is one way to generate more income and/or exposure for athletes. Check out @Runnerboi’s comment above about how Strongman boosted their sport’s profile with good quality content. It may be an option for some athletes out there (who may not realise that people what to part of their journey).

[@lenkaontherun]

Loved this video, Philly! You and Daniel are leading the change the world of sports needs. I think it's happening across industries, I used to teach this to actors who are in s a similar pickle when it comes to money and survival. The traditional way of doing things just doesn't work anymore (if it ever worked besides those who created it). And now we have powerful tools that we can leverage to have more freedom, to do things our way (whatever that is), and it's super smart to take advantage of that. 🙌🏻

[@MNrunguy]

Awesome message and video! Love your work.

[@nocturnus009]

As someone that discovered you thanks to that Convos over Cold Brew interview, HI 👋, looking forward to the 207 weeks of your journey. I’m excited for whatever at week 208, 209 & Beyond, but I’m just here to post a comment to placate the algorithm. Also, Allie O has been entertaining.

[@adrianwhitfield6656]

When people watch the Olympics, there may be some that are inspired to take up the sport, but apart from a few rare examples (Usain Bolt & Puma) brands dont really get a big benefit from the athletes wearing their equipment outside of people already investing in that sport. Until brands can get a bigger bang from investing in athletes, they simply cant put the money in to support lesser known athletes. Social media, as you are doing, has to be utilised. The 2012 bounce and subsequent retreat shows that engaging only every 4 years is a terrible business plan.

[@jobanski]

I know triathletes have been complaining about this very issue for some time now. On the bright side, I think platforms like KZbin do help the individual athlete so long as they are creating content. I would never have found you Phily without thismessyhappy whom I found via the GTN network (and the interest I had in triathlons). Personally I feel track & field, running in general, is getting more popular due to yours, and other KZbin creator’s, content.

[@RealFrenchWill]

Fantastic angle on the topic. Thank you! Another revenue source: Why are you not selling your training plans on TrainingPeaks? Your views and site traffic could easily generate sales of your trianing plans (make them once, sell them 1000s of times...). That could also generate more content ideas (how to nail certain workouts, how to build volume, test workouts...) . Either way, keep going. Love the tone and length of the vids and I use some of your suggested 5k speed sessions to get sharper :) #LoveTheGrind

[@davidleonard37]

As far as I know 3 out of 4 of the Irish girls in the 4@400m in the Olympics work and only Rashidat Adeleke is full time. Mark English the 800m runner is a Dr. I think the lack of coverage on TV is also an issue. It's quite complicated to watch the Diamond league or other top meets bar You Tube

[@T1MB05L1C3]

It doesn't help Flotrack is paywalling the sport even harder now

[@karolina.321]

This was a fantastic video. Really well done. Im a big fan of Allie Ostrander, she puts forward a really honest look into training and life. And she has an attitude I admire.

[@rubarb1275]

Definitely the most important video you have ever done! Really great, agree with everything you said. The problem for most people will be getting started, how to film, what equipment to buy, how to record sound effectively, how to edit, etc. Can you and Daniel put together a simple “getting started” package to help others get started? Whether you choose to monetise it or not is up to you, but it might be the difference between other athletes starting this or not.

[@jamestremblett1875]

I hope KZbin truly recognizes what an asset you are, with your talents as both a runner and media personality. The programmers should juice the algorithm to push this video far and wide. You're an absolute gem, a role model and an inspiration. I'd like to see this video get 10 million views.

[@SunkenShip]

I started watching you last year when I got into running. Now I’m running my first marathon in 9 weeks

[@monkisethojane2218]

Good content love from South Africa

[@saskhiker3935]

There is a wonderful story of a man who wanted to go to the Olympics in Javelin. His small poor rural town in Pakistan scraped together enough money to buy him a Javelin and send him to The Olympics. He not only won the Olympic gold, but set the world record in Javelin. I hope he gets paid.

[@saminates2002]

Close but it was the Olympic Record The WR is about 6 meters farther

[@rupertcrokerpoole2246]

Love this... I think the benefits are there and it can happen. In addition, I wonder if and hope that the broadcast networks will look at the pool of KZbin athlete creator talent as the next generation of athletic events broadcast commentator talent. It would be a huge win for audiences globally to turn to their favorite and trusted creators who are so deeply invested in sport to share their knowledge and passion the next time they tune into watch a marathon or a meet. Maybe that will break the 4 year cycle into something more ever-present. Love the grind. Keep it up 👍

[@elliotfudge8955]

a lot of great points made here phily. I think this speaks so much to the success that athletes like Clayton Young, for example, have had in this olympic cycle. Clayton wasn't a favorite for a medal, not even the top pick from the US team, but I haven't heard from a single runner who wasn't more invested in his journey than any other athlete in the race. Utilizing youtube to tell these stories is proving to be such a powerful tool to make people actually care about athletes and thus the sport.

[@theak3991]

Comming from one of the most expensive sports (figure skating), where the only way the best in the world earn money from doing shows, and that’s only the top 4-5! In most individual sports it’s really hard to earn a living, I don’t really see that changing sadly. But at least as a runner, you can run anywhere without cost, that is something so many other athletes don’t have the privilege of

[@mikestevenson1334]

I've thoroughly enjoyed watching all of your videos from the very start. It led me to finding other awesome athlete KZbinrs! And it definitely boosting my love for running. Love the grinddddd! =D

[@BethanyBlount]

Love these suggestions for other KZbinrs, except I already follow most of them 😂

[@geoffh2560]

some good points Phily. As an aside though...where are the Daniel_Moves videos?? We miss them!

[@Second2LastPioneer]

Great video Phily! 👍

[@alexpeartree2019]

9:41 worked for me, ran 16km this evening. Not quickly, but it's a start!

[@ИнгаЛежена]

Phily, ON should be so happy they got you. Your training camp videos influenced me sooo easily... bought the entire kit :))

[@jamesroberts2147]

My 13 year old boy runs the 1500m. His started a KZbin channel to show is journey trying to be a pro runner 🏃 He really enjoys your videos 😊

[@j4282]

What a great idea. It would be good if you collaborated with the new channels and you tried there sport and they joined you running. It would also be good if did ‘meet and greet’ try thing but more like you do different parkruns and people join you at it

[@jounruh6232]

I saw an article on Facebook about the Olympic pole vault bronze medalist doing onlyfans as a way of funding herself. It is terrifying that this is the extent athletes need to go to. I follow rugby too and it also has a funding program but it seems rich compared to track and field.

[@Leeroy49]

There's a lot of potential yes. Noah Lyles made a lot of subscribers in no time and it's really interesting to see how elite athletes actually train.

[@Ryan.Thomson]

If I hadn't taken the leap and started uploading a few weeks ago I'm sure this video would've kickstarted it

[@coldplayer9403]

What??

[@MandyCaputo]

Just subscribed to every single channel mentioned

[@ThresholdHub]

Amazing! Believe it or not I was thinking the same thing today when I was doing my long run. I live in Greece and we as a country have the same problem with our athletes.

[@elisasanchez6942]

it is still sad that in order to get paid athletes are forced to open social media channels and share part of their private lives. I can imagine most just want to spend their energy on the sport... but I get the reality is cruel That said, this was an amazing video today. It honors you sharing other athlete's profiles. Thanks for the inspiration as always, Phily

[@neoforce0]

This has been an ongoing thing. Even back then from 1970's like Prefontaine time they were in exact same situation.

[@joetokarczyk8753]

Thanks!

[@JDM304]

Thanks Phily!

[@debrascott8775]

The need to get more eyes on T&F and Running is a frequent topic on Nobody Asked Us with Des and Kara. This is what we have Snoop and Flavor Flav being included and covered so muchin the Olympics...its driving up rating. GB athletics seems to be taking the path of do less, spend less and when you see how many upsets and amazing stories came out of other countries that will push the sport forward, it's hard to see the path for Team GB, even if we turn the corner elsewhere.

[@greggrodgers6875]

be cool if there was a platform that mixes KZbin + Strava + ESPN all together. where I could watch a runner individual experience, track their training to see what it took to be a professional, and live coverage on the different meets around the world.

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

I think it would be cool to add twitch streaming functionality to Strava, but somebody would probably die as a result.

[@trevorhillier4041]

Its so obvious, why has it not caught on.id love to know the day to day of a future /Olympic athlete .This is why i love your channel. LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN !

[@jasonflorimonte3813]

Great job pushing yourself and others as well as inspiring the future crop! PB 2024!

[@robbarnes3386]

A recent video where Mark Lewis went to show how fast Tom Bosworth walks is the perfect example for me. We mortals have no idea what it takes to do what he does, but we really do want to know, as does anyone wanting to get into a sport. Opening up a little (even if it is through someone like Mark Lewis) is essential to get us engaged with the journey of an athlete. The other thing is understanding the impact that a small donation to a patreon might make. Is it a game changer, or the equivalent of doing a wee in the ocean, for all the difference it makes? If athletes are open about how much it costs, people can better quantify how their contributions might help.

[@WhiskyMystery]

My theory. Team sport fan loyalty lives on beyond the individual career and turns into generational support via tickets and merch etc. So the mass of 'permanent' team fans fund the careers of team members. Individual sports just can not build that momentum over a short career unless it is spectacular. Fans can never get as invested in the results of individuals compared to teams. Ultimately fans provide the income. If the activity does not generate the fan income it can not pay the higher numbers. Tapping into the masses of hobby runners via KZbin etc makes a lot of sense but is also very vulnerable to the whims of the platform injuries...and age :-) Climber Magnus Mitbø has done this incredibly successfully. But then we are back to the elite performer - top KZbinr. It becomes a personality contest.

[@WorldT]

in general the only ones who get attention and are stars are the guys in the 100 meters and just a few select events . I think yes there needs to be a way to make the sport "cool and entertaining more. I think for most part it can happen throughout the community for sure. The athletes now have to figure a way to makes themselves interesting, to point the audience wants to know more about them vs just what they do in the sport.

[@mreuphonium]

Probably you dont know, but in most countries (execpt UK and a few others) elite athletes are militairy. (poland, US, Kenya, France, Belgium, Germany etc etc) Almost all polish elites train in a big militairy training centre day by day. There is an elite marathon programme in the US and in France for instance.

[@CryogenicFire]

As I think that I've mentioned before, I found you purely by accident after YT included you in my recommended videos and I've was curious about why; been here ever since. I'll also raise my hand and admit to following the first four of your recommended channels (and Daniel's too!). I completely agree with you that sport as a whole, as well as the trainers and far more importantly the athletes need to be making far more effective use of social media as not only a way I raise their profile, but also provide viable and necessary funding and freedom. P.S. You should definitely add Ilona Maher, USA women's rugby player to that list.

[@vivpm]

Love this! ❤

[@PoetWithPace]

Having seen the way the Olympics is managed and organised many can see why track and field is failing. Producing KZbin videos and people ranting on social media does not solve the issue, you have to goto the management of the sports directly and lobby all the organisers. If you are a young talented sportsman and can make big money at NFL despite you loving athletics, which choice would you make for a career?

[@urbanadventurer5]

This is a very similar reality to what exists in cycling, cyclocross, and MTB. It’s tough and I don’t see an easy solution. You need something like stronger unions fighting for a bigger piece of tv contracts etc. They tried to get it started in world tour cycling but it failed miserably. It does wonders in American athletics some of the time though. Women in the WNBA are starting to figure it out as well. Gravel cycling is working hard to provide some equity in pay. I would look at the LPGA too. Something is working okay there. Far from ideal, but something to build on.

[@BaileyCroffordMusic]

Honestly..I just love the sport. I’m gonna run, train for optimum performance (for me), and fight to win…for ME. Whether someone choose to pay for that or not doesn’t matter to me. If I love something, I’ll make the time and money for it. I’ll work for my own shoes, race entry fees, etc. I’ll love every step of the way-and I’ll know that I earned it by putting in the work and loving the grind-not by relying on deceptive marketing tactics.

[@ruby-yk9mb]

unfortunately I've been focusing on your hairstyle, it's getting shorter and shorter haha! But I do love you and a lot of other elite runners because of your personalities and positive attitudes to life, and it's also important for me to see even pro as you guys you still have up and downs as I do, makes me feel better when I am not so motivated.

[@gayleewoo]

You should create a workshop for other athletes, athletic groups and schools.

[@robertfurman9751]

Yeah, in my country, the best long distance runner by far is a full-time doctor working 12h shifts daily. His trainings are runs to and from the work...🤷‍♂️

[@discopot]

The issue is with diamond league I love watching it, but they need to create teams / nations. I love watching one country against another or one team verses another, it’s frustrating to watch a 5k race they are all wearing a similar Nike kit and you must a huge background knowledge to know why the race is important and what it means

[@IanEE69]

I've been a T&F fan since before you were born, but even I despair. The fundamental problem is the product which is anything from 3000 years old to 300. Other sports have reworked the packaging to make their sport more user friendly - Cricket and the IPL is the best example. But asking people to sit for the best part of two days watching endless rounds of heats and finals with close to no interaction between participants all of whom compete facing the front is problematic. It's the same story with swimming. The Diamond League has helped but the audience they get are tiny other wise it wouldn't be on BBC3 and iPlayer. Honestly turn on the darts on Sky, you have audience interaction, noise, excitement, drama, close ups on defeats and failures, fast action. And that's just darts, let alone Football or the NFL. If the 100m runners could body check each other down the straight it might add something but instead, it's all hush, and the gun, disqualifications for lane infringements and in 10 seconds its over. When you have NFL wide receivers competing in the Diamond league 200m as a hobby you know you're in trouble. At my gym the only person interested in the Athletics being shown on the big screens in the evenings during the Olympics was me, unlike the recent Euro Football championships where people were glued all day even in the morning matches between the no hopers. So it's a viscous circle, less audience, less money, more potential runners going over to cycling, and high jumpers to competitive rock climbing....

[@artwersky]

Dont understand how you manage to follow and understand this financial matters and actually manage to train like you do I agree there is a serious problem in athlete funding

[@JHA854]

I wish UK universities funded track and field athletes like they do in the US. We have some incredible athletes, yet a lot of them do all their training in the USA. If you want people to watch and support these sports, they need to be accessible to all and people need to see an obvious path from childhood all the way through to professional. The path shouldn't include leaving the UK and going to train in the USA, we need to do better.

[@huguesjouffrai9618]

Not all sports need to be professional. Track and field is simply bad entertainment. And that's fine. Unless you're some big expert it always looks the same. Football or boxing is super entertaining and easy to watch in comparison. During the WC tons of people who never watch it end up having lots of fun looking at hours of football. Because football, mma, rugby or basketball are just better shows than a marathon.

[@reinapearse9111]

The Olympic coverage, where they shut down any coverage on KZbin for example, also did nothing to introduce us to new faces. The jealous guarding of the footage made it that we missed a lot.

[@mathewomolo]

I am curious, NBA athletes could play 3 times a week during season. Footballers, can play 2 games a week. Can't we have a grand prix-like Track event every week during an 8 month season? Do track athletes really need weeks to recover between races. To me, that's it. have teams of 2-3 track stars representing different corporate sponsors. You can't have 'random' sporadic competitions, couple of times during the year with wildly different competitors every time.

[@sirsquid577]

I think nowadays people mix professional and Elite up and amateur and slow runner too much, and maybe that was true for some decades back in the 20th century, but not anymore, anyone who gets paid or makes a living off their running is a professional runner, maybe they are not all Elite level, but they are for sure professional runners.

[@kimdecker8901]

Phily, wow: Tour de force you've made here. So well researched--and well reasoned. I hope people in high places within the sport see it, listen and take your ideas into consideration. You've done a real service with this video.

[@christopherdrew3845]

I always assumed Athletics would be everyone's 2nd sport after whatever team sport there into unfortunately it's not the case. It's always a shame the attendance for one meet a year in the UK can't even match one Premier league football match. I'd prefer the athletics all day long.

[@markbateman9222]

It has always struck me as bonkers that Lottery Funding is given to those athletes who are probably making a very good living from the sport. Such funding should be means tested; if an athlete is earning more than a certain amount form other sources they won't get any Lottery money. No need for the details to be made public, discussions about money would remain confidential between the athlete and the governing body. It's one thing to say that more athletes should earn more from the sport - but where is the cash to come from? Lottery money or government grants etc. come ultimately form the taxpayer (the Lottery is nothing more than a regressive tax which is why I have never bought a ticket and never will) and if shoe companies are to give out more and bigger contracts they will only pay for this by putting up the price of their product to even more ridiculous levels. Premier League footballers are paid stupid money only because lots of people are willing to pay stupid money to attend matches and/or watch it on TV.

[@smellysam]

I tried watching the women’s 10k… I have a big channel packet, I went though maybe 6 replays and can’t find it anywhere - so I won’t be able to watch it until it’s leaked on KZbin or elsewhere.

[@mefadon459]

If I was the top runner KZbinrs or marathon runner KZbinrs. I would do these several steps. Start yall own brands. Have all the athletes that’s not sponsor sponsor. Then hold yall own events. Have another brand build up. Post on KZbin. Exclude the brands that will force them to sponsor and pay more. Don’t be inclusive. But accepting. Keep them minority sponsored that will make them sponsor more. The brands high branding and low sponsorship. If yall start yall own branding,shoes,appt, events and league. It will force more of what you want. Track has the easiest power move they can do to control funding.

[@Acewhip]

The schools don't have PE with competitive sports like track anymore, so there's no need for Athletic heroes for the kids to follow/aspire to. I was into Seb Coe and Steve Ovett because I was running 800, 1500, at school. I think that's the foundational piece. The money and everything above comes from that "no-compete" culture.

[@declan781]

FYI, Tara Davis-Woodhall just won a gold medal in the Olympic long jump by jumping 7.10m, and she's also a youtuber! What a brilliant prediction! Edit: watched to the end and saw that you promoted Tara and Hunter's channel in this video... ignore me!

[@davidsweeting6876]

Why don't KZbin have a love button as well

[@asiaonthefly4494]

What is harmful to the sport is the way it is marketed. If you look at what is glamorized it is the record in each discipline. That is ultimately how each race or event is measured. Was a record broken? How close to breaking a record was he? However, humans have physical limits and as such without doping (chemical or mechanical) records will eventually come to an end. However, if the mental strategy of the race was the focus of the marketing then there is no limit. This would make each race more exciting and the fan base could then grow like other sports.

[@jmikemc446]

Unrelated to the video, but I made it through my 15.53 mile (25k) run today by repeating, "love the grind" for a boost of adrenaline every so often.

[@julie99nl]

I would love more content from real pro athletes, but I do wonder if many of them really have the time and mental energy to invest in social media without help. A company that works like an agent would help an athlete, by managing and filtering content. I also worry that some of the public unleash their emotions on athletes on social media when they fail to perform. As an audience, we need to cheer when the athletes do well and be more reasonable when athletes don't achieve their A goals. Unleashing hate is the best way to break someone down and I'm afraid a more active social media presence would put athletes at risk for the worst of humanity.

[@archie6945]

Not sure many/all athletes would to be able to create watchable content