A few days ago, I went for a run with Casey Campbell. I first met Casey when we competed on the same world championships team in Austria, he for the shorter stuff, I for the longer. Although we both spend a lot of time in Bend, Oregon, we actually don’t run together all that much. But, on this particular fall day, a few friends and I piled into my bus and drove out to Smith Rock State Park for a run.
As we cruised around the park, Casey and I chatted about our years of running. He told me about competing for the University of Oregon and I told him about my time in the ultrarunning and trail running world. At one point, he asked me how long I’ve been doing the long stuff — races of 50 miles and upward. I had to kind of chuckle when I told him I’ve been doing it since 2013.
Although much has changed since then, I can still remember my early impressions of the trail running world. As a high schooler, trails were an escape from the monotony of the track and the road. It came in bits and pieces; on special days when our coach would drive us to a local trail system, or mid-run when we’d dive off of a road and into a patch of woods to catch a bit of that off-road bliss. I loved it. It was adventurous and fun. It fed my soul in a way that the roads and track couldn’t.
After high school I went on to college where I raced mostly on the track, the road, and the cross-country course. Although I entered a trail race from time to time, it wasn’t my main focus. But as in high school, the trail continued to serve as a nice change of pace. Not that I didn’t like the other mediums, but there was just something different and enticing about this off-road world.
Upon graduating from college, I dove deeper into the trail space. There were a lot of things I liked about it. One of the things I liked most was the simple, quirky, grassroots nature of it all. Despite being incredibly pleased with the current state of the sport, I still wanted to see it grow.
The author on a day’s training. All photos courtesy of Zach Miller.
What Should Growth Look Like?
Sitting here today, my thoughts drift to this idea of growth. What was it that I wanted this sport to become? Did I want it to be more competitive? More lucrative? More present in the media? Bigger? Louder? Did I want it to become an Olympic sport? To have a professional circuit? Did I want it to be younger? More regulated? Did I want more interest and support from sponsors? The list could go on.
If I try to transport myself back to that time, here is what I think I wanted growth to look like. I think for me it meant more people in the sport, a rising level of competition, and perhaps, more support from sponsors. What I didn’t want was for the sport to lose its chill, grassroots nature. In essence, I wanted it to grow, but to still be true to itself.
Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. It can be a tricky thing for something to grow without veering off course. I think I’ve been thinking about this lately because today’s world seems to be filled with so much hype. It feels as if everywhere you go there is someone looking for a click, a like, or a subscription. It’s no surprise, really, because in today’s media-crazed world, these things have essentially become a form of currency, but it concerns me. I fear that such things will lead us astray.
Early morning light illuminating the author’s training grounds.
Respecting the Game
It’s challenging to write about this because I myself am a cog within the gear train that I speak of. But, I feel that this is an important subject, and I’ll try to tiptoe my way through it.
What I want for trail running, and for sports in general, is for people to respect the game. I don’t want to see people faking injuries or flopping on the field just to draw a call. Instead, I want to see people playing — and racing — as hard as they can, while leaving the officiating to the powers that be. I don’t want to see athletes cutting each other down or boastfully pounding their chests. I want them to do the work and give their best, then let the performances speak for themselves.
I want to see fierce competitors and good sportsmanship. I want to see athletes put craft before click. I want the spirit of the sport to take precedence to the business of it. I want sponsors to be here not just to sell something, but to support both their athletes and the sport as a whole.
As Casey and I hung out at my bus after our run that day, we talked about these sorts of things. More specifically, we talked about the dynamics of sport and corporate sponsorship. We spoke of how current marketing techniques can be threatening to the delicate space that is professional athletics. I suppose what we discussed was a byproduct of the growth of this wonderful sport. A growth which I wanted, but as is often the case, a growth that can feel hard to make peace with.
And yet, at the end of the day, the trail is still my happy place. Amidst the changing landscape of the sport, it’s still that fun, adventurous place that I learned to love as a youth. Here’s to hoping that never changes.
Call for Comments
- Have you been around the sport for as long as Zach — or longer? If so, how do you feel about its evolution thus far?
- And, where would you like to see change focus itself going forward?
