I think this could be very powerful if the race director works with the small towns that often host these races. Not a lot of investment from local folks ($5K? $10k) could be a big story and likely attract more runners and attention to slightly less well known races. I think the potential here is to market the destinations
Thanks, Doug, I love the idea of using the platform to connect communities to races in a way that makes the races more attractive (which then serves to benefit the community). The tourism bump could no doubt offset most or all of the prize pool investment.
As always, I have a very contrarian take for this.
For starters, do we know any other sport where direct crowd funding like this actually became successful? Why would I donate prize money rather than supporting my favorite runner? Is it going to be a 'rich get richer' sort of thing? Because the people who win the most races already get the most from sponsorships, and now they will get even more from larger prize purses.
There are reasonable answers for all of the above questions, but I fundamentally disagree with this line.
> Run.fund aligns with trail running’s community-first ethos by enabling grassroots financial support without heavy reliance on intermediaries.
Trail running is not grass roots anymore. People are doing actual real money here. Sure, there ain't many, but every year, more and more people are making trail running their full time job. The economy surrounding trail running is growing year on year in every department (shoes, equipment, race entry fees, nutrition, coaching, physios).
I think we need to go the other way. Have pro races be separate from the everyone else's races, like it was in the World Championships at Canfranc. Have pro races be their own spectacle like in other sports, and let everyone else enjoy their own runs separately. Think about UTMB. How much better would the experience be for normal runners if Chamonix wasn't flooded by all the media and the whole circus surrounding the pros. As a result, there would be less people, accommodation would be more readily available, everything would be cheaper (I believe the prices are as high because of the high demand, not the cost of the item itself) and it would just be a normal race.
I recognise that my opinion is very different to a lot of people's. I'm also not tempted by Boston Marathon or any of these big races. It's a circus, and I want a run, not a performance. I enjoy pro sports for what it is, but unless I'm playing in the pro circles, I don't want it to effect my enjoyment of the sport.
Would be interesting for you to dive into the cycling race, and if they are experiencing a lot of growing pains we are experiencing in trail running (even though they are like 30 years ahead).
Thanks, Niki. I appreciate your insights, as always.
To your point on 'the rich get richer,' I addressed some of the potential concerns in the article (donor fatigue, demand ceiling for contributions, etc.), but I don't think it's that much different than Nike putting up massive prize pools to attract elite fields. Overall, the competition makes the races compelling, which (I'd argue) helps turn more casual runners into true trail running fans. It's just one lever for potential growth in the sport.
While corporate interests and entities like UTMB make the sport feel less grassroots, but it's my opinion that the soul of trail running is very grassroots and it's important to protect that. I personally would not be interested in running a version of Western States that's just for non-elites. Part of what I love about trail running is that someone like myself can line up on the same start line as the best in the world and run the same course on the same day (albeit much slower).
I think the beauty of a crowdfunding platform is that you can opt to participate or not and it likely doesn't impact your experience or enjoyment of the sport either way, but it offers an avenue for those who do want to participate to feel more connected. I also think there are very compelling use cases for brands to get involved to highlight a specific race or sponsor a specific segment as a form of brand marketing, but much of it is TBD.
I think your points are all valid. Maybe I am a cynic, but a lot of things happening recently in trail and ultra do not pass the sniff test, this one included. For example, I see a lot of pro runners advocate for more professional representation at US races (think Hardrock, WSER etc.) I get it because it is their livelihood, but you can't have the 'amateurs run on the same course as the pros' and 'reserve more spots for pro athletes' at the same time.
As I said in my first post, my thoughts are not coherent and I recognise that. I just have a bad feeling of the direction trail is going. It is why I am slowly losing interest in the pro scene but have never been more motivated to run.
Seth—thank you for writing this. You captured the prize purse paradox and the intent behind Run.Fund really well.
If anyone wants to participate, the simplest action is boosting an active pool (even $5–$10 matters because it unlocks deeper payout tiers over time and creates momentum). If anyone is really excited by it, please reach out! I have really enjoyed connecting with folks in the community on this topic and have learned so much in the short time we've been live.
If you’re an RD and want a pool for your event, or a brand that wants to fund a purse with attribution/reporting, reply here or email me at hello@run.fund and I’ll set it up.
I think this could be very powerful if the race director works with the small towns that often host these races. Not a lot of investment from local folks ($5K? $10k) could be a big story and likely attract more runners and attention to slightly less well known races. I think the potential here is to market the destinations
Thanks, Doug, I love the idea of using the platform to connect communities to races in a way that makes the races more attractive (which then serves to benefit the community). The tourism bump could no doubt offset most or all of the prize pool investment.
As always, I have a very contrarian take for this.
For starters, do we know any other sport where direct crowd funding like this actually became successful? Why would I donate prize money rather than supporting my favorite runner? Is it going to be a 'rich get richer' sort of thing? Because the people who win the most races already get the most from sponsorships, and now they will get even more from larger prize purses.
There are reasonable answers for all of the above questions, but I fundamentally disagree with this line.
> Run.fund aligns with trail running’s community-first ethos by enabling grassroots financial support without heavy reliance on intermediaries.
Trail running is not grass roots anymore. People are doing actual real money here. Sure, there ain't many, but every year, more and more people are making trail running their full time job. The economy surrounding trail running is growing year on year in every department (shoes, equipment, race entry fees, nutrition, coaching, physios).
I think we need to go the other way. Have pro races be separate from the everyone else's races, like it was in the World Championships at Canfranc. Have pro races be their own spectacle like in other sports, and let everyone else enjoy their own runs separately. Think about UTMB. How much better would the experience be for normal runners if Chamonix wasn't flooded by all the media and the whole circus surrounding the pros. As a result, there would be less people, accommodation would be more readily available, everything would be cheaper (I believe the prices are as high because of the high demand, not the cost of the item itself) and it would just be a normal race.
I recognise that my opinion is very different to a lot of people's. I'm also not tempted by Boston Marathon or any of these big races. It's a circus, and I want a run, not a performance. I enjoy pro sports for what it is, but unless I'm playing in the pro circles, I don't want it to effect my enjoyment of the sport.
Would be interesting for you to dive into the cycling race, and if they are experiencing a lot of growing pains we are experiencing in trail running (even though they are like 30 years ahead).
Thanks, Niki. I appreciate your insights, as always.
To your point on 'the rich get richer,' I addressed some of the potential concerns in the article (donor fatigue, demand ceiling for contributions, etc.), but I don't think it's that much different than Nike putting up massive prize pools to attract elite fields. Overall, the competition makes the races compelling, which (I'd argue) helps turn more casual runners into true trail running fans. It's just one lever for potential growth in the sport.
While corporate interests and entities like UTMB make the sport feel less grassroots, but it's my opinion that the soul of trail running is very grassroots and it's important to protect that. I personally would not be interested in running a version of Western States that's just for non-elites. Part of what I love about trail running is that someone like myself can line up on the same start line as the best in the world and run the same course on the same day (albeit much slower).
I think the beauty of a crowdfunding platform is that you can opt to participate or not and it likely doesn't impact your experience or enjoyment of the sport either way, but it offers an avenue for those who do want to participate to feel more connected. I also think there are very compelling use cases for brands to get involved to highlight a specific race or sponsor a specific segment as a form of brand marketing, but much of it is TBD.
I think your points are all valid. Maybe I am a cynic, but a lot of things happening recently in trail and ultra do not pass the sniff test, this one included. For example, I see a lot of pro runners advocate for more professional representation at US races (think Hardrock, WSER etc.) I get it because it is their livelihood, but you can't have the 'amateurs run on the same course as the pros' and 'reserve more spots for pro athletes' at the same time.
As I said in my first post, my thoughts are not coherent and I recognise that. I just have a bad feeling of the direction trail is going. It is why I am slowly losing interest in the pro scene but have never been more motivated to run.
Seth—thank you for writing this. You captured the prize purse paradox and the intent behind Run.Fund really well.
If anyone wants to participate, the simplest action is boosting an active pool (even $5–$10 matters because it unlocks deeper payout tiers over time and creates momentum). If anyone is really excited by it, please reach out! I have really enjoyed connecting with folks in the community on this topic and have learned so much in the short time we've been live.
If you’re an RD and want a pool for your event, or a brand that wants to fund a purse with attribution/reporting, reply here or email me at hello@run.fund and I’ll set it up.