Singletrack

Kelly Newlon | Real Athlete Diets, Crewing FKT Projects, Athlete Sponsorship Thoughts

Oct 6, 2022

01:06:07

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Kelly Newlon is the Co-Owner of Real Athlete Diets, a catering company that focuses on feeding ultra endurance athletes. We talk about her experiences and insights supporting well-known runners in our sport on fastest known time projects, as well as her interests in and knowledge of the athlete-sponsorship landscape in trail and ultrarunning.

Sponsors:

Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order
HVMN - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://hvmn.com/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next order

Timestamps:

(1:40) - overview of Real Athlete Diets (RAD), role in trail and ultrarunning community
(2:52) - how relationships are formed between RAD and trail running teams/athletes
(4:38) - what a standard relationship looks like between RAD and the athlete
(8:10) - the role that food catering services play in fastest known time (FKT) attempts
(11:52) - whether these services are a competitive advantage for athletes pursuing FKT attempts
(14:17) - other interesting food-related logistical insights from FKT attempts
(17:38) - how to keep athletes as nourished and healthy as possible on long-trail FKT attempts
(21:49) - final thoughts on food-related FKT logistics
(24:22) - interests in the athlete-sponsorship relationship, Athletes’ Coalition
(31:07) - critical questions athletes should be asking in the contract negotiation process
(38:05) - whether both sides (athlete and sponsor) are generally satisfied with the current state of affairs
(46:16) - educating athletes earlier in their careers
(49:33) - whether all athletes and all brands generally want many of the same things out of contracts
(51:56) - whether the Athlete Manager or marketing team is most influential in the direction of a trail running team
(56:01) - commenting on trends like team sizes, road versus trail investment, etc
(61:56) - whether we are still growing or we are at a high point in terms of athlete opportunity in the sport
(65:06) - final thoughts

Links:

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#99 - Robert Muecke | How Adidas Terrex Is Building Their Trail Running Team
#106 - David Kilgore | How On Is Building Their Trail Running Team
#108 - Jordan Hamm | How Brooks Running Is Building Their Trail Running Team

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