Mile News


Leo Manzano: An American Love Story & The Business of Running

June 02, 2014

"I have a new coach, John Hayes, who is in my corner, Hawi is right there and the folks at HOKA ONE ONE are absolutely the best."

By Max Lockwood, RunBlogRun.com

As viewers and spectators of sport, we are often engrossed with the performance of the athletes. They are fierce warriors who take their talents to the field and perform with admirable might and strength. This is the view of an observer. Often, though, we do not know about the severe stress professional athletes are under to perform at the highest levels in order to get paid and make a decent living. Leo Manzano's story is no different. 

In the professional ranks of running, in addition to their athletic prowess, our athletes are more and more placed into the position of business people who must leverage their own skills and talent for money. In many cases, they must hire agents who negotiate on their behalf. For Leo, a top tier runner in the prime of his career, finding a good agent to negotiate on his behalf was and is essential.

As a young, idealistic and committed athlete coming out of college, Leo Manzano saw only good things on the horizon. He was a champion at the collegiate level, loved the sport of running and was fully confident in his abilities to compete at the highest levels. Upon graduation, he signed with a well-known agent who represented many other great pro runners. Leo figured that going with a known commodity who was well regarded in the sport was the way to go and would help him get a good contract with a shoe company. Leo was correct, at least in the beginning. Nike signed Leo and their love affair began.

Continue reading at: www.runblogrun.com

Tags: leo manzano (107)

Facebook Comments

Return the Mile to prominence on the American & worldwide sports and cultural landscape by elevating and celebrating the Mile to create a movement.

ELEVATE
Bring Back the Mile as the premier event in the sport, and increase interest in and media coverage of the Mile for both those who love the distance as well as the general public.

CELEBRATE
Bring Back the Mile to celebrate the storied distance and to recognize the people who made and make the Mile great and to promote Mile events and the next generation of U.S. Milers.

NATIONAL MOVEMENT
Bring Back the Mile to create a national movement for the Mile as America’s Distance,
to inspire Americans to run the Mile as part of their fitness program and to replace the 1600 meters at High School State Track & Field Meets across the country.

Become a Mile Maniac member or a BBTM sponsor today! Join us, and go Mile!

Join Us

Thanks for joining the movement and being a Mile Maniac. We'll keep you up to-date with our Mile wires as well as exclusive contests and opportunities. Help us spread the word by sharing our site and joining us on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!