Sam Parsons | How To Build A Trail Running Team

Sam Parsons is one of the co-founders of Tinman Elite, a professional running team based in Boulder, CO.

We spend the vast majority of this episode going through the playbook for how to build a running team and what that model would look like in the world of mountain ultra trail running.

For Salt Lake area listeners, you know we’ve tried this before. And for fans of the sport, you know we’ve had forms of this before like with the Coconino Cowboys. There is still a gap to fill though.

I hope this conversation fires up someone somewhere to try again. Let's go!

Timestamps

• (1:46) - the story of Tinman Elite
• (4:01) - speculating on the potential for trail running teams 
• (7:09) - the Tinman playbook for recruiting team members
• (12:17) - how Tinman coordinates training, racing schedules
• (17:34) - why aspiring pro runners still default to the roads and track
• (22:54) - how Sam would grow the sport of trail running
• (26:47) - Adidas internship
• (32:17) - brand marketing inspirations for running teams
• (34:08) - how Tinman creates content for social media
• (46:08) - lessons from Tinman for the next trail running team

Links

• Watch the episode on Youtube
• Follow Singletrack on Instagram
• Follow Sam Parsons on Instagram
• Tinman Elite

Additional Episodes You May Be Interested In:

• #49 - Reid Coolsaet | Olympic 2:10 Marathoner Switches To Mountain Ultra Trail Running
• #40 - Lee Sackett | Brooks Running, Running Industry Careers, Running Culture Talk
• #19 - Ask Me Anything | Golden Ticket Series, Professional Trail Runners, Ultra Training