We weren’t exactly fired.
It is also true, however, that our 2010 household income has been $0 thus far. So, that’s a bummer.
We wrote in the beginning that we’d tell just what it was like to be a professional runner, all the ins and outs and ups and downs. Well, here’s what it’s like:
Most runners get most of their income through shoe deals. That is, they sign a contract to represent a company, such as Nike, Adidas or Reebok, for which they will be compensated for the length of the contact. Performance bonuses, reductions and stipulations are written into this contact, and other supplementary income is available through grants and prize money, but the bulk of our income for the length of the contract is negotiated, written and signed immediately after our graduation from college. In that hubbub of graduation, before which we were off-limits per NCAA amateur athlete regulations, signing with an agent and sponsor, and the realization that we were professional athletes (and awesome beyond reason), the end of our contract period seemed a long way off.
Ian’s contract period was 4.5 years and mine was 2.5 years. Ian is 2 years older than me, meaning that they both ended the same year: this one. The shoe companies had the option of resigning us, but neither did. This wasn’t a surprise. I, especially, was expecting to be without income for a bit. My 2009 season was, in the words of Peter Gambaccini of Runners’ World, “a black hole.” I ran one race all year, it was awful and I spent the rest of it broken, physically and otherwise. Now, Ian didn’t have a good 2009 either but it may surprise you that a 2008 Olympian can’t get a dime from his former sponsor. Our salaries, however, have got to come from somewhere, and this is a different economy than the one we signed into. So, like I said, we weren’t surprised.
Now, I don’t mean to sound defeated, or as if I’m passing the buck. If I had run 15:00 in the 5k, or if Ian had run 13:05, or if either of us had won nationals, I very much doubt we’d be out of jobs. We were lucky and proud and honored 4.5 and 2.5 years ago to be paid to do what we love. And, we still believe we can run fast enough to deserve that opportunity. Maybe for a while we’ll need to take up squatting or dumpster diving or spray-painting ourselves gold and standing motionless downtown Portland, but we will make this work. All that’s left to do is run fast, and that’s what we intend to do.
Definitely tough times right now. Wishing you both the best in 2010! Things will turn around.
Keep running. Keep writing. Neither of you are in it for the money. And before you spary paint yourselves gold, give me a call.
I met you guys at a Halloween Party in Mammoth. Glad to see you both healthy and running with some excitement. This is a big disappointment and I hope you can weather the storm. You are both supremely talented and have some serious resume’s. School records at Stanford are not to be taken lightly. Us mortals dream of much less. A couple of good races and you’ll pick up a new sponsor. Maybe make the World Cross Team? In the mean time, peel the labels off all your gear when you race, ala Adam Nelson, and race well for yourselves. Good luck.
Thanks guys. We’re riding the lows, keeping our heads up for the highs.
Careful, Daddy. I’ll never be too old to call home for a handout.
Julia, just put a link from my blog to your post. I hope things work out for you and Ian.
Will you two be in Spokane for cross nationals?
Good luck with your training and racing this year. I’m sure things will turn around.
Put “RAT” on your ass, and I’ll send you some cash! In all seriousness, let me know what big race you wanna kick everyone’s asses at, and I may hook you up w/some travel or sumthin’. All I ask is that you run your asses off. Btw, “ass” is the word of the day.
[...] them to train their bodies 24/7/365 to be the best athlete they can be. Last week, pro runners Julia Lucas and Ian Dobson blogged about losing their pro contracts with their respective shoe companies and what it means to them to [...]
Thank you all for the kind words! This blog has meant a lot more to us than we planned, and we really appreciate all the support! We’re pretty sure the plot’s about to thicken, so stay tuned!
Andrea-That’s so incredibly generous! Such a sweet-ass offer from a fellow bad-ass athlete puts a big-ass lump in my throat.
-Julia
[...] Olympian Ian Dobson and Julia Lucas join Oregon Track Club Elite. The news of their move to Eugene was announced via their blog, ianandjulia.com. Dobson competed in the 2008 Beijing games in 5000 meters. The pair had up until recently been living and training in Portland after splitting with the Mammouth Track Club and Adidas. Via their blog, they’ve been keeping their family, friends and fans updated on their training and daily lives, including the ups and downs of being unemployed runners. [...]
Ian,
Congratulations! It’s nice to get an Oregon boy back to Oregon! You have more of a “Mountain Man” look than when you were a camper and counselor at Steens Mountain Running Camp. By reading some of your blogs, it looks like you and wife Julia have a great friendship.
Ian, I would love it if you and Julia had time to join us at Steens Camp this summer.. It doesn’t pay great but we would make sure you had plenty of Jerky and Ice, some great sunrises, sunsets and of course, great company. If you are open to my invitation, the dates of the camp are: Session One… July 18-24, Session Two July 25-31. Depending upon your schedules,you could come up for as long or as little as you both wish..
Camp has grown leaps and bounds since you and the other great KU kids were there..We limit the camp to 165 athletes per session. We had almost 200 athletes who we could not enroll last summer.. We are almost half full at the date of this message.
Again congratulations! I have always been proud of your efforts Ian. And I look forward to meeting Julia.
Harland
Hello, I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting your site often.That is some inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.
[...] Ian Dobson and Julia Lucas Soldier On, Without Shoe ContractsA blog post written by Julia Lucas gives a bit of insight into a harsh aspect of professional running. In a post-Beijing Olympic period and a far from sound economy, many subsidized athletes have not had their shoe contracts extended. Lucas admits that neither she now Dobson had a good 2009, but Dobson is just one year removed from making a U.S. Olympic team in the 5000. Lucas understands “if I had run 15:00 in the 5K, or if Ian had run 13:05, or if either ofus had won nationals, I very much doubt we’d be out of jobs. We werelucky and proud and honored 4.5 and 2.5 years ago (the length of Dobson’s and Lucas’ now expired contracts, respectively) to be paid to do whatwe love. And, we still believe we can run fast enough to deserve thatopportunity.” (photo of Julia Lucas by Victah Sailer) More [...]