Nick Symmonds

Coming off what most would argue is the best season of his professional career, Nick Symmonds has decided not to resign with Nike and the Oregon Track Club and instead has opted to sign with Brooks and the Brooks beast training group. Symmonds is giving up living in Oregon and training with Coach Rowland and other top 800m man Tyler Mulder and 2x NCAA champ and newcomer Elijah Greer as potential training partners. Rowland and Symmonds have worked together for the last 5 years culminating in the past two seasons with fantastic results: 1:42.95 and a silver medal at the world championships.

But clearly the decision was not track based for Symmonds. Nike has the top equipment and facilities as well as the best connections and coaches. Ditching them is sure to make things a little more difficult on the track. However, Symmonds has always been a man interested in marketing himself. He is looking for opportunities to grow is brand, to make a living and to have a strong relationship with his sponsors.

In my opinion, Symmonds is one of the greatest figures in our sport right now. He keeps the sport interesting when so many other runners in the US are just boring and bland. I fully support Nick's decision. He has talked about his decision in depth already on multiple sites, and I figure going forward much will come out as he is allowed to talk about the details of the contract. What Nick has been able to say about the contract negotiations is that Nike contracts had a lot of reductions that would cause Nick to lose money if he missed certain goals. They are essentially the opposite of bonuses for good performance. Nike also crippled his ability to market himself to other companies. He felt he was essentially rental spike for the swoosh and just another body in a large Nike empire dominated by basketball and golf (yeah golf is dominating our sport, we got to deal with it folks). Brooks is a company purely devoted to track and Symmonds can be the face of the franchise so to speak.

I think Nick is satisfied with this position moving forward, however, as the ultimate hype machine in American track and field, Nick is putting a lot of pressure on himself to perform. He spent the summer after his fantastic 2013 season calling out a slew of potential American Records. He has put the expectations very high for this outdoor season. And to reach those goals he must now relay on an entirely new supporting cast. His new coach is a relative unknown that Symmonds has confidence in, but sounds like he will rely heavily on his experience as runner in conjuction with his new coach, Danny Mackey. Nick will also begin to train with a new group of mid distance prospects with the biggest names being Cas Loxsom and Riley Masters. Far from the experienced group of vets he had worked with in Oregon.

In addition, it looks like Nick will be throwing himself into the center of controversy and discussion. He wanted to be on the Bachelor last year rumors said. He is an active fisher and drinker, with goals of breaking the Beer Mile world record. And of course he continues to be a face for track and field athlete rights in the sport. As said I think he is a fantastic runner and great for the sport, but it's a lot of pressure for anyone to have on their shoulders.

Overall, we will find out quickly how well Nick adjusts. He has indoor races coming up quickly, including an American record attempt at the 1000m indoors. Fresh off turning 30 years old on December 30th, it will be interesting to see what Nick Symmonds has left in the tank as he enters the biggest year of his entire career trying to lift the Brooks crew to a new level of Beasts.