Ryan Fenton

@JWLevitt @LongRunLabs @ForTheLRPod Saw that you got the updated info, but confirming that Flo's broadcast will be free alongside UTMB's free broadcast.

UTMB Just Handed Its Audience to FloTrack. That’s a Mistake. I run @longrunlabs, an endurance and outdoor podcast network with 35+ shows and over 700,000 monthly listeners. I also host @forthelrpod. A big part of my job is connecting brands to audiences in this sport, which means I pay close attention to how and where people watch, listen, and engage. So when UTMB announced FloTrack as its North American broadcast partner for 2026, I had thoughts. I’m not thrilled about this, and I think the trail and ultra community should push back on it. Hard. The pricing problem The track world has been dealing with FloSports for years, and the pattern is consistent. FloTrack’s subscription runs $29.99/month or $149.99/year, compared to Peacock at $5.99/month. That pricing model has generated serious backlash within the running community. When FloTrack acquired Diamond League broadcast rights, the reaction was so negative that FloTrack turned off comments on its own social media posts announcing the deal. That tells you everything you need to know about how the running community feels about this company owning their sport’s biggest events. The core problem isn’t just cost. It’s friction. FloTrack doesn’t even display subscription rates on their site. They prompt you to create a login before you can find out what it costs. That’s not a fan-first experience. That’s a flow designed to capture an email address before you can make an informed decision. I’ve done this several times over the years and never once committed to paying, but I sure do get their emails. The growth problem The deeper issue is what this does to sport growth. Moving to FloTrack limits the reach of professional running significantly. Casual fans won’t be exposed to the sport. You won’t stumble across coverage on TV. You have to seek it out. For a sport like trail and ultra that is still building its mainstream audience, that’s a genuine setback. Trail and ultra running is having a moment. Participation numbers are up. The athletes are compelling. The races are cinematic. This is exactly the wrong time to put the biggest race series in the world behind a $30/month paywall that most casual fans will never bother to find. This isn't an argument against subscription media. Media brands like The Athletic built something great by going deep on sports people already loved. This is an argument about sequence: you can't ask people to pay for a sport they haven't fallen in love with yet. The alternative already exists Mountain Outpost, the media arm of Aravaipa Running, has built something genuinely special. Their broadcasts stream free to viewers on YouTube, and they have a presenting sponsor model that makes it work financially. Brands like Altra have had title sponsorship to help cover production costs while fans watched for free. Hell, I even sponsored the Black Canyon 2024 coverage on behalf of For The Long Run. SWAP Podcast did too that year. That model creates virality. YouTube’s live comment section during a 100-mile race is one of the best community experiences in endurance sports. People tracking splits, sharing stories about runners they know, losing their minds when someone makes a move at mile 80. You can’t replicate that behind a paywall, and you can’t replicate the discoverability. A first-time viewer doesn’t stumble onto FloTrack. They do stumble onto YouTube. The sponsorship model is smarter than it looks The sponsorship-funded broadcast model isn’t charity. It’s smart business. Brands get hours of reach and association with something their customers genuinely care about. The sport gets new fans. The community stays intact. I’ve been working to bring non-endemic brands into the endurance space. After sponsoring podcasts, athletes and media properties are the obvious next step. I just signed a deal with Good Ranchers, a meat delivery service, and they’re sponsoring a half dozen shows including Trail Society. Think about what that looks like on a live broadcast. You have athletes and commentators on the call filling time between aid station arrivals. There’s a natural conversation about nutrition, about what elite runners are eating, about the role of iron and protein in performance. And then you introduce a brand that makes quality meat delivery easy and accessible. That’s not an ad. That’s a story. Start with endemics, bring in non-endemics that power athletes as humans, then layer in travel and lifestyle. The model writes itself. But none of that works at scale if the audience is locked behind a paywall. The reason brands want to be on a YouTube broadcast is because anyone can watch it. Lock it up and you’ve traded growth for a subscription fee most people won’t pay. UTMB deserves better UTMB is the biggest brand in trail running. The races are spectacular. The athletes are world class. The stories are there. Handing that audience to FloTrack is a significant mistake, and the community deserves to say so loudly. The infrastructure for a better model already exists. The sponsorship dollars are there if you go find them. All it takes is someone deciding that growing the sport matters more than capturing a monthly subscription.

@Predamame I appreciated your call out of our mistake the other day. This however has nothing to do with DL wild card.

Another person with even less knowledge of how the Diamond League Wild Card to the World Championships works.

We are live for the first time with the Athlete’s Lounge at the Doha @Diamond_League ! Tune in here, YouTube or FloTrack and see @MattCentrowitz @treyhardee @UgHLyDuCkLiN in action!

American CJ Albertson cracks top 10 men @nycmarathon (10th pl). Completes 6th marathon in last 12 months, 4th marathon of 2024 and 2nd marathon in last 22 days. His consistency is impressive. Averaging time if 2:09:48 in 2024 (fastest 2:08:17 in Chicago, slowest 2:10:57 today)

Abdi Nageeye wins men’s @nycmarathon in 2:07:39, 6 secs ahead of Evans Chebet. Albert Korir is 3rd 2:08:00, in front of defending champ Tamirat Tola (2:08:12) Conner Mantz is top American in 6th, 2:09:21…not a big surprise that training partner Clayton Young is 7th in 2:09:21

Chebet and Nageeye are the last 2 men fighting for the win with less than a mile to go @nycmarathon

Sheila Chepkirui upsets defending @nycmarathon champ Hellen Obiri for the win by 14 secs in 2:24:35! Vivian Cheruiyot finishes 3rd, Sara Vaughn is top American in 6th (2:26:56) 2 additional Americans crack the top 10- Jess McClain (2:27:19, 8th) & Kellyn Taylor (2:27:59, 10th)!

One mile to go for women in @nycmarathon…Cheruiyot has dropped! It’s Obiri and Chepkirui going head to head in Central Park!

Defending NYC champ Tola has been dropped! About 4 miles to go and it’s down to 3…Kamworwor, Chebet and Nageeye battling @nycmarathon !

5 men remain @nycmarathon…Oly and Defending NYC champ Tola, Kamworwor, Korir, Chebet and Nageeye Conner Matz is top American, 17 seconds behind leaders

Less than 4 miles to go for the women at @nycmarathon and 3 remain! Cheruiyot, Chepkirui, and defending Champ Obiri…shaping up for an exciting finish!

Cheruiyot’s move has dropped the lead pack to 5 women…with Chepkirui, Chumba, Schlumpf and defending Champ Obiri. They hit 35k 2:01:23. Sara Vaughn is 17 secs back in 7th

4x Olympic medalist and 4x world champ Vivian Cheruiyot makes a big move to now lead the @nycmarathon ! Prior to 2024, her last marathon was in 2019

Evans Chebet throws in a surge to break things up before 17 mile mark at @nycmarathon. He lets up to regroup and moments later, Tamirat Tola pushes to the lead to continue spacing out the leaders! Moves are being made!

Women hit 30k at @nycmarathon in 1:44:47 and only one American woman remains…Sara Vaughn!

Men hit the half marathon in slow 65:33 at @nycmarathon. 4 Americans remain (mantz, young, kiptoo, mekonen), while CJ Albertson and Elkanah Kibet fade

Some separation happening in women’s @nycmarathon after 25k, most notably Tirunesh Dibaba and Jenny Simpson fall off the leaders

Women hit the half way at @nycmarathon led by Dakotah Popehn (formerly Lindwurm) in 1:13:59. Total of 21 women still in the mix including all the favorites and 9 American women

Great speaking with Jason and Sportico, big things ahead!!

It was amazing to be in Paris for the Olympic Games where track & field takes the spotlight around the world! It’s got me excited for a big year ahead in 2025 for the sport on @FloTrack!