Bad publicity in trail running or business? No, thank you!

Sometimes I wonder whether I fit into society or stand apart. I have an established working life and am a happy father, yet I pursue a sport whose scale not everyone understands. I certainly swim against the tide when it comes to some sayings: “Once your reputation is ruined, you can live without shame” or “Bad publicity is better than no publicity”. Sorry, not for me.

As an entrepreneur, reaching and living up to our team’s high standards matters enormously. We want customers to love our work. When do you love something? Put simply, when everything fits: affection and attraction, trust and reliability, reinforced by positive opinions from others. Bad publicity is not smart, in trail running or business. Better to go unnoticed than ruin your reputation.

My outlook, morals and ethics extend from private and professional life into sport. Sometimes trail running still seems, overall, a relatively unspoilt world. We can debate whether every event created by large companies makes sense, the commercialisation of UTMB, or whether doping exists. Fundamentally, though, trail running’s essence is clear: nature is the most beautiful playground we could wish for.

“Nature, the most beautiful playground.” (c) Georg Krewenka.

Publicity for trail running makes sense. Does bad publicity?

Recently, I read a local newspaper story about a trail runner and extreme athlete entering a Grand Canyon stage race, similar to the Transalpine Run. On day one, the report said, he was bitten by a tarantula and injured his lower back. Medical staff removed him from the race at the stage finish. Bad enough, but it continued. The article described taking large quantities of painkillers that got him to the finish but also caused kidney failure. He took nine hours and was proud of beating six US Marines by an hour and a half. It did not say whether they started the next stage or, like him, headed for Las Vegas.

Everyone may shape their life as they see fit, and I do not presume to condemn individual actions. But I do speak up when I feel something is wrong. Trail running for fun, in training or racing, is sustained by joy and personal responsibility. In my running world, there is no place for painkillers: when the body says it cannot continue, a DNF is a necessity, not a disgrace, and can be calmly accepted. Boasting about “beating” others afterwards has no place in my trail running world either.

If you want to “beat” someone, take up boxing!

I care about the reputation of trail running, my great passion

I could say he is only harming himself. Yes, and no. He also harms the reputation of the sport I love. Trail running’s beauty, grandeur and fulfilment suffer whenever its participants use means that were not intended, or not permitted. Especially when pain and fighting “friends” seem more important than the experience, nature’s beauty and trail running itself.

Everyone can have their 15 minutes of fame. Fine. But bad publicity certainly does not promote trail running. And that matters.

Here are a few impressions of what trail running means to me: