I’ve been a professional runner since I was 18. I signed my first contract right out of high school and naturally, people are curious about what I’ve done with my money over the past decade. When I signed that first deal, I knew absolutely nothing about finance, wealth building, or how to manage money. It wasn’t something I’d ever been interested in, and it wasn’t a topic I discussed with my parents growing up. I just loved running — and getting paid to do it felt like winning the lottery. In today’s newsletter, I’m going to share a bit about how track and field athletes make money, what I’ve done with it, the mistakes I’ve made, the concepts I wish I had understood earlier, and what I plan to do going forward. This is personal, and I want to be clear that none of it is financial advice. Money in our sport is a strangely taboo topic, and much of it feels gatekept by the people holding the purse strings. While I’ll keep certain details private — like specific amounts — to protect myself and my family, I want to give you an honest look at how I’ve managed things over the last (almost) decade.

“The most important investment you can make is in yourself.” – Warren Buffett

How Pro Runners Make Money

Before we get into the nitty gritty, I want to briefly talk about how most professional runners make money.

• Sponsorships/endorsements: for most people this is your largest income source as an athlete. A brand (like asics) will give you a contract for a certain length of time (typically 2-4 years.) This usually has some sort of bonus structure for good races and top finishes as well as time bonuses for faster races. Some contracts include travel budget, a coaching/physio budget, and even money for school if you are a younger athlete on a longer term deal. The downside of this is usually in the form of reductions. Many brands require certain standards to be hit in order to keep you at a set base amount of money. If you are underperforming or injured, this can change year to year.

• Prize money/appearance fees: The better you are racing, the more prize money you will get throughout the year. Marathon runners have the largest bonuses/appearance fees and although track runners are smaller, we have the opportunity to race more often. A lot of this is public, so it’s not that hard to do some googling and figure out how much people make on races but here are two quick examples. If you win the Boston Marathon in 2026, you will make $150k. I just got 3rd in the 5th avenue mile and made $2,500 for that placement. In my best years, I have made around 20-25k in prize money/appearance fees.

• Other Work / Business Ventures: Coaching, content creation, brand partnerships, jobs on the side. A lot of runners use their running to elevate their personal brands, coaching platforms, or social media to make money on the side. For example, when we started Tinman Elite and Hammer and Axe coaching, both of those made money through content creation/merchandise sales and then Hammer and Axe through coaching/training plans. Not every athlete does this, and some have to work part time or full time at “real jobs.”

Runners don’t always have long or guaranteed careers— so managing money matters and there is a lot you can do outside the training hours to make sure that your finances don’t become a problem.

What I’ve done with my money

We are going to break this section down into 3 sections.

1) Stock Investments

2) Real Estate

3) Businesses/Jobs/Savings

Stock Investments:

Without a doubt, investing in stocks and equities has been the consistent thing I have done throughout my pro career. When I first signed my contract in 2016, we sat down with a CPA and my financial adviser and they said a big goal of mine should be to figure out ways to limit my taxable income throughout my career. They suggested we open up a SEP IRA through my business and start funding that as much as we could for as long as we could. A SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension Individual Retirement Account) is a type of retirement account that lets self-employed people and small business owners save for retirement. You can put in much more money each year than with a regular IRA, and contributions are tax-deductible. I knew NOTHING about investing when I started so my financial adviser sat me down and pitched investments over pure saving. We started with really basic index funds with some individual stocks I was comfortable with. More than anything, the consistency mattered, every year I would add more money and watch the beautiful, wonder of compound interest go to work…

“Compounding works best when you can give a plan years or decades to grow. This is true for not only savings but careers and relationships. Endurance is key.”— Morgan Housel

On top of this retirement account, I started an individual account where I decided to take a little bit more risk with investments. We held a lot less index funds in this and more individual stocks. It was fun to see higher returns on some of these stocks, but ultimately when the going got tough (think 2022)— I took some big hits here. Had I just invested in the index funds, I would have been a lot better off. But, I don’t regret this as it was a great learning lesson to have pre-kids. I have slowly moved away from a lot of fun stocks and sold off most of the individual stocks. For someone who isn’t constantly up to dates with all the details of companies earnings, new products, etc… It doesn’t make sense for me to own one off stocks. For instance: in 2021, I bought $5,000 of a stock called Lemonade (Insurance company.) The stock price went up a ton, tons of people thought it was the next big thing, yada yada… The founders sold at the top (most of their shares) and the price came crashing down, I lost ~most~ of that investment. It was a good learning lesson for me: I didn’t really know what was going on, what the company was doing, or why I bought the stock other than the fact that it was all the rage and had a cool name.

“Never invest in a business you cannot understand.” — Warren Buffett

Finally, I have a small position in Bitcoin and Ethereum. I know — crypto is the Wild West of investing. Honestly, I bought in because of FOMO. A few years ago, I decided to start picking up a little of each, with the mindset that I’d never sell and would be completely fine losing my entire investment if things went south. Since the rest of my portfolio is fairly conservative, this felt like a fun way to put 1–3% into something a little… crazy.

“It’s like somebody else is trading turds, and you decide you can’t be left out.” — Charlie Munger talking about Bitcoin. Lol. Not for everyone I guess.

My plan for these accounts is simple — hold them for as long as possible, add to them when appropriate (all the time is ideal) and leave them untouched until I don’t want to work anymore. Most days, I don’t even check them or stress about market swings. I’m investing with a 30–40 year time horizon and aiming for a 8-10% average return over the life of the portfolio. Boring but practical. Up until I had kids, I put every penny that didn’t go into my living expenses, real estate, or vacations into these accounts. I didn’t even have a savings account, I invested everything.

It’s a lot like distance running: year after year, you keep adding to your base. Over time, that steady foundation becomes strong enough to weather storms, handle setbacks, and keep moving forward.

“Our favorite holding period is forever.” — Warren Buffett

Real Estate

I bought a house in Boulder in 2018. I knew absolutely nothing about what that process looked like, where I should buy, or what I was doing. With help from a great real Estate agent, I put 20% down on my first house in Boulder, CO and rented out the spare rooms to my teammates and friends. This was a great situation for me at the time, as my friends helped pay the mortgage and I was able to get me a slice of the American dream. To this day, I have held onto this property and it is still being rented. It cash flows fairly well and is pretty easy to maintain myself. It has gone up a lot in value and so I am waiting for the right market to sell (tried a few months ago and nothing happened.) Or, my family will move back into this house as our family continues to grow. Regardless, this was my first real estate purchase and it has been great.

After I won 5k champs in 2021, I wanted to put my prize money to use. I decided I would buy a half acre outside of Steamboat Springs with the money. I sat on this for a few years and decided to sell it in 2024. I tripled my profits but do not think this was any methodical play. I just got lucky in an up and coming area of Colorado. I had no idea what I wanted to do with the land, but got frustrated paying property taxes on a vacant lot (I never even visited it.) However, it did show me another way that real estate can work for you and that is buying something, holding onto it (ideally making improvements), and sell when the time is right. A realtor called me right after our second daughter was about to be born and it was the perfect time to have some extra cash. I took the money and put it immediately into a high yield savings account as a safety net for our family.

Finally, In 2022 as my wife and I were going through the process of getting married we decided to buy a smaller house in Longmont, CO. I wanted to buy another property and turn our Boulder house into a full time rental. We bought a 3 bedroom, 4 bath house in Longmont to start out life together in. Our plan is to live here for the foreseeable future or until we outgrow it (Catholic family here so, just give us like 5 years.) I want to be clear, this is not an investment. Yes, we hope over time it becomes more valuable but every month it is taking money from our bank account not adding it. This house provides stability for our family and is very close to where I train most days.

Real estate has been an important part of my wealth-building journey. It’s definitely more hands-on than investing in stocks, and at times it can be pretty frustrating. For example, I recently had to replace the fridge in one of my rental properties. After bringing in multiple repair people and trying different fixes, I ultimately had to purchase a custom built-in fridge — which ended up wiping out most of that year’s profits. It was a good reminder that real estate isn’t always easy “cash flow,” and unexpected expenses can pop up anytime.

Real estate has been great for taxes, as you can deduct a lot of things (think mortgage interest, depreciation, property taxes, repairs, etc…) Just like stocks, if I can avoid big mistakes and maintain things, these will be great investments in the long run for my family.

What’s my plan going forward with real estate? I am not entirely sure. I do enjoy it as a nice balance to the stock investments, and think it could be really fun to try something new. My wife is very good with interior design and vision for a property, so I would love see us buy a property for cheap and fix it up together/dsign it and then turn it into an airbnb or short term rental. I do not want to be landlord the rest of my life so any real estate going forward will need to be very focused and niche— specific to what we love (maybe a altitude house for runners?). From a personal standpoint, I don’t love debt— I know some people are great with it and can use it to really grow their wealth but for my peace of mind I prefer simple and mindless when it comes to investing and all in all, real estate is a bit more of a headache.

“I’ve seen more people fail because of liquor and leverage—leverage being borrowed money.” — Warren Buffett

Savings/Jobs/Businesses

On top of where investing, I was able to put some of my money into beginning a few side businesses. The team I helped start, Tinman Elite, made money through media, merchandise, a camp, and sponsorships. On top of that, we created Hammer and Axe coaching platform for the men and women on our team to coach/mentor athletes, sell training plans, and work with brands on sponsorship deals through our social media and newsletters. Throughout my entire running career, these side hustles have been able to pay me $2000-3000 most months. It isn’t life changing money but it was a great source of income to have alongside my running career. And it was great outlet to focus on when running wasn’t going well or when I wanted to flex another part of my brain. Plus, these skills are what I will lean on when I eventually enter the work force or start a business some day.

“The difference between making a good living and creating real wealth is not how much you make, it’s how much you save.” - Scott Galloway

Closing: The Bigger Goal.

Why do I care about saving money? Independence.

“Money’s greatest intrinsic value—and this can’t be overstated—is its ability to give you control over your time.”— Morgan Housel

I don’t need flashy cars, or a huge house, or the perfect 401k balance. When I first went pro, I bought a nice car. I had the money, I had no debt or any other expenses, so I said why not? The novelty wore off after a month. I traded it in for a Toyota 4runner. I will drive that thing into the ground. It was such a good lesson for me to learn at that age. Am I buying what other people think I should buy or what I really find valuable— it’s something we all have to ponder. What do I want to spend money on? For me it is:

1) The ability to spend more time with my kids

2) Allow my wife to be home with the kids

3) Be charitable

4) Feed my family local, high quality food

5) Give my family experiences > possessions

At the heart of it, what I’ve always chased is independence. Even before I could put words to it, I knew I valued freedom. I remember begging my mom to take me out of school the very first day I was eligible for my driver’s permit. Today, that same desire fuels me—only now it’s not just about me, it’s about my family. If I can stay disciplined, avoid big mistakes, and keep learning, then money becomes more than numbers—it becomes a tool to give us that freedom.

Finally, I want stability in my family’s life. It isn’t all about me anymore. If I could run the rest of my life for pennies, I would. But I want to provide for my family. My wife tells me that one of the greatest gifts I have given her is the fact that she doesn't have to work currently, and can raise our daughters hands on. Not every family is the same but for ours, that is at the top of the hierarchy of priorities. And the more I can nail down my finances, the better shot I can provide for that.

“Like Warren, I had a considerable passion to get rich. Not because I wanted Ferraris — I wanted the independence.” — Charlie Munger

So, what is the financially plan going forward?

I’m hunting for new ways to provide for my family while also chasing the dream of making an Olympic team one day. I fully trust God will provide where I am lacking, and that’s something I’ve been giving some mental attention too as well. You can be smart about finances and do your best but peace of mind needs to reign at the end of the day. It’ll be ok!

I wanted to recommend 3 books that really helped me on this personal finance journey:

1. The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel

2. The Algebra of Wealth — Scott Galloway

3. Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger - Peter D Kaufman

   Take a look at some of my go-to gear—everything from dad essentials to recovery and fueling favorites, and of course, the shoes that keep me moving! Also, I did an end of season reflection podcast with The Running Effect. If you want to listen to that, click here.