Signing a new running contract with ASICS.

Hey everyone,

For those who don’t know, I have officially signed a running contract with Asics starting in 2025. It’s been a while—but I have the yearning to write about how the last few months have gone down. I hope I can shed some light into how one makes a decision to sign a new running contract.

The process really got going around the Olympic Trials. I was fresh off one of the better races in my career- a close 4th place finish in the 10k. I hopped on the phone with my agent, Ray Flynn, after the race and we chatted through what would be a realistic goal for me in contract negotiations. At the time, we thought Adidas would want to re sign me for 4 more years. I was still young, I had a lot of potential in the longer races I had just started to explore, and I had done some awesome work for the brand over the last 8 years. Plus, it’s always easier to stay with a brand that you’ve worked with then establish a new relationship. I carried on the rest of the Summer focusing on racing and not worrying too much about contracts. I ran a 3:33 1500 personal best to end the year with 3 new personal bests in the 1500, 5k, and 10k. On September 13th, 2024, we welcomed our second daughter, Rose Cecilia Marie Hunter into the world. Life was good.

Around October I started to get a little antsy about things. I didn’t have a new contract yet and things were slow with talks. My agent told me he would meet with Adidas around the Chicago marathon. Two days before the race, I got the call from Ray. It was shocking. He told me the offer Adidas sent him and it wasn’t even close to what I thought I deserved. As athletes, we have to be careful with our egos— knowing our true value depends a lot of different variables. Things like: age, recent running success, what the market looks like, and what brands align with your running goals. But, with a growing family and a wife who quit her own successful career to raise our children, this wasn’t even close to enough. I felt like a failure in that moment. Not every family looks the same, but I know that my running career was only valuable if I could allow my wife to raise our children on my running salary. This wasn’t going to be the case with this Adidas offer. Not only was the money not enough, but there were a ton of implications regarding the Adidas sponsored team I help found. Could I train under my parents? Would Adidas still offer the team a new contract if I wasn’t on the team? But, we had to start somewhere.

I told Ray that we needed to explore the open market. I was pretty cut and dry with him, I told him this is the number I need to continue running and I wanted to join a brand that saw value in me. I started to apply for “real” jobs and think beyond running. It sounds strange because I want to run forever, but there is no way I am going to sell out my family financially for a few glorious laps around the track. I was terrified— but deep down there was something deeply exciting to see what was out there. Change is hard but I knew this could be the spark for another great four years of running if I got the chance. Some athletes need to hire a new coach, try new training, or move somewhere new. For me, a fresh start with a brand tickled my fancy.

I stayed in touch with Ray over the next few weeks pretty frequently. Pitching different ideas to him, letting him know what I would be willing to give and give up with a new brand. It was interesting to see what was out there but I had a lot of boxes I needed to tick, and so that limited what companies wanted to work with me. By the end of October/early November, I knew what companies were willing to play ball. So, it was about getting a solid concrete offer. I had a lot to balance. I was getting training going again, still looking for the potential of other jobs, raising two kids, and trying to communicate to my team how I could still train with them— despite a different brand.

In the end, we got a very solid offer from ASICS. We sent it over to Adidas (as they have first right of refusal—meaning they can match it before I sign with a new company). They said, respectfully, “nah.” I wish we could talk numbers, but I am not allowed. This would certainly make contracts better for everyone. They sent me some shoes to start testing out and wearing and I loved them. Keep in mind, this is the first time wearing another pair of running shoes in almost a decade. I got to meet some of the team, and had a warm welcoming with the brand. It felt like a really good fit— and a company that valued me beyond my performance. I would be one of their few US track athletes and not just another body on the starting line. This is all good— and exactly what I was looking for in what could potentially be the last leg of my running career.

Now it was about having all the other details fall in line:

1. What was Tinman Elite going to do? We had the option to stay with Adidas and I was grandfathered in to train with the team, but I wasn’t allowed in any of the media stuff and I couldn’t work for the team anymore. Definitely a weird existence, but I could keep training with the guys— so not the worst option.

2. Do I find a new coach/team? A part of me had to ponder that maybe this was a sign I needed to have a clean start. New teammates, new coach, new training locations. Problem is, there just aren’t that many options out there. Most groups are tied to sponsors, and well, I like my coaches and teammates!

3. Do we blow it all up? If we’re not under one title sponsor, we could sort of do whatever we want? But then we have to roll in the mud a bit to figure out funding, coaching budgets, etc…

These are the decisions we have been pondering over the last few months. And some of them are still going on.

Here are some of my bigger goals the next few years:

1. Sub 13 minute 5k.

2. Sub 27 minute 10k.

3. World cross team.

4. Run a fast half marathon.

5. Olympics in 5k/10k in Los Angeles.

These all feel within reach and realistic, but challenging enough to excite me. I have been doing the same thing for the last decade, chasing fast times on the track, running the same meets, seeing the same people. I love it. But I want to feel inspired by my own running. And that means doing some new stuff! I am very excited with the trajectory of my new training. Tons of threshold work, hills, and some sprinkled in harder long runs. More importantly, I feel good doing all this stuff. The body and mind are aligned for the first time in a few years, and I am inspired by the body of work I am creating. This is what I have been missing, and I can feel myself leveling up with this new training. Beyond running goals, I want to grow in my career. I’m not entirely sure what this looks like yet. I, like a lot of athletes, have been one track minded the last decade. This doesn’t look great on a resume for future employers. I am fortunate to have done some great work with my team and coaching business the last few years, but I do worry about entering the work place when I hang up the spikes. I am intrigued about the idea of working while running professionally the next 4 years. Not only would this be a great financially for our family, but it would give me balance in my life and peace of mind that when running is all said and done, I won’t be starting form square one. So, that is something I will be exploring the next few months.

Thank you all for taking the time to read about this big update. From everyone who has sent me kind messages or told me they’re excited for my next chapter—thank you. I hope I can keep putting out longer written pieces of stuff that is interesting. In the meantime, go ahead and grab yourself a pair of my new favorite trainers, the NOVABLAST 5’s.

-Drew