Kelly Newlon: Real Athlete Diets, Crewing FKT Projects, Athlete Sponsorship Thoughts (Sunday Conversation)

Kelly Newlon is the Co-Owner of Real Athlete Diets, a catering company that focuses on feeding ultra endurance athletes. We talk about her experiences and insights supporting well-known runners in our sport on fastest known time projects, as well as her interests in and knowledge of the athlete-sponsorship landscape in trail and ultrarunning.Sponsors:Rabbit - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://www.runinrabbit.com/discount/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next orderHVMN - use code Singletrack20 at checkout on their website (https://hvmn.com/SINGLETRACK20) to get 20% off your next orderTimestamps:(1:40) - overview of Real Athlete Diets (RAD), role in trail and ultrarunning community(2:52) - how relationships are formed between RAD and trail running teams/athletes(4:38) - what a standard relationship looks like between RAD and the athlete(8:10) - the role that food catering services play in fastest known time (FKT) attempts(11:52) - whether these services are a competitive advantage for athletes pursuing FKT attempts(14:17) - other interesting food-related logistical insights from FKT attempts(17:38) - how to keep athletes as nourished and healthy as possible on long-trail FKT attempts(21:49) - final thoughts on food-related FKT logistics(24:22) - interests in the athlete-sponsorship relationship, Athletes’ Coalition(31:07) - critical questions athletes should be asking in the contract negotiation process(38:05) - whether both sides (athlete and sponsor) are generally satisfied with the current state of affairs(46:16) - educating athletes earlier in their careers(49:33) - whether all athletes and all brands generally want many of the same things out of contracts(51:56) - whether the Athlete Manager or marketing team is most influential in the direction of a trail running team(56:01) - commenting on trends like team sizes, road versus trail investment, etc(61:56) - whether we are still growing or we are at a high point in terms of athlete opportunity in the sport (65:06) - final thoughtsLinks:Check out the Real Athlete Diets websiteFollow Real Athlete Diets on InstagramAdditional Episodes You May Enjoy:#98 - Steff Gardner | How Salomon Is Building Their North American Trail Running Team#99 - Robert Muecke | How Adidas Terrex Is Building Their Trail Running Team#106 - David Kilgore | How On Is Building Their Trail Running Team#108 - Jordan Hamm | How Brooks Running Is Building Their Trail Running TeamSupport the show