Why Awesomesauce Matters.

And why it doesn't.

This topic has had way too much attention than it deserves. Already. (Ironic I am writing about it, but only like 5 people are listening so fuck it).

I think we need to always remember that more than one thing can be true at once, and those things may bear no relation whatsoever to each other.

First. This Awesomesauce gel from Spring Energy turned out to be (I’m ashamed to say this) Weak Sauce. Half the calories advertised and half the carbs advertised. In a product designed for endurance athletes. You can’t do that and stay in business. If I heard that any company was giving half of what it puts on the label I would stop buying from that company. Immediately. Completely. Full stop. Hopefully they get punished by the market. If you keep buying and using the product that’s now on you.

But. As sexy this is as a “gotcha” moment, this isn’t really a big deal. If your life is now changed, or you want to lead a protest, you might have, an “expensive applesauce problem.” You probably sucked in your last race because of lack of training, not applesauce. And if you are one of the .0001 % of the runners that do this for a living and your performance was thrown off by this debacle, I am truly sorry (but wonder why you are fueling exclusively with applesauce and question your ability to “listen to your body.”)

Second. Influencers and advertisers of Spring should feel bad and be sorry for promoting a product that turned out to be fraudulent. A proper apology sounds something like “I regret and am sorry that I promoted this product because it turns out to be not what is was said to be.” Or just “I’m sorry.” No “but’s.” (eg. “BUT I wasn’t involved in the development” or “BUT I didn’t know x or y”). My first AA sponsor used to always say: “Everything after the “but” is bullshit.

But. (Oh I did that on purpose, trust me). Influencers and advertisers don’t need to be shamed and punished by the general public, the twitterverse or notorious podcaster/coaches. They didn’t design and make the product. They didn’t study it in a lab. They are allowed to trust an otherwise trustworthy source until there is evidence to the contrary. They’re only blameworthy if, in the face of uncontrovertible evidence, they still back the product. So let’s stop dunking on them and making them bad actors in this story. Is there a conversation to be had about pro athletes/influencers and coaches and the products they advertise? Certainly. The same goes for podcasters. (eg. Does Ten Junk Miles really know that UCAN isn’t made from the tears of tortured kittens? ). That being said, I think the dunking on influencers, coaches and advertisers in this instance is completely opportunistic and a little nuts.

Third. Keep in mind that on some level this is all advertising material. In that regard, the vitriol cast at influencers, coaches and advertisers is, just, yuck. Know that. Koop did a whole show shitting on the Roches. He and Sage have bantered on Twitter. Does any of this seem like a coincidence? It’s a great gotcha moment for a coach to bash the competition and his chief critic in one fell swoop. He is the white knight we have all been waiting for to save us from the tornadic world destruction that is Sage and the Roaches, who seem to be some of the objectively happiest/nicest people in the world (that’s supposed to have a snarky tone).

But. Koop is a first rate coach with a lot of science know-how and a constant excellent source of information about the sport (of course I listen to his podcast regularly). Moreover, everyone I know that has worked with/been coached by the Roches has RAVED about how nice, kind and knowledgeable they are, and, listening to their podcast for even five minutes makes it obvious that they (just like Sage) are good, kind and smart people (I left out HAPPY).

So where does that leave us?

Awesomesauce is apple sauce and Spring can’t be trusted.

This is a first world tragedy that is being overblown by ulterior motives. So take what everyone says with a grain of salt and keep in mind, most people have a motive or an angle, or they wouldn’t be taking action.

Coaches/Influencers be kind to each other. This controversy brought out all of the things I hate about politics and social media. Camps. Pile ons. Ugliness. It is totally gross.

After all, with or without applesauce, for most of us, it’s just, running.