Why Colleen Quigley Left the Nike Bowerman Track Club And Signed with Lululemon

"Nike was trying to offer me less than what they offered me when I came out of college. To me, it was just a slap in the face. I was like, ‘I've made the Olympic team. I'm pretty much, you know, not to sound cocky, but like I'm probably going to make another Olympic team. I've made five USA teams since I graduated. How could I possibly be worth less than I was when I came out of college?’ They were able to come up a little bit when I was just straight up, like, ‘No. That's not a starting point.’ And they came up a little bit, but I'm still making almost three times what that was, with the same bonus structure, with the same incentives and no reductions. So now I don't have to worry about ‘Oh you didn't race ten races this year.’ Yeah like I've raced eight. Who really cares? I didn't make it off by doing things like the local turkey trot to get my tenth race. Lululemon isn’t ticky tacky and counting every little thing. They want me to be happy. They want me to live the values that their brand holds to be important, which I also believe in and stand behind. They want to be a good ambassador for their brand, which I always felt like I did for Nike. I always felt like I was a good ambassador for their brand, but it just was never enough."

Colleen Quigley was a previous guest on this show back in February 2018. Now, she’s back with some BIG news. After five years of training with the Nike Bowerman Track Club, she announced she was leaving the team in January. Under coach Jerry Schumacher and Pascal Dobert, the FSU grad became one of the best U.S. female steeplechasers and has made every U.S. national team since the 2015 world championships. She’s the 3rd fastest U.S. steeplechaser ever with a 9:10.27 PR. She’s run 4:03.02 for 1,500m & 4:20 for the mile. She is now coached by Portland State’s Josh Steitz and will be running for Lululemon. That’s the big news. That’s her new sponsor. You’ll hear all about that decision and more.

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