The Formula 1 Effect on Niche Sport
How it affects Trail Runnings
There is something that has been going on with niche sports for a few years now. It's what I call the Spotlightification effect. This is when a topic, idea or in our case sport becomes more popular because of the expanding media attention it is receiving.
This happened with the show Drive to Survive on Netflix. The show takes viewers on a journey of the interworking of the sport and business of Formula 1. The effect has been happening with various niche sports. Tennis, Golf and the bike race the Tour De France all have a series on Netflix dedicated to them.
When people think about sports in America most tend to think about football, baseball and basketball. These sports have been around for quite some time and have been very popular too. Receiving most of the coverage from traditional media outlets. This has led them to grow as these sports were broadcast on every corner bar and local restaurant. The fanbases grow and kids are raised and inducted into their family's cult also known as the team they support.
It is easier to have a growing fan base around a sport like football because many people at least in the US watch games weekly during the season. It has become a cultural phenomenon that started around the end of the westward expansion. But let's get to this spotlightification effect because now there are many other channels covering different sports and allowing people to get interested and follow some of these niche sports more closely.
Both Netflix and YouTube are good examples of media channels that are budding with information about various niche sports that people are starting to follow. In addition, the value of individualism ingrained in America can and will start to have an effect on different niche sports like trail running as they get more media attention.
Now that we understand how the spotlightification effect works let's talk about how it's affecting trail running. In the sport of trail running right now, there are a few media outlets budding and expanding the sport.
One of which being the Golden Trail World Series and their YouTube channel. The channel is dedicated to covering the series from an elite athlete perspective sharing information about the courses and the professional trail runners. This show in a way mimics the idea of Drive to Survive but does not go as deep with some of the stories. Hard to blame them when covering a mountain race is a lot different than covering a Formula 1 race on a track.
Some other great outlets for trail media are Freetrail, Ultra Running Magazine, and Trial Runner by Outside. These outlets have shared some knowledge and information about tips on the sport and offer more than just blogs with Freetrail having podcasts revolving around trail running.
These outlets are emerging with more and more content, making it easier to find people thanks to social media. All these channels have been growing in tandem elevating the sport to reach a greater number of people.
I think this will continue. With individual creators and brands trying their hand at storytelling through YouTube, who's to say the sport can't keep growing? Maybe trail running is the new F1. But the question is who or what will elevate the sport's cultural relevance?