How Would You Catch Cobras?

In Matt Walsh’s latest article on his Substack ‘Trailmix’ he begins by referencing Malcolm Gladwell. Given the controversies around Gladwell over the past few years this peaked my interest beyond Matt’s usual stout observations into our sport. Walsh continues sharing a story about Cobras in Delhi, India and uses this “historical event” to build a jumping off point to ask this question:

“Are TV rights deals the only way for Trail Running to professionalise?”

I was about to answer that question in a longwinded article breaking down my views of where I see trail running as a sport and as a cultural phenomenon to be heading, but then I stopped myself. went online and searched for more information about that alleged cobra story in Delhi. You know, since Gladwell was referenced I thought it would be worth doing due diligence.

Turns out historians can’t find any references that this ‘cobra event’ actually ever happened despite economists referencing it for years. Oh so very Gladwell.

But using dubious stories that economists regularly rehash as historic realities aside, what this article left me wondering is a sentence in Matt’s last paragraph:

I think it [trail running] can grow and become a more sustainable business for athletes and organisers through other means.

A whole article decrying TV deals and then not offering any “better ideas” feels a bit cynical to me.

A couple of thoughts:

Has the Tour the France changed dramatically with it being televised?
How about Golf tournaments?
Both sports haven’t been altered to fit the “short timeframe narrative”, right? People watch tours of Tour France for days at a time. And the same with golf tournaments.

A side note:

Matt published the article on the final weekend of Cocodona, an event that that has a very dedicated media strategy at its core. I wonder if the article was a response to Cocodona and their media focus, or if Cocodona is still somewhat a regional (US centric) event and the general excited hasn’t really made it across the pond.