Why is Running Culture So Triggering Right Now?
THE ERA OF THE RUNNING INFLUENCER
“The benefits and opportunities of running are available to anyone. You don’t have to be born anatural athlete, and you don’t have to be uniquely gifted. A life-shaping experience is there for the taking, waiting right outside your door.”
Coming off the highs of April and the vibes of the Boston Marathon, I decided to pivot and write my last blog about the issue with the superhuman speeds we witnessed at the London Marathon at the end of the month, and Sabastian Sawe’s iconic sub-two hour finish time. I wrote about how while this is an incredibly impressive achievement, I also discussed the “catch 22” this presents for running culture. Should impressive speeds be celebrated? Yes, but so should every speed. Running is not all about pace.
And while I was writing this blog, I started thinking about the other things happening in the world of running, and honestly, the list of things that came to mind almost immediately was staggering. And the overarching themes?
Influencers are ruining running culture. Social media is ruining running culture. Comparison is ruining running culture.
Let’s break this down, because I also know for a fact that I am not alone in these sentiments.
To make sure I wasn’t just getting old and grumpy, I did a poll on my social media (irony at its finest) about what is triggering others about running culture these days. And the responses were APLENTY. While I don’t have enough time to list every single response I got in one blog, I did save all of them to use on future running blogs, so today I am going to focus on the responses that fit into the main three themes: influencers, social media, and comparison.
Let’s start with the influencers. According to the dictionary, an “influencer” is an individual with the capacity to shape the attitudes, behaviors, or purchasing decisions of a specific audience due to their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship. The term influencer became mainstream with the rise of platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, and refers to an individual who holds significant power over a dedicated following. In running, influencers more recently became more prevalent. With the growing popularity of distance running over the last several years, along came a new crop of running influencers who are paid to promote gear, training platforms, running sneakers, fuel, and races—an issue that’s becoming more and more controversial as they are getting free bibs to run races that most runners can only in through a super selective lottery or through competitive qualifying standards.
While influencers are great for companies and race organizers to promote products and events, I find the amount of misinformation these individuals hawking on the internet to be extremely alarming. First and foremost, a world major marathon—or any popular race in general—does not need to be giving out free bibs to influencers with a ton of followers to gain interest. If races are going to be using the power of social media, they should be having influencers promote smaller, local races that could use the boost in numbers, attendance, and the revenue the town or city gets from hosting thousands of runners and spectators on a race weekend. I remember a few years ago I was paid to help promote the Providence Marathon and lead a shakeout run the day before, and this was an incredible weekend. While a very fun race, it wasn’t sold out at the time, so any additional visibility that the race organizers could garner was beneficial. Now, major races give out bibs to running influencers with tens of thousands of followers, just so they can create content. But with massive waitlists and career runners or fundraising runners dying to get into these races, why are we rewarding social media personalities with entries who have no ties to the race?
And the issue with influencing doesn’t start and end with the entries to races. This past Boston Marathon, I was appalled at how at every turn, everything just seemed curated towards social media opportunities. The expo was just full of people filming literally everything—gone were the days of tons of booths lined up with people actually talking about running and running products. I was invited to an event with a popular sneaker brand, and ended up leaving within five minutes. The event was set up like a VIP area of a nightclub, with everyone in there dressed to the nines and photographers everywhere. My wife and I had gone right from the expo, and I was carrying my race gear and bib and wearing sweats and sneakers—and could just feel the side eyes from the influencers as soon as I walked in. And once inside? It wasn’t people who were running on Monday. In fact, most of the people I saw weren’t even runners at all! They were just there for the photo opps and the free shoes. I left immediately, wondering when the marathon and the events leading up to it would be about running and human connection again?
Additionally, while I follow very few so-called running influencers, the ones that really grind my gears are the ones who just started running and think they can spit hot garbage about their training methods to their followers. Whenever I have a check-in call with my running clients and they start talking about something they saw running-related on TikTok, I immediately eye roll, because most of the time, these so called “experts” giving advice on social media literally have no idea what they’re talking about! I cannot, cannot emphasize enough: only follow people who are qualified to give advice or coaching tips! A twenty-something influencer with fresh legs and cute outfits who feels good and speedy on their first few runs (and is getting paid to promote these products and/or get them for free, remember) does not have the same experience and expertise as a certified run coach, or a runner who has been training/been coached for years.
Know who you’re following and take their advice with a grain of salt!
So who should you follow? Some of my favorites on Instagram are (but are not limited to!):
Finally, my last beef with running influencers? Those out there that are constantly talking about their own speeds or their own workouts, and shaming other training methods and slower speeds. I find the speed shaming to be particularly prevalent these days, and most of the shaming comes from younger influencers who are just naturally athletic—they completely ignore how important the journey is, and neglect to commend runners who may be running slower paces than they do. The speed shaming has got to stop—also, as a slightly catty aside, I find that the younger, more inexperienced runners who are constantly bragging about their speed and putting down others are the ones who seem to get injured and sidelined the quickest/the most.
So what were some of the other running influencer-related gripes that I gathered from my crowd sourcing on the internet? Here were some of my favorite responses:
TikTok
The rise of the running influencer
Cliquey
Asking how fast you ran instead of did you have fun
Expensive, unnecessary clothes/shoes
Influencers shaming people who aren’t as fast/walkers
Body image and cute outfit trends
Influencers who confuse their experience for the reality of the culture surrounding the sport
Complaining about a world major (crowds, temps, etc, especially with a free bib) because some people are dying for that opportunity
So there you have it, folks. The running community is fed up with the rise of the running influencer, so be careful about the information you are exposing yourself to and the advice you are following. Take running influencers’ journeys with a grain of salt (or a whole salt shaker) because most of them are getting free entries to races and free products, and are getting paid to promote these brands. If you need help navigating the world of running on social media, make sure you’re following legit, established runners and coaches. Running should be fun—it shouldn’t make you feel bad about yourself because you’re following the wrong people.
Xo