It's week 12 of 2024 and a new week of snarking on our "favorite" healthy living and running influencers. What's in store for this week? Let's discuss!
Healthy Living and Running Influencers, Mar 18 - 24
Fitness & Wellness InfluencersHey all I know we snark a bit here in others but thought we could just do a positive thread on our own wins this week! Mine was got to do two different long runs with friends in the past two weeks and it was amazing!! š¤©
I had a great long run this weekend!! Even threw in some marathon pace!
Thanks will do!
Love this! 5k pr for me š
Really very confused the repost from fitbymikayla and need to include this in his insta story this morningā¦. Iām sure Oathaus appreciates the marketing. š¤Æ ETA: Iām talking about the weapon in the lower right hand corner.
Omg sheās making herself more and more insufferable by the day
agreed, unfortunately.
That's really weird.
Yes! Like why make this choice???? Just move it 3 inches out of the frame??
I did a triple take here. Why not just move your firearm out of the picture???????? Itās intentionally included.
No snark because I actually really like @amglaze. But I have always wondered how him and his wife travel for races so often when they have 3 kids. I saw he posted about their 5 year anniversary so now I'm wondering if they are his kids from a previous marriage, and he splits time with them and that's how they are able to travel more?
Probably. But in the off chance they had a bunch of kids then got married 6-7 years later, Iād also offer that the kids are older. If they have local family, that 10+ years old range (when the kid is mostly self sufficient in terms of basic self care) is when it becomes exponentially easier to have grandma/grandpa/aunt/cousins/etc take care of them for a few days while adults travel
Oh he is a bit snarkable lol
I think itās a blended family tbh? I donāt think all the kids are theirs combined and I donāt think his wife travels to all his races.
Heās plenty snarkable lol but I also wonder about this. It might be a really good co-parenting arrangement
Iām laughing SO hard because I just saw this reel on Instagram about a āmultipurpose friendā and the first comment I see is Emily Abbate saying āitās me!ā
She is so damn full of herself. She drives me bananas because I almost wish I could walk through the world blissfully ignorant like she does.
Not Becs Gentry lecturing Max Verstappen about āsetting a good example for those who look up to youāā¦ š¤¦š¼āāļø
And about something that was reported as a joke too.
Seeing Siena Palickeās posts really makes me feel like she needs a mentor or someone looking out for her. Sheās young, but seems so lost and trying to find herself. Vacillating between āconfidently religiousā to āpick me girlā every few weeks.
Youāre all you need girl! Seems like another case of college running chewing up and spitting these girls out leaving them spiraling for some identity.
ā
Gross a lot of the comments are from men old enough to be her grandfather.
Sheās made a lotttt of very trumpie comments/implications and I donāt want to give people with that kind of attitude $ through views, did something specific trigger this post? Or just the same old stuff? I agree either way, just wondering if itās gotten worse since Iāve last checked!
I agree, I donāt mean to pick on her either. As an āolderā person, I just feel kind of sad that she is documenting all of this for the world to see. š
Itās the same with Amberunzā¦. They are way too young to have a single indentity and when they quit their sport it leaves a very large gap. Itās hard.
This was removed from r/blogsnark because it breaks the following rule(s):
We do not allow discussion of: - The Tripp Family (Sarah and Robbie and those related to them) - Brianna Madia - The British Royal Family - Call-out accounts or accounts promoting influencer accountability - The promotion of anti-vax accounts or content
Trying to circumvent filters or moderator action to discuss these topics will likely result in a ban.
Please read Blogsnark's rules. If you believe your comment was removed in error, or if your post has been edited to comply with the rules, message the moderators.
Doubtful. Sheās just probably going to lean into the relatability of the diagnosis and treatment.
This was removed from r/blogsnark because it breaks the following rule(s):
We do not allow discussion of: - The Tripp Family (Sarah and Robbie and those related to them) - Brianna Madia - The British Royal Family - Call-out accounts or accounts promoting influencer accountability - The promotion of anti-vax accounts or content
Trying to circumvent filters or moderator action to discuss these topics will likely result in a ban.
Please read Blogsnark's rules. If you believe your comment was removed in error, or if your post has been edited to comply with the rules, message the moderators.
I overall don't mind Samantha Mac much but I gotta say it's driving me crazy that she's already back to running only 5 days post marathon. It feels a little obsessive to me
Perhaps an unpopular opinion, but as a running coach I donāt necessarily think it is always bad to do a VERY easy run 5 days post marathon if you are really experienced. However, when I say an easy run, I mean easier than easy (and then some). For instance, in my most recent marathon I ran 3:12 and did a 5-mile run 5 days later at 10:00 pace.
I wasnāt previously familiar with her but looked her up. The coach in me is screaming āWHY is she already running sub-8 minute pace as 3:19 marathoner??ā. Sheās only running a little bit slower than her marathon pace!!! At least for me, I didnāt even do any runs at under 8-minute pace until a month after the race!!
I also saw that she only ran her first marathon over this past summer. Sheās run 3 marathons in less than a year as a new marathoner (which is more than what a lot of experienced marathoners run). The amount of time sheās dropped since her first marathon is incredible, but I would also be very cautious if I were her because unfortunately I think she is at a very high risk for injury and burnout.
I'm with you here. I'm not a fan of the whole "you MUST take AT LEAST two weeks off, even pros do it" thing. I've always done just fine with 5-ish days off, and then two weeks of very easy runs before progressively getting back to the harder stuff. No injury, no burnout. Probably because I'm not a pro runner, so I don't push myself as hard as they do. And while some people recover better with full rest for a while, some people will thrive on active recovery (think gentle yoga, easy bike rides, swimming...) or even very easy runs. You do you boo.
But sub-8 minute isn't an easy run by any means. That sounds like a huge no-no.
I took a big break (4 weeks off) and really needed it to recover after the marathon I guess everyone is different but yes I was shocked to see she ran 7 miles this morning
Alright, guess more people start running right away. Personally I find it super important to take an "off season" (less than 2 weeks) after a big race for longevity in the sportĀ
This is a normal recovery time, I think.
As an ultra-runner I often get back to running within a couple days, just an easy shuffle. But even for marathon training I think itās quite normal to be back by the Thursday after. š¤·š»āāļø
Same here! I usually do a walk run post ultra or even marathon. I run a lot with my mom ( sheās in her 60s ) and we go for easy 3-4 miles jogs or even hikes post race it always feels good.
5 days is longer than what I wait.
Meh, that's about when I start back, nothing crazy (4ish miles at a super chill pace)
If I donāt get back to running I get super tight and sore. Not long runs just easy z2 but Iām back usually 2-3 days later
This was removed from r/blogsnark because it breaks the following rule(s):
Do not create a narrative about influencers and propagate it as fact (e.g., āthey are definitely getting divorcedā).
Do not attempt to diagnose mental or physical health conditions, including eating disorders.
Do not speculate on sexual orientation, gender identity or pregnancy.
Please read Blogsnark's rules. If you believe your comment was removed in error, or if your post has been edited to comply with the rules, message the moderators.
It is giving South Park Mr Hankey vibes
I'm guessing it's because Stumpy is being removed for tidal basin construction.Ā
Stumpy
Lumpy
A perfect 3 on the Bristol Stool Chart.
Thatās the first thing I thoughtā¦ itās giving Bristol chart.
Lmao, I love the comment, āshouldnāt his bib be #2?ā. They have to know, right?
Omfg Iāve run that race and really loved it but this just made me laugh so hardāitās unquestionably a poop log!
are you shitting me
Thatās Mr. Hanky with flowers on his head ššš Wtf were they thinking?!
ohā¦ā¦..oh no
Does anyone else get irked when TCB makes the most ridiculous over the top expressions when sheās āin the painā during races. Weāre all running the same race. She is so over the top and irritating. She offers nothing of substance and is just screaming for attention.
I really used to root for her but I think her credibility really went downhill during and after her NYC training cycle (like, why don't you follow your own advice ?), and her current London cycle isn't making it any better.
I kind of feel bad for her tbh, especially after her "vulnerable" post where she acknowledges that she may actually not ever get back to her previous level, let alone reach her sub-3 goal, as a Masters runner who wants more children, wants to keep breastfeeding as long as possible, etc. She used to say that God put that 3-hour goal in her heart for a reason, that she was 100% sure she'd get back there eventually, that people should never ever hesitate to take extended time off to "just enjoy baby" (I remember that from her off postpartum era, even though she later added that she was also grieving her dad and feeling off at the time) because they would eventually get back stronger, etc.
I think that the reality that she will most likely not be able to have it all is slowly catching up to her and that she's gone into full blown panic mode. Like "oh no, sounds like I may never get back to the previous times that helped me sell my plans, what can I do to still get attention and pitch my plans ?".
I missed the āGod put sub 3 hour marathon on her heartā posts. What a ridiculous MC thing to say publicly. Children being slaughtered in Palestine but God cares more about Trackclubbabeās marathon hobby. GTF out of here with that ridiculous bullshit. Goodness I canāt stand that woman.
She is doing almost NO training for London. I just don't get it.
Those miserable struggle race photos make me NOT want to run - not buy her plans. There is no way I am going out there to suffer like that.
Sheās being incredibly over dramatic for attention. Everyone runs the same races and sheās the only one acting that way.
I canāt imagine how incredibly exhausting she must be to deal with in real life.
I canāt stand her. She posted clips of her CHILD BIRTH on insta for attention. And is always using runnersā deaths whoāve been killed for content.
Has anyone been following the Barkley Marathons updates? I am crossing all my fingers and toes for Jasmin Paris with 25ish minutes left for her to finish!
ETA: OMG SHE DID IT!! 1st female finisher EVER!
Laz- no women will ever finish Barkley Jasmine - hold my beer
Glued to twitter all day
Her finish > all the records set at Lululemon 6 day ultra glamp experience
The Lululemon thing was bordering on weird and creepy.
YES!!!!! She is amazing!!!!!!!!!
Amazing effort. And chuffed it was a Brit š¬š§!
Absolutely amazing. I teared up!
šššš
She did it!!! With literally a moment to spare!!!!
Amazing!!!
my anxiety is HIGH
1 and a half-ish minutes to spare?! She is INCREDIBLE!
I audibly gasped
Yessss I am refreshing Keith Dunnās Twitter constantly
Why in the world is Emily Abbate lacing up spikes at the track šš
She is being extra obnoxious today, she hit the gym for a pre-dinner workout and captioned it āwhen you want it, you make the time.ā Girl you are on a sponsored VACATION IN JAMAICA, all you have is time lmao
Why would they invite her :/
I had to look up that spike since I donāt use Puma and itās a sprint spike š¤£š¤£š¤£ Girl is gonna hurt herself. At least put her in a distance spike š±
what the actual fuck.
Exactly!!
How TF did she get invited to this puma event?!?!?!?!??
THIS is what I hate about influencersā¦ she just spent LA marathon with ASICS and now puma? How can I trust her when sheās āobsessedā with one brand one week and another the next?
They are stuffing up new runners with crap influencing that doesnt consider you use what is best for you
RIGHT. SOOOOOOOO FAKE.
And if you scroll down her grid a little, youāll see a post where she shills Nikes as one of her go to sneakers š
Holly Brooks in sprint spikes is even more uncomfortable to watch.
Not sure why she is there really
Itās for the puma run. She is like eclor she will put on anything if paid to even if it makes no sense š¤£
Has she ever run in spikes before?! I would be worried about foot and knee injuries flaring back up throwing on spikes for the first time š¬
Sure let's give bibs to people who DON'T TRAIN and exclude 10k people who qualified.
Same!
This makes my blood boillllk
He is insufferable
Whatās the milage?Ā
like 25 max so far
Itās not the best idea but it is doable (source: I have done this, I didnāt really know what I was doing for my first marathon!)
Thatās fair but his longest long run so far I donāt even think has been over 10 miles and Boston is in a few weeks!
Ok thatās a little wild!!Ā
I qualified and got cut by a few seconds and this goon gets a bib when he his mileage looks like that is some bsssss
Dang I thought that was low for a half! Iāve done low mileage for marathons but with a crazy amount of cross trainingā¦ which it doesnāt look like heās doing?
š§
Emily Abbate posting an insufferable recap of her trip to LA where she changed the world and inspired women because ASICS paid for a trip to Santa Monica where she could talk about āmovementā
I like her the least of the instafluencers. Ali has had challenges she's overcome and even EClor's quirky zebra stuff is honest. While those two aren't perfect they seem more genuine than Emily.
Iām sorry, are you serious? Emily is the REASON all those marathoners crossed the finish line!!! Her āhurdleā cow bell and her infectious cheering and clichĆ© inspirational phrases contributed IMMENSELY to everyone finishing. Emily MADE the marathoners who they are!!! And she understands āmovementā certainly better than any qualified expert! She is ~captivating~ and a true force who is changing the entire world, one hurdle at a time.
Isn't her inspirational story that she lost weight as a teen? (I know you were being sarcastic but you're spot on with how she sees herself)
This Puma trip in Jamaica is filled with a LOT of influencers. They actually have some influencers I really like following there... but The Fashion Jogger just makes zero sense to me. She doesn't really talk about track & field - maybe I'm being nitpicky, but what is she going to do, just post a video of her running in Jamaica in some Puma gear? It seems like the antithesis of what Puma would be trying to accomplish.
I would hate to be there with everyone "creating content" 24/7 and wtf are distance runners in track spikes on the track??
Carleth Keys -- this is the first I've seen of her and she seems insufferable.
Iām sorry but Emily Abbate being involved in this and ātrialing new gearā (for what?????) makes me disrespect it so much.
And the new gear is a sprint spike š¤£
Same! I heard (maybe here?) that Puma was good to Molly Seidel during her injuries and recovery, and Puma as a brand blew everyone away at Trials. But if they're pulling this influencer garbage I am not really interested in them as a brand anymore
ME TOO! Itās a red flag that she, of all people, is being flown down for a freaking event. I mean I know she just finished her 6 starts so maybe thatās why? But ffs! She doesnāt even pride herself on being a fitness influencer?
All the FJ does is select cards magician style to determine her run distance and then sprint. Every video is of her sprinting. Nothing inspiring about it at all.
I looked her up recently and I guess she's a physiotherapist. It makes me think of how Eclor has a successful career in marketing (?) and what it would be like to be a professional associate or coworker of someone with a large account like theirs, and what you would make of it all lol...
Why does she have over 2 million followers š wild.
she has no shame. like seriously, she was in the comment section of seemingly every post after Kelvin Kiptum's death with the same copy-and-paste message, she was so trying to get more followers out of it
ETA-and who knows, probably a good chunk of those 2M followers are bots
Saw the stories and am confused too! Also who are the other influencers there?
From what I can tell, its Jeremy Miller, Fashion Jogger, Micaela Wood (not sure if Adam is there), Carleth Keys, Kofuzi, Tommie Runz, Luke Jones, Geoffrey CrowAlex Carrandi, Tamika Cain, and Holly Brooks.
Micaela Wood at least makes sense to me! Love following her and Adamās content about their training and racing.
Same. Adam and Mica being there makes sense to me. Even Tommie Runz. Everyone else, meh.
I just watched Carleth stories, i think im gonna stick to watching cat videos. Also bought into puma shoes after Molly Seidel Olympic bronze and they are the worst shoes for my feet. I had such awful bloody blisters from their carbon plates.
Emily Abbate off on another plane! Isnāt sheā¦ tired?
- Jet lag is a choice. Her words, not mine.
- She doesnāt really have a real job so why would she be tired. Tired of what? Flying places for free and posting self-important nonsense?
Well allegedly she has the fitness of a 27 year old, so maybe her ā27ā year old body doesnāt get tired š¤£šš (literally why brag about that, sheās so cringe)
My Garmin tells me my fitness level is that of a 20yo and Iām 43. Itās absurd. I wish it was true, but itās def not.
Haha I was thinking the same thing about my garmin. I immediately went to look at my VO2max and my āfitness ageā and rolled my eyes at her. Also I canāt believe she spent money on this. But also of course she did.
āJet lag is a choiceā
its not even THAT cold here! fine, it's not stereotypical spring weather, but it's not a polar vortex either.
ETA-I was just referring to her IG story where she said it was SO cold in NYC that she just HAD to escape for the weekend. and as someone with boots on the ground, I was just saying it's not "OMG need to leave" cold here š¤·āāļø
ETA2-OK I've seen the IG stories...guess this wasn't so "last minute" after all
Which is actually really cringe. She wants people to think sheās that wealthy or whatever that she can just book a spur of the moment trip bc āitās too coldā.
Sounds like that was not why she actually left! :) After seeing her story, I thought she was just taking a last minute weekend away. But of course, that's not why. Looks like she is at the Puma thing.
yep...i've seen the current stories. Asics last weekend...now Puma. What's next weekend for her? HOKA?
Also in NYC. Can confirm. Especially not if you just were in LA.
Who is this guy and where did he come from? Iāve never heard of him until like 2 weeks ago!
Heās been around for a while and might not have shown up in your feed based on algorithms.
But is he legit? I see him posting some controversial info, I am going to look into his credentials š
Heās the Salazar whistleblower. I always keep that in mind when something is on the controversial side. We all know what Kara went through bc of her book but Steve Magnas was just starting his coaching career and bucked Salazar. In terms of the doping side of it, I believe his account on what he witnessed (I think I heard it on Rich Roll). Heās e and Kara border on trauma bonded having to testify for years over this guy. Anyway. I wrote my opinions on this particular piece of content already,but I believe Steve to operate with a decent level of integrity
Omg thank you for sharing! This is super helpful information šš»
I donāt always agree with his takes, and often feel like they donāt account for real world scenarios.
Yeah he posted something once to the effect of: running at 5 a.m. doesn't make you a better person, if you run better in the afternoon run then.
ā
Sir, I don't run at 5 a.m. because I think it's cool, I do it because I have to be at work at 8.
He had a tweet not too long ago, idk, about how sleep is a necessity not a luxury, and I believe most people would agree with that, but also a solid 8 hours is not a reality for many people due to various life circumstances. Maybe his target audience are people who could, but have easily changed habits that prevent sleeping well.
I think āmore treatments= betterā is the big takeaway I get. If antidepressants arenāt working, why canāt we find a way to prescribe exercise and make it more accessible with insurance coverage (well first those with healthcare!? Wtf murica) for personal trainers, gym memberships (I know there are tiny stipends but itās a reimbursement not true coverage) heās not a quack denying pharmaceuticals, but this has been studied a lot. I read a study that therapists donāt feel like they have enough knowledge to recommend exercise or that itās āoutside their scopeā so Ivthink a bigger conversation is needed here or a broader range of what is a healthcare team (coach/trainer? Or additional certs for therapists and/or trainers?) imo we need to be moving in the direction of exercise being a bigger part of the whole picture. Iām a person that seriously struggles without exercise, itās night and day, and it took a while to find a therapist that understood that and didnāt make me feel weird for being so impacted by injuries. I do understand there is some danger to him sharing- but a big problem with all of social media is the consumers donāt take responsibility for what they do with the information they consume. Tempted to go very political but i got downvoted to hell earlier this week so I wonāt go there but i think people here are smart. All in all consumers of information should consult with doctors /their heath care team (if they can afford oneā¦ if notā¦ at least they can try exercise?) and itād be great if exercise could have a true seat at the table-not replace whatās already there or be used justly kingly as a hashtag (#runningismytherapy) but what youāre angry about is valid.
I really liked all of this. And much resonated with me, also. Lack of exercise is tremendously tough for me, as well. But I especially liked the āwtf muricaā š¤£
Iām very passionate about this because obviously I use exercise as part of my care, but not the whole thing. I used psychology today and specifically sought out people that understand the importance of exercise! I hope your sister can become to finding someone, but that was an easy place to start. Or better help text messaging. Unfortunately though, no matter how perfectly information is put out into the world, people who are ānot readyā will cherry pick information or search for something that confirms their bias (and the algorithm will help them!!! A whole different problem!) but Iām glad you started the discussion because itās important! I hope the comments can be productive!
Iām with you. Every time I go to my doctor, the recommended course of treatment is exercise, sleep, and hydration. Iām already running > 30 miles a week, sleeping 9+ hours and lugging my giant ass water bottle everywhere. Medication can help fill the gaps when youāre already doing the ānaturalā stuff.
2.5 hours of exercise in 7 whole days is absolutely attainable and sustainable. If it's important enough, you find a way. If it's not, you find an excuse.
And "lack of privilege" is the biggest excuse of them all.
Not sure whatās wrong with it? Exercise has been researched over and over again and been found to help with symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health conditions. Unless Iām missing something from your post?
I agree, I donāt see whatās wrong with what he said, maybe Iām missing something? He even says that for some medications are a god send. So he is saying that both can be helpful and it depends on the person.
I've had clinical depression since I was 15 (now 32) and have been on every antidepressant under the sun. I've been off medication for the past six years now and honestly I feel a thousand percent better. I also have a graduate degree in neuroscience and what I eventually realized was that I need to grit my way out of depression, and learn to cope and manage my thought patterns. Antidepressants just numbed me and made my brain foggy which meant I could function but I wasn't able to thrive. Exercise can be a tool just as much as therapy can, and exercise and therapy is what got me to a place where I've actually healed from depression and can handle any relapses that occur. Medication by and large just gets people to a functioning stage, which can be huge progress, but it doesn't fix anything long term.
I understand what youāre saying. if heās referring to more situational depression, exercise can definitely be a helpful addition to a treatment plan. But if someone is struggling with severe and chronic depressive episodes, telling them to go exercise is definitely not going to be a realistic possibility until they are stabilized (on medication.)
I disagree here. Treatment (med) resistant depression is the most well researched as far as efficacy of exercise.
From a provider standpoint it doesnāt sound like: āgo exerciseā but more like āwhat movement sounds appealing? how do you feel after? Would you be willing to repeat that a few times this week and check in with how you felt before/after?ā
Iām not anti medication by any means, but stabilization can happen with a variety of treatments.
I must have missed where he specified treatment resistant depression;) Also as a provider and a runner, I absolutely recognize daily movement as an important component to treatment, Iām not sure anyone is disputing that fact. Maybe he is referring to people with more adjustment d/o which is why they arenāt responding wellā¦ I am not sure and my guess is he isnāt really sure eitherā¦
However, I am a daily witness to people struggling with clinical depression and working hard to climb out of that dark hole is exhausting. They are not going to have the energy to suddenly jump into exercising even with your encouraging questions. Most of the time they can barely take care of their basic needsā¦itās a long process. As I am sure you know, best practice is therapy +medicationā¦ to think otherwise would be incredibly dismissive and shaming and I would imagine the retention rates would be incredibly low.
I didnāt take it that way at all. Ā Depression can be very difficult to treat even with meds, and heās right - having another tool would be significant, especially considering that meds donāt always work, or they may have onerous side effects that make it difficult to get someone to adhere to a regimen. Ā Thereās been promising research into the use of exercise (though I would be surprised if it was something as simple as 150 minutes per week) for the treatment of depression and PTSD, but I would also say that itās still incredibly under researched, and I would guess that it is a lack of funding to fuel truly robust studies. Ā Anyhoo. Ā I think itās understandable if this is something that youāre sensitive about.
The thing is, research has indicated it has similar outcomes as medication or therapy. Again, thatās on average, it doesnāt mean everyone will respond in the same way. Which is why typically we try many of these different approaches for depression, hoping one will work.
I'm also confused. This doesn't come across as exclusionary or anti-med to me at all.
The sheer privilege to wake up, decide it's too cold for you, and hop a plane for the weekend. (Emily Abbate)
and as I said in another comment-it's really not THAT cold here. how much of a snowflake is she?
ETA-well guess it actually wasn't an impulse trip after all
I knew who this was about without even having to see the story.
I don't know how to engage with running on social media anymore. I desperately want to keep up with podcasts and influencers to hear about races and products and fueling and strategies, to be part of a wider community who loves this hobby. But trying to do so makes me so fucking jealous.
Ali covered her NYC Half race in today's podcast, and I want to be clear, she did all the "right" things; this seems to be a me problem, not a her problem, and it's triggered by other podcasts/influencers to an even greater degree. But she talked about how despite not training that much, she was able to just jump into the half by "being conservative" and "listening to her body", and she acknowledged her privilege and blah blah. But her "conservative", "gas still in the tank" pace for the half is my 5K PR; she can just jump into a race distance that takes me months to work up to, for races I will never ever experience because I will always be a back of the pack runner.
It's hitting especially hard right now because I signed up for a half in April, and finally got into my first Grandma's Half in June, and yet my training has nosedived for two months. First it was Achilles tendonitis that made running for longer than a mile painful. $400 PT helped, but now I'm pregnant, and my first trimester is hitting hard. Between the extreme nausea and exhaustion, I'm lucky if I can make it through the day, let alone a run. I managed a 13:30min/mile 6 mile long run on Saturday, and that was my longest distance in *2 months.* I'm gonna have to scratch the April half, potentially Grandma's too, because I just don't have the training in my legs.
I used to be able to deal with my slow AF jealousy because at least I was out there putting in the work; sure, it'd take me most people's average marathon time to run 15 miles, but I got it done! But with my body just absolutely breaking down, it's making me bitter and miserable to see how different I am from even "regular" hobby runners. "Oh, I just jumped into a half with a 9:30 min/mile (that includes walk breaks and stopping for photos!" "Oh I'm doing 9 miles of speed work." Every podcast, every widely shared Instagram story just reminds me I don't belong (and at least Ali avoids any weight talk for the most part, which is NOT true of many other running podcasts, which as a fat runner is a trigger unto itself.)
Do you guys deal with this kind of jealousy? Clearly we all love to snark, but does this stuff ever alienate you-is this a "sport" issue, a back-of-the-pack-runner issue, exclusively a me issue? Maybe running is just something I have to enjoy completely solo for my own mental health...
I seek out other 'back of the pack' running influencers to follow, because I know I'm never gonna be fast. It's not that serious to me, and the slow running community meets my needs
I totally agree with you. Performance is obviously relative but it can be super frustrating when people essentially āflex their privilege.ā Sometimes thatās by showing up to a race with āzero trainingā & 2 hours of sleep and run a great time. Sometimes itās the people who have oodles of support/finances that allow them to ādo it all.ā Sometimes itās people with ungodly amounts of time telling me how important it is to meditate every morning (sorry kids, no breakfast, mommaās gotta mediate, do a cold plunge, and read personal development or else sheās just lazy!)
My solution: I unfollow or mute accounts I donāt want to see.
Hugs!! I definitely feel like I donāt know how to engage with running social media either! I somehow have grown thick skin with pace comparisons but Iām also in my mid-30ās now and care a lot less than I did 5+ years ago!
And major congrats for your 6 miler while pregnant! I had such a lovely time running during my first pregnancy, and then the most opposite with my second. It can be no joke! Youāre doing so much already so I hope you can be proud of that. One thing I did was join a running group locally and I found running friends who run the same pace as me. We love that we are mid-back runners and while we will always hope to get faster, itās really nice to have friends in that same pace range as you! Def recommend when youāre postpartum & recovered. Good luck with that! Iām on my second postpartum running journey and woof I canāt wait to feel better haha
I relate! So much that a couple years ago I ended up quitting running and unfollowing anyone who regularly posted any kind of fitness content, including IRL friends. Now I've pretty much quit Instagram all together and am experimenting with running again. I haven't even told some of my closest friends that I used to travel for races with, etc. that I'm running again!! I want my focus to be purely on what feels good and authentic to me. And because peer pressure, the comparison trap, and external validation are all very strong forces, I'm keeping the rest of the world out of it as best as I humanly can :grin: Congrats on your pregnancy!
I have a love-hate relationship with running on social media. On one hand, I love it because I don't have an IRL running group due to my schedule and where I live so it's wonderful to connect with others who give a shit about training, base building, gelling, carb loading, professional runners' performances, etc. On the other hand, I dislike how easy it is to slip into the comparison trap despite my best efforts to stay in my own lane.
I recently broke a 12-year-old PR by 2+ minutes, running a faster time after having two kids than when I was in my 20s. It was a 1:40 half; I was ecstatic and felt fast! Until, I signed onto social media and saw all these people posting how they'd run half marathons 5-10 minutes faster than me. I found myself thinking, oh, I guess my half isn't that fast after all. I've never BQd yet it seems every other person on Instagram is BQing like crazy. It starts to feel draining.
All that to say, you're not alone. Social media/podcasting/etc puts other people's accomplishments front and center when we used to never know what times other people ran unless we looked them up on race results.
I don't really have advice, but just want to say... I'm with you in solidarity. Social media is amazing and awful all at the same time.
Once in a while I just go ahead and look up my age-graded performance. It's nice to see where I actually fall in comparison to the entire running world, rather than a few select running accounts. I suppose that sounds counterintuitive, but I'd rather know exactly where I stand, instead of where I stand in relation to Joe Mormon Mama.
Well done on the PR! :)))) Your second para describes exactly how I felt!
It's even worse on Letsrun and before, Dyestat, little kids (boys, mainly) complaining about how they are 14:37/29:40/1:05/2:23 guys and they are "slow." I see it in my local run clubs too. Some of the sub-elites can be toxic IRL too.
Iām maybe a middle-front-ish of the pack runner and I get triggered by Ali sometimes. Iāve had to take big chunks of time off running due to injury and childbirth and sometimes her āwhoops! ran a half marathon even though I havenāt run a step in 7 yearsā (not really but you get the point) gets to me when Iām clawing my way back week after week to run 5 miles etcā¦ I think itās the cadence of her posts it always seems like sheās pulling it out if no where in a way that my body would not be able to handleā¦but I think itās less random than she makes it seems. Congrats on your pregnancy (!!) and know that youāre crushing it!
Tbh the jealousy is very natural in todayās running culture because of the runfluencers. Iām a sub-elite runner (so I canāt fully relate to some of the issues you mentioned and I recognize that) and I still get jealous of some of these accounts that I know for a fact Iām faster than and train more dedicatedly than. I frequently have to remind myself that I am doing what is best for me, and I am on my own timeline; their accounts never show the full picture and so everything they do must be taken with a grain of salt. HOWEVER when I put my phone down and go run with friends or a local club, Iām reminded how great the running community is IRL and the social media aspect is such a small percentage of engaging in this hobby.Ā
This is great advice!
Same, considered sub elite times but I get pissy about the runfluencers getting into sold out races last minute. Itās getting harder and harder to run times that will get me an entry into the field but for example therunnersplate gets into Grandmas Gary Bjourkland Half field when it was sold out the day it opened. Even with Boston, Iām annoyed that now Iām going to have to run behind someone that bought their way into the Red wave when they damn well donāt have the times to get in.
Ugh this. I have qualified for NYC many times and it infuriates me to see people cut over and over again and tons of bibs given out to influencers who get the full VIP experience for what? Whitewashing reality on the internet?
The same is true of Boston. My friend ran for her first BQ and got shut out of the race by seconds. Another can barely afford to go let alone get the jacketā¦and here we have 4:00 marathoners getting free entries and rich girls getting free jackets and Iām all likeā¦is this even an earned privilege anymore or just a sideshow?
Abbot global, do better.
Good post and I value your perspective! Some of them are also just good at marketing and knowing how to trigger the algorithm and I have to realize that sometimes it's just a lucky break for them (not all the time) :/
Since Diane Lauren no longer has social media profiles and the deletion of them has been discussed, we will no longer allow discussion of her. It has come to our attention that a few users are forgetting Blogsnark rules about hateful commentary, personal interactions, and body snarking. If you see comments breaking these rules, please report them so that we can see them.