Amazing Runners World Show.
After reading that, did you roll your eyes? Do you want to correct me? What if I told you I took a gel during the race, or that I wore the “illegal” Advertisement - Continue Reading Below I’ve been training in, and that I prefer sharing my Strava time because it was faster than the chip time?
Running is often described as the most accessible sport. All you need is a pair of shoes and the willingness to consistently put one foot in front of the other, as they say. That accessibility is what inspired more than a quarter of today’s runners to lace up a pair of shoes during the COVID-19 pandemic, when gyms shuttered and people looked for new ways to move outdoors.
But certain corners of the online running community can feel anything but welcoming. New runners show up, excited and curious, asking how they can race the record-breaking Health - Injuries even though this year’s lottery is already closed or whether they should buy Adidas’ $500 super shoes—and instead of support, they get sarcasm, scorn, and gatekeeping. The same thing happens other newbies, who may get the terminology wrong and refer to a race as “5K marathon” when they really mean just a 5K.
Why do experienced runners feel the need to shame or put down others in a sport that prides itself on being for everyone? Running is one of the only sports where the most amateur athlete can experience an event just like the pros. You’re never going to be on the same basketball court as Caitlin Clark, but you can run the same race course Health & Injuries Start Running: The Best Way to Begin Dakotah Popehn or Jess McClain.
There’s this sense of pride among some experienced or more “serious” runners: You’ve logged the miles, survived the chafing, hit the wall, and come back stronger for it. But everyone starts somewhere. For some, that “somewhere” is confusing a 5K for a marathon—because the former can feel like the latter when it’s the furthest you’ve ever run.
Health & Injuries mileage, gear, pacing, fueling, and everything else that makes up this sport. But when runners start shaming others for not knowing the right terms or asking questions that feel obvious, they’re not educating—they’re alienating.
Welcoming new runners is smart. More runners means more races, better gear innovations, and stronger communities. If the sport is going to grow and evolve (if the millions of people participating in running events can be converted into millions of fans tuning into televised events outside the Olympics, buying tickets to in-person competitions and leagues, and buying merch that supports their favorite pros), runners need to treat newcomers like teammates, not trespassers. That means answering basic questions with patience. That means remembering how it felt to be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of shoe choices or googling “what is tempo pace?” at 11 p.m. the night before a group run.
The next time you see a post about a “5K marathon,” pause before you comment. Could you gently educate them on the proper race distance? Could you celebrate the fact that someone took the leap into a sport you love? Could you remember what it felt like to be new?
If runners put half the energy they use to post negative takes into lifting up and celebrating new runners, the entire running community would be better for it. And as we were all taught in, oh, kindergarten, if you don’t have anything nice to say, maybe consider not saying anything at all.
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