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Runner's World Magazine
What's happened to this once fine magazine?
I have been a subscriber for quite a few years and years and now read it from front to cover in less than 5 minutes.
The cover price is now an unbelieveable £4.50!
Out of 116 pages 36 are adverts.
The letters page seems to be a self promotion for RW.
The rave run photo is invariably from outside the UK.
Paul Tonkinson is not funny.
Have you noticed they don't have race reports anymore? (they have probably done this to save money on a photographer).
The only thing left is the Race Finder (which is listed by date and not county). I think I could read it in 4 minutes if they sorted this out.
I could go on but I think you get the idea...
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Comments
Think you have just answered your own question
i quite like tonks.
but yeah..
"I have been a subscriber for quite a few years and years"
I'm surprised you lasted that long......
After the 1st year you're set for the year after etc. It all repeats
I haven't bothered to read for ages and don't miss it at all.
Ooh don't say that - I've just paid £16 for a Montane jacket.
and 6 months subscription
dicky thats a great deal.... if its the montane featherlight they are worth £40 and are really good... the 3 of us who are runners in this house have one
It is - took a while to find the link, but jacket arrived in a couple of days !
The race listing used to be a lot better, it had all the little details. Then they really reduced the section, so you'd have to use this site to find out.
The race reviews was always an interesting section, but then they started mucking about doing adventure races, or some wacky marathons a million miles from home that only a few would ever do.
Would like to see them do loads more race reviews, just of normal races. There are 1,000s a year after all!
I just re-read my old copies from when I subscribed in 2007-2009. On the odd occasion I buy a new copy, I find they haven't changed since 2007-2009 but the races seem to be on different days...
I stopped reading it years ago. After a couple of years it's just the same stuff regurgitated year after year.
I suppose there's only so much you can say about running.
Threads such as this appear very frequently (see later comment), and I've always defended the perceived short comings, of the magazine voiced in such threads, as being the price (and of course you don't have to buy the mag if you don't to) that you pay to having access to the benefits of the RW forum.
Sadly I'm starting to think that the forum is now starting to become as tired as the magazine, in that over the ten years of my engagement the forum has covered endlessly every topic that I could possibly have an opinion on. Eventually you get fed up posting your own tired old replies to other peoples tired old questions, and get to feeling that you should leave it to those who have yet to become old, cynical and disenchanted with the whole process.
Ironically the threads I'm most inclined to engage with these days are those related to music and movies, and there are precious few of them (well it is a runners forum!).
Have to agree with the posts above, I subscribed for a couple of years but got sick of the same features with a different name.
You don't need to subscribe to the mag to be able to access the race list, you can do it via this website as a member.
I don't want to read about a bare footed runner, cant run barefooted myself so why do I need to know that it is "refreshing", etc
It was the same for me,i subscribed for at least 8 yrs just kept reading about the same things every year,i thought no more so i stopped getting it
Haven't read it in years. Always much preferred 'Running Fitness' - and, although I wasn't aware until now, it turns out it's much cheaper.
I think it's true though the this and other sites have made race listings in magazines something I don't need at all.
I've been subscribing for a few months... and been a forum member for a similar time.
So I'm not yet tired and cynical about it all ! But already I see forum questions that are just repeats of repeats of repeats of question raised repreatedly, even in the short time I've been a member. I guess Tom is spot on in that you do get tend to get tired of any specialist forum like this, he's also right in recognising that the value of the forum is in no way diminished. As you get a bit tired of it, you post a bit less (just like you've perhaps done)... and new blood comes in.
I actually think it's good that multiple new threads (on similar subjects) get started... I find threads with hundreds/thousands of posts to be off-putting.
My biggest concern is with Runners World is that the magazine gives a perception of being sponsored by some commercial entities.. who perhaps have editorial influence. I'd like to see some bigger effort for the magazine to be SEEN to be objective... and indeed to BE objective.
£4.50? Crikey, it is expensive now. I used to subscribe, but cancelled it a couple of years ago.
Interestingly Mens Health RW stable mate has improved enormously. Articles are good lots of interviews with interesting people. It used to be a bit generic but has improved 10 fold maybe RW could take leaf out of their book...or mag
I've cancelled my RW subscription and changed to Running Fitness magazine. 'The king is dead, no really...'
Pros:
1. It's only £2.99
2. The contributors aren't 'full of themselves'
3. The letters page didn't have one letter praising the magazine itself.
4. The rave run/celeb interview were both British
5.There is a running club spotlight
6. There 4 race event reports.
Cons:
1. The events listing is just as bad as RW. There are fewer but they do go up to June.
2. The font size is a bit too small.
I hope that RW are sitting up and taking notice.
trail running is a good mag also.
I dont like the layou of Running and Fitness its not easy on the eye and as for the contributors I always found them a bit patronising
How much exactly are RW paying you to say that?
Nuffink I dont subsribe no more. RW couldnt afford me
I actually properly laughed at the idea of Goldie working for RW