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  • I wonder if this thread will make the next issue like her boring shorts thread did.

  • ChimneyChimney ✭✭✭

    Another who brought as a new runner, but cancelled the sub when I could start predicting what was going to be in it......Articles getting fluffy, dumbing down.

    Pretty much everything already said above.

     

    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • Mr PuffyMr Puffy ✭✭✭
    GraemeK wrote (see)

    Full of weight loss articles, daft things like 'lose weight with curry', 'recovery faster' with cake, more weight loss articles, the insanely irritating and pointless Tonky Talk, too many lightweight bite sized pieces with stupid graphics etc. I think it was lose weight with curry that made me cancel my subs. To be fair, I don't even scan through it in Tesco now because I know I won't buy it.

     

     

    I don't like the Paul Tonkinson articles either... why would you pay to read Paul Tonkinson when you can listen to Tony Audenshaw on marathon talk for free?

  • I've been subscribing for quite a number of years, and will continue, as I find that whilst some of the articles within the magazine are repetitive, re-reading them reinforces some of the stuff I know I should be doing but through laziness / forgetfulness I'm not.

    The Warm Ups section always seems to have something in there that I should be adhering to, and taking the example of the August issue the articles 'Beyond the mantra' on positive thinking, 'Outrun Time' on running in older age, the carbohydrate argument and elite advice were all good thought provoking reads.

    However, to counterbalance my positive feedback, here's the constructive:

    1. Please do your research better. For example in the heroes of running section you stated that Adam Gemili played for 'Non League Dagenham and Redbridge' in January 2012 - that season the Daggers were in League Two. It's little bits of lazy journalism like this that annoy me!

    2. As others have said, some more real-life stories / experiences would be interesting. The US version of your magazine (Which you seem to copy - more on that in 3!) gets it right - they have a big story once a month that covers about 8-9 pages and is always an interesting read.

    3. From coming back from America and buying their version of Runner's World, I've noticed that quite a few articles from the US turn up in the UK version a month or two later - whilst I don't mind this, occasionally they're written for the American reader in mind - this doesn't bother me, but may bother others.

    In summary, a great read, but please listen to some of the feedback from people on here, or you may lose more subscribers. Right, off for my long run...

  • Very similar to SL2 above but what really gets my goat isn't just the rehashing of US articles, it's claiming someone in the UK 'wrote' it. Changing a few names isn't journalism, it's plagiarism.

    if you want an example of what RW can & should be, get a copy of the July issue in the US which was published as a Boston special edition. more inspiring than any of the usual 'lose weight, run PBS in 5 weeks, never get injured' stuff.

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    I've bought it for years and still do.

    I still find some value in there. Would prefer loads more on race reviews though, and less on food choices and diet tips and all that stuff.

  • Recently cancelled after subscribing for many years.

  • I've been a subscriber since '97. Generally, there is something of interest each month, but it is mostly repetetive, sometimes contradictory and frequently pushing sponsors. Do be honest, my mum took out the subscription for me and renews it each year as a birthday present, otherwise I would have cancelled years ago.

    I find some of the american articles irritating, particularly when they don't even bother to change the spelling, terminology or "seasons". The biggest failing in my opinion is the ongoing reduction of content for committed club runners, epitomised by the demise of real race reports ( as opposed to plugs) and the quiet dropping of the occasional items about clubs and local running scenes. The occasional piece of extended writing with polysyllabic words and depth of content reminds me of how good I used to find the magazine. At least it is better than "Men's Health" - what a pile of steaming cr*p that is!

  • I agree Johnny. Also been a long term subscriber, and noticed the same articles repeated to death.

    Also to many Weight loss articles, and not enough training info. 

  • Sorry Annie, as a long-term runner (more than 50 years)  I haven't subscribed for many years due to most of the points made above by others. I'll occasionally buy a copy but quite honestly I find very little in it to interest me. The mag is great for new runners but has virtually nothing for the veterans, of which there are more and more now. I agree the US version is better. So is the German one.

    And I also endorse the points about the forum problems - there are now so many irritating faults that it almost looks like you are trying to get rid of us! I do not wish to switch to Tri Talk forum but so many of the people on here I consider friends are disappearing from the RW forums - which incidentally is an incorrect term, the plural of forum is fora.

    Whose idea was it to get rid of our Pirate symbol????

  • 41 messages & all but a small handful of them negative...As a running coach I say to my athletes that death or injury aside, the worst thing that can happen when you make a mistake is that you don't learn from it.

    RW (Annie) your subscribers have spoken, for the future of the magazine you need to react & remedy the (many) aforementioned areas.

  • In about the 3 years that i've been a subscriber I find that alot of the articales are aimed at runners who are just starting out...

  • Just been reading this month's Running Fitness and in RW's defence realise it wouldn't have meant much to me as a beginner - far too in depth!  But - 2 years on I have learnt so much that RW too basic - so - looking back - good for a year or two but then I had to move on.  Maybe one mag can't ever please everyone - I don't want to pay for 'how to run your first 5k/10k' over and over again!

  • Subscribed when I started running, but then after about 2 years cancelled for same reasons as most of the above, everything was repeated and there was very little comment on the actual running 'scene' it is all a bit removed from what actually goes on out there.

    Also I bought it as a running mag, and the ever increasing lose weight fast articles are not what I would expect to see in a running mag, if I wanted those sort of things I would buy  "Lunatic Dieting Weekly" or something.

    SeaLark wrote (see)

    RW (Annie) your subscribers have spoken, for the future of the magazine you need to react & remedy the (many) aforementioned areas.

    Unfortunately SL if its anything like the website, don't hold your breath.


     

  • WaboWabo ✭✭✭

    cancelled my dd a few weeks ago.  I have subscribed for ages and realised the other day I don't even un wrap them anymore!! Just have piles and piles of them and then throw them in the recycling bin.  Sadly they do not have anything of interest to me anymore, I have been running 21 years, don't need to lose weight, had a lot of the injuries etc etc...

    possunt quia posse videntur - we can because we know we can 
  • XX1XX1 ✭✭✭

    There's a new kid on the block: Sports Direct .COM magazine...  Don't know if it's as bad as RW though image

  • I'm in a similar boat; been reading for about 4 years and would never buy it at full price (£4.50?!) for the same reasons as everyone else. I'll try and make this thread slightly more positive though, there are still a few bits worth reading for subscribers.

    In particular I do really enjoy the features which have a couple of pages worth of reading on something interesting that I haven't heard before eg. the one about that man who ran around the world or the feature on Chris Brasher. It's always a bit of a disappointment if this feature spot is filled with "run yourself happy", "running makes you thin" etc.  Surely there must be enough interesting runners and projects out there to put in a more original one every week?
    I'll stand up for Tonky Talk too, I quite like the regular columns even if nobody else seems to!

    Other things I would like to see:

    Interviews with famous runners/ex runners/coaches.
    News eg. brief reports on the world cross country or the diamond league. It seems bizzare to me that for a sport like football the magazine would be full of the premiership news but from reading RW you would thing running was a purely amateur sport.
    ....But maybe it's just me that finds this interesting?

  • Concidering cancelling as well as No longer value for money, and The help you get is not forth coming when you have a problem

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