Running influencers are nothing new, but some of us plugged into the online running scene have noticed a shift lately. When I am drawn in by a caption that reads “my 5K race-day routine 🏃♀️ (full breakdown below)” only to discover that breakdown is sponsored by a major running app, I have to roll my eyes. Even if they aren’t going as far as lying about their times, these “runfluencers” add a lot of noise and distraction to the community.
Not that there’s anything wrong with running influencers in theory. I love seeing someone share their journey from couch to 10K—community is everything in this sport! The issue comes when, in their attempts to profit off the content creator economy, brands like Nike Run Club, Runna, and Strava platform a new class of runfluencer: aspirational, relatable, and, often, quite unqualified to be giving training advice. They’re even unqualified to handle
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