With USATF membership growing, television ratings for running events increasing, and overall distance running performances improving, one may theorize that the Internet has had a hand in the phenomenon. It seems that social networking may be the tool through which running can be taken from the underground to front and center stage, or at least to floor seating.
A Growing Network
While the Web’s impact on running has been particularly palpable the last five years, a number of trailblazers began testing the waters long before. DyeStat was among the first. Founded in 1995 by John Dye, “the Internet home of high school track and field” started by providing stats and rankings on local runners in Western Maryland. Eventually it expanded, giving high school runners and their coaches up-to-date rankings on performances across the country.
In the spring of 2000, identical twin brothers Weldon and Robert Johnson launched LetsRun.com with hopes of promoting the elite ranks of running. A sport that remains largely ignored by the mainstream media, the Johnson twins sought to be the main aggregate of professional running news. In addition, they opened up message boards through which runners could interact and exchange ideas about a variety of topics.
As DyeStat was bought out by ESPN Rise and LetsRun has grown, other sites have built on their foundations, implementing greater social networking capabilities. Having taken shape in the fall of 2006, Flotrack led the charge in bringing video interviews and race coverage to the masses. It wasn’t that they were replacing existing coverage, but rather, they were providing coverage that simply wasn’t around before.
Users began posting comments on videos, and the site has become more of a social forum than just a YouTube for runners. “We didn’t initially expect all the interaction between users, but now it’s very active. We get a lot of feedback that way and see what the community wants,” says Ryan Fenton, head of the site.
As the Internet continued to mature, tech-minded runners saw yet another niche to be filled. With the popularity of MySpace and Facebook, a number of social networking sites aimed at runners appeared. Having made a splash through their marketing on the elite running scene, Strands.com is among the most popular. “Strands’ founder, Francisco Martin, came up with the idea to create a social network built around an online training log,” says the company’s business development director and elite runner Matt Downin.
With over 100,000 users worldwide, Strands allows runners to share everything from training to what they ate for breakfast with their running counterparts. It has been through sites like these that runners have advanced the sport.
Promoting the Sport
Although the age of expression we’re currently living in has groomed people like Kanye West to burst on stage and grab the microphone without invitation, it has also allowed for a whole new brand of positive self-promotion. Elite runners have not let the opportunity pass them by.
“There has always been a disconnect between the elite athlete and the mid-pack runner,” says Strands Marketing Manager, Mike Reneau, also an elite runner. “Social media has changed that dramatically.” Indeed, since large media outlets aren’t generally available to professional runners, social networking has begun to give them a way to reach out to people, thus bringing greater notoriety to the sport.
“People like to see what the elites do on a day-to-day basis and get to know the ins and outs of their worlds. You didn’t get to see that much before,” explains Fenton.
Downin agrees. “It allows runners to work really hard to promote themselves,” he says. “We didn’t have that 10 years ago. There wasn’t anybody paying attention or listening.” The online networks let the elites create their own buzz and build a fan base without the help of big-budget contracts or celebrity PR firms.
Running Masses Sharing their Training
Instead of a top-down or ground-up approach, it seems that runners of every level have simultaneously thrown themselves head first into the realm of social media. While not all elites are checking up on what their competitors are eating for breakfast, many sneak a peak at each other’s online training logs and videos. Strands sponsors nearly 20 elite runners who regularly interact on their site. “I think that it’s a way to improve as a nation if we can share what each of us does well so others can see and learn from it,” says Downin.
Fenton says that he has even had professional runners tell him about high school workouts they’ve watched on Flotrack. “It’s great because it reaches such a wide range of runners,” he says.
For the sub-elites and everyday runners, social media sites provide an outlet for discussion and motivation. “The most valuable thing about Strands is that people can get together and talk about their training. You see a lot of athletes who have never met before encouraging each other,” says Reneau.
Downin, Reneau, and Fenton, all agree, however, that the high school ranks are where social media may have the biggest impact. “High schoolers are getting faster and faster and I think part of that is that they set their sights beyond their state or their region or their county and see what others are doing. That makes them competitive on a higher level than they previously would have been,” explains Reneau.
Fenton reminisces about his high school years when Dyestat was founded. “I remember how powerful it was just to see a time on a website. Seeing that on the screen, it was amazing to realize that people were running these times, but it also put it into perspective where I was in terms of the competition,” he says.
The higher functioning social networking sites of today’s era allow runners to put their performances into perspective early on in their competitive years. It is no longer impossible for a high school runner to watch a race in which upwards of 10 athletes go under 4:00 in the mile, thanks to sites like Flotrack. What’s more, they can then check out those runners’ blogs, Strands accounts and other outlets. “I think this all will definitely help the sport. It makes certain goals seem like real possibilities,” says Fenton.
By giving everyone from the weekend warriors to the elites a podium from which to speak the good running word, social networking is building a mountain out of a molehill when it comes to our sport. Fenton contends, however, that the challenge remains how we get new eyes on sites like Flotrack, Strands and Letsrun. “How do you reach those outsiders that aren’t the diehard track fans?” he asks. With these sites just in their infancies, it is likely that this brand of renegade marketing will only continue to bring more attention to the running world. Of course, that is, unless Prince was right.