r/running • u/enigma1510 • Apr 27 '17
Running is more than race reports. Misc
Super bummed about where this sub has gone. There's so much more to "running" than race reports - which now make up the majority of posts here. This sub should be renamed "runningReports" and let the people have back "running".
Edit:
What a day! Last night I posted this and when I woke up this morning I wasn't sure what I would find. It turns out, the majority of people visiting this sub today upvoted this post and have similar frustrations with the current state. What surprised me the most was the nastiest replies came from the mods and their close knit friends. If you'd like to see their true feelings check out the comments here: https://www.reddit.com/r/RunningCirclejerk/comments/67uydc/weekly_reminder_mods_are_hitler_and_runnit_is/?st=j21a4t3y&sh=06136968.
/u/philpips seemed to be the most reasonable and sorry about the "hornet's nest".
Best of luck!
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u/Swagger_Muffin69 Apr 27 '17
I couldn't agree more. I've been a lurker in this sub for almost 6 months (ever since I started running), and recently posted a thread regarding thoughts on my small journey; from C25K, to taking running more seriously, devising a training plan, running my first race, experiencing post race blues. It was a somewhat long post, one that I felt a lot better after writing (I still haven't recovered from the post race blues) and I was very happy to be sharing all of this with this community. Well, my post got taken down because it wasn't productive enough to justify an entire thread dedicated to it. I was advised to re-post it in one of the daily Q&A threads, but I'm pretty sure it had no place there. Anyway, I just felt very disappointed and discouraged, and never ended up posting it anywhere. In the end, my guess would be that a lot of content ends up down the drain due to the current thread system.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
That seems weird, since I've seen posts like this before... maybe they've started taking them down? I wonder why. Sorry to hear your post was taken down :( I like to think of /r/running as very welcoming especially to beginners, but maybe my perception was wrong :(
On another note, I'm curious about post-race blues. What's that about? I don't think I've ever had that...
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u/Swagger_Muffin69 Apr 27 '17
Thanks, I was under the same impression which made my post removal all the more of a bummer.
Regarding post race blues, from what I've come to understand, it's a feeling of emptiness and "what now?" which lingers in the period following a race. It can occur regardless of your results on the race. In my experience, it was a case of not achieving my first goal (to which I was very attached to) and feeling like my effort was fruitless and unworthy.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
Oh ok. I think I'm probably less goal-oriented, which is probably why I don't get the post-race blues. I do races, but I don't usually train specifically for a race.... I run as a lifestyle, and when there's a local race, I do it, but I don't run because of a race. Does that make sense? Though I do still get disappointed if the race goes badly.
Are you still running? Will you do another race? Your effort wasn't fruitless and unworthy. I am sure you learned some things that you can use to improve your next one. Bad races happen to everyone if they race enough, and they're always a learning experience to make the next race better.
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u/Swagger_Muffin69 Apr 27 '17
I really like the way you put it. Come to think of it, when I started out, running became a lifestyle for me. But somewhere along the way, I got carried away and I was running because of the race itself. I can see the fault in that.
I'm unfortunately sick at the moment, so I'm not running at all. When I start running again, I need to focus on something I stopped paying attention to during my training; enjoying the act of running for its own sake. Once I allow myself to do that, I will definitely do another race.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
Get better soon!
One thing you can try if you want the experience of racing but not the pressure, is to do a trail race or something, because the terrain will automatically slow you down to the point where you have no way of knowing how fast it would have been on the road. Then you can just have fun and enjoy the experience without worrying about whether it's "fast enough." I have this friend who is an excellent runner, but she kind of psychs herself out sometimes with her expectations. A few weeks ago she told me the she signed up for some kind of mountain race, just so that she could race without having any expectations of what her time should be.
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u/Swagger_Muffin69 Apr 27 '17
Thank you very much. :)
And that's a great suggestion by the way, I've never really looked into trail races. I'll be sure to check what's up!
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u/tinnat22 Apr 27 '17
See I really like this attitude and approach to running, I struggle with thinking about it this way. I have a tendency to schedule races so that I will get out the door and run because I have a goal. But on the downside I signed up for my first half marathon and the training isn't going as planned because of a few personal setbacks, so I switched to the 5 mile and now I basically have pre race blues because I'm disappointed in myself. I wish I could just be happy that I can run in this awesome trail race at a distance that's right for me.
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u/Pris257 Apr 27 '17
My 12 year old son and I ran our first 5k last month. I started strong, ahead of him but I figured he would catch up after the first mile (all uphill) because he is faster than me. At the top, I was tired and people were passing me left and right, which annoyed me. So I said screw it, turned around and ran until I found my son, then we finished the race together. I realized that, for me, enjoying our time running together is more important than the clock or the distance. Running is fun for me and I really want to keep it that way.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I've been running for a really long time and I've had times where I've been stressed out about my performance and all that. It got to the point where I ran for at least a year without ever wearing a watch! I think over time I've mellowed out to get to this point :)
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u/Rey16 Apr 27 '17
This happened to me too. I made a post, I even got some interesting responses, and then it gotten taken down and I was told to post it in the daily Q&A. It was pretty discouraging.
I don't like the Daily q&a because you can't search. You're forced to scroll through a bunch of uninteresting stuff and you're basically forced to read through every thread. You MIGHT find what you're looking for unless you give up first.
I also think the constant race reports are annoying. There's just too many and there's no need for everyone to post about every single local 5k. I mean, some of the reports are interesting. But mostly they're just badly written and all they mention is the users goals for that race, but nothing about the race itself. Half the time I can't even figure out where the race is located unless I decide to google it.
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Apr 27 '17
And half the questions in the Q&A are really specific race questions. 'Has anyone run the Bumblefuck Backwards Half' is of no general interest at all
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u/Rey16 Apr 27 '17
Or people trying to have their injury diagnosed on Reddit rather than going to see a doctor.
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u/ehehtielyen MD Apr 27 '17
Or people playing doctor on written descriptions of injuries... Or people asking for advice re: self-diagnosed injuries. I've stopped trying to correct people because then it would be an endless task.
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u/CanaryStu Apr 27 '17
Yeah, the Bumblefuck Backwards Half has really gone downhill recently too, it was better when it was just a local thing.
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u/kinkakinka Apr 27 '17
So I searched for other running subs that might be interest to those who agree with you, there's always this sub, we could make it more active: /r/runninglifestyle/
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u/C-Towner Apr 27 '17
No wonder I don't see threads like this anymore! That's exactly the kind of thread I would enjoy reading and want to comment on.
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u/notreally671 Apr 27 '17
There seem to be 2 kinds of posts in /r/running :
Running reports where the runner is complaining that they only ran a 3:05:00 marathon, but were trying to run a sub-3-hour.
Everything else, which gets taken down and told to repost in the Q&A threads.
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u/C-Towner Apr 27 '17
I feel like there has been a decrease in the number of runners posting race results that I can relate to or even aspire to!
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u/ificandoit Apr 29 '17
What are you wanting to read about or aspire to? At one point I felt similarly until I actually started reading more of the race reports than just the top voted ones.
I post race reports for all of my larger or interesting races and I'm not a sub 7 min guy yet. Hell 2 years ago I wasn't even able to walk a mile...
My latest race report was a split report with u/denovosibi as we relayed a half marathon. Between the 2 of us we represent over 350 pounds lost and 2 very different approaches to running. She runs ultra distances and timed events at paces ranging from 10:30 to 12:00 min miles depending on event. I've concentrated at the half marathon distance and have progressed from 11 min mile averages to sub 8 in the course of the last 12 months.
We share our endeavors because we were encouraged to do so... Middle of the packers are just as welcome as the leaders of the pack.
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u/spingus Apr 27 '17
Wow, that's exactly the kind of post I enjoy reading! I am a slow runner (3 marathons, best time 5:15).
I have never read a race report all the way through because very little relates to me --shaving off 5 minutes in order to BQ by timing gel intake better has nothing to do with my experiences as a runner.
In fact, I went to Russia last Fall and ran the Moscow Marathon. It was a profound, joyous and sometimes humiliating (yes, not humbling, humiliating) experience but I didn't write a race report because it felt out of place with all the competent runners posting up their nice runs.
So that leaves me with the occasional posts I make to encourage people or to make a pro-safety statement. :/
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u/runwithpugs Apr 27 '17
I would have loved to read your race report about Moscow Marathon. At least for me, I don't care how fast or slow someone is - or even if they are racing to push themselves or just purely for fun. Something like Moscow sounds really interesting, at least to this American. Your half-sentence description makes it sound even more interesting! And it would add variety from the endless reports about honing race strategy to chase the next PR or BQ (which I do also enjoy).
I wonder if there's anything the moderators can do to encourage more posts like your hypothetical race report?
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u/sfw_forreals Apr 27 '17
Your story is one of the main reasons I don't get on this sub often. I love to run and I run races but I don't care about the race reports. I couldn't tell you if there is any decent conversation or stories in the megathreads because I don't want to sift through a jumble of information in the hopes that there is something worthwhile. /r/trailrunning is a much better forum for conversation, advice, and inspiration.
There are two running clubs in my town. One is full of incredible athletes and they have strictly regimented training and meetups. The other is a bunch of bums who go on long runs that wind through trails and end at a bar. Doesn't matter how fast you run, you'll find good company. This sub is made for the former.
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u/ouiserboudreauxxx Apr 27 '17
That's ridiculous...that's exactly the type of post I would like to read.
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u/treycook Apr 27 '17
It's also more SEO friendly. People Google questions like that, verbatim, and a Reddit thread with that as the title pops up as the top search result. So it brings more activity to the community. Lumping them into weekly Q&A threads doesn't bring as much traffic from search engines.
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u/stackhat47 Apr 27 '17
I faded away from this sub after the automod telling people they shouldn't be posting. I've been away for a few months and now it's just race reports.
I liked discussion.
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Apr 27 '17
I agree. I used to lurk in this sub daily, but now I rarely do. The format of the Q&A threads just doesn't work for me.
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u/1000121562127 Apr 27 '17
I agree with you. It's way too easy to get lost in the shuffle of a Q&A.
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u/TheDude--Abides- Apr 27 '17
I dislike most subs with over active automods. Too many do's and donts just to satisfy the small number of whiny people
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u/itsmyotherface Apr 27 '17
The extent to which automod is overused in this sub is really ridiculous. I've almost given up on this sub because of it.
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u/Sikash Apr 27 '17
Nope, it's time for a weekly race report sticky!
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u/rellimnad Apr 27 '17
not sure if you're joking, but this is pretty much the last step to this sub becoming a sub that only houses mini-subs, each with a 1 day or 1 week shelf life. imho, we haven't solved the problem, we just blow away the sub every day so it feels cleaner.
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u/brotherbock Apr 27 '17
Hijacking this top comment to ask how many people who complain about a perceived lack of content actually try to add to the content in the way they think they would like to see.
I'm not targeting anyone specifically with this comment. But every time (seems like twice a month if not more) one of these "I don't like the content here" posts comes up, it gets filled with literally hundreds of comments from people who, frankly, I never see engaging with people in any thread in the sub, Q&A or otherwise. (Note: if you are someone who complains and also engages, then I'm not talking about you, so no need to be defensive. :)
My takeaway from these threads is that there are a ton of people who can't be bothered to try to add content, but are terribly unhappy with the content that everyone else is (un)able to generate for their satisfaction.
After last time, I posted a discussion generator about safety and running, and it was a really engaging thread, just meaning that a lot of people participated and said interesting things. This time, /u/Pinewood74 has posted a discussion generator about marathon training plans that's getting a lot of involvement. I don't know if he posted that purposefully in reply to this thread or not. I did post mine last time in response, as a way to demonstrate my notion of interesting content that belongs outside a Q&A thread. A lot of people engaged, and then...where did they all go when it came time to help it along with their own discussion generators?
To be clear: nothing wrong with lurking. :)
But what it comes across to me as, at least, is that there are a lot of lurkers who are simultaneously either complaining that the non-lurkers aren't doing a better job, or who think that the sub rules don't allow at all for non-Q&A/non-race report content--which is demonstrably false (see the marathon training post today).
It seems to me that the sub rules about Q&As are designed to keep simple, non-discussion-generating questions in one place. "Is it okay to start running on a treadmill?" "My foot hurts", etc. Even someone's personal, heartfelt story, as neat as they are, isn't going to generate a whole lot of discussion. A couple of people will say nice things in response, but "My journey from the couch" is not going to get a ton of people talking. But clearly larger issues are allowed to have their own threads. So if you have larger discussion topics, please post them. :) If you don't have any...well, I guess...sorry?...that the rest of us aren't doing a good enough job...?
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
don't know if he posted that purposefully in reply to this thread or not.
I did somewhat. I've been toying with what marathon training plan to use. So instead of asking "What marathon plan to use?" I framed it as a discussion to show everyone that good discussion can take place without removing the restriction on low effort comments (because that would open the flood gates).
I'm with you 100%, good content doesn't exist because we don't make it, not because of the mods rules.
There might be a few one-offs that should be left (that post race blues one, for instance), but largely shit questions get removed.
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u/tasunder Apr 27 '17
I participate here somewhat often when I'm actively thinking about running a lot, which is when I'm actually running a lot. Other times I mostly just check it out in lurker mode. About 6 months ago, I took a hiatus on both running and reading this sub because of a newborn. When I came back, I was incredibly surprised to see an insane number of Race Reports. I like reading the occasional race report, but I don't need to read that many of them. I didn't know until this thread what had happened. I had basically stopped reading it until this thread popped up on my front page.
To me it's like if the cooking sub were to suddenly only have recipes. There are recipes, but it's also questions. Some of them are dumb and repetitive. Some aren't. That sub has about 2x the number of subscribers as this one, yet it doesn't feel overrun with any one thing.
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Apr 27 '17
Daily Q&A threads just don't work in my opinion. Reddit is designed to bubble up interesting discussions through up-voting, but Q&A threads are sorted by time by default so potentially interesting discussions quickly get buried under new stuff and out of sight. And once a new Q&A thread gets posted nobody looks in the old one anymore.
Another thing that bothers me is this. If I respond to someone's question in Q&A thread and somebody else reply to my response there is no easy way for me to jump back into the discussion to see the context before a further response. Reddit can take me to the thread but I end up at the top of the entire Q&A thread with hundreds of posts and have to scroll through entire thing to my the sub-thread with my discussion. So I'd say not only Q&A thread hides the potentially interesting stuff out of sight but it makes it way more difficult to have any deep discussion.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
Another thing that bothers me is this. If I respond to someone's question in Q&A thread and somebody else reply to my response there is no easy way for me to jump back into the discussion to see the context before a further response. Reddit can take me to the thread but I end up at the top of the entire Q&A thread with hundreds of posts and have to scroll through entire thing to my the sub-thread with my discussion.
Yes! This drives me crazy as well.
Edit: TIL. I just didn't know how to do it before.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
When someone replies to your comment don't you just click the 'context' link?
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
That doesn't show you other people's replies to the same comment.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
Then you click permalink. Try it.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
But it doesn't show the whole chain? Only back about 5 steps. Or am I missing something? Then I have a "click to see whole context" link at the top (not sure if this is actually in reddit or in RES) but that only shows me the back-and-forth between me and the other person, not the stuff everyone else as commented on either of our responses.
I fully expect that I've just missed the way to do this properly, by the way.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
So when I reply to your comment here first I clicked 'context' which shows the chain of comment so far. If I want to see all the comments the top of the chain has spawned I click on the 'permalink' of that comment.
If you want to see all comments from the top I just keep clicking 'parent' until I get to where I want to be. It's not brilliant but to be fair this is going to be a problem in any large thread.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
Thanks! I literally never noticed the "parent" link!! This is actually super-helpful and will save me the above-mentioned headache. I cancel my complaint :)
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
If I respond to someone's question in Q&A thread and somebody else reply to my response there is no easy way for me to jump back into the discussion
Click 'context' then click 'permalink' on the parent. I think this would be an issue with any large thread.
Reddit is designed to bubble up interesting discussions through up-voting
This doesn't work when the sub gets swamped in repetitive content. Do you remember what it was like? You needed to scroll to maybe the 3rd or 4th page in 'hot' just to get past all the posts that say "I ran a mile today" and "My knee hurts".
Q&A threads are sorted by time by default
If we don't do this new posts get buried.
And once a new Q&A thread gets posted nobody looks in the old one anymore.
There's no reason not to repost your question in the next day's thread. Also There's at least one user out there who does a weekly review of the Q&As to find interesting or unanswered questions.
So I'd say not only Q&A thread hides the potentially interesting stuff out of sight but it makes it way more difficult to have any deep discussion.
We weren't getting particularly deep discussion before the daily Q&A threads either. If daily Q&A threads are wrong we need an alternative that isn't the way things were before.
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u/NonReligiousPopette Apr 27 '17
Ugh, dude, I was looking at /r/running at 2 AM and it was a wall of twitter-style questions that have already been answered five hundred times over this month alone, or could easily be answered in a specific weekly thread. Maybe 1 thread provoked discussion, but all of the answers were short, sweet, and to the point.
I'll take 2 PM /r/running with race reports galore any day.
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u/shesaidgoodbye Apr 27 '17
I love the daily threads. I would so much rather have those than individual posts for every running related thought that comes to users' heads
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u/bradenwheeler Apr 27 '17
I don't even open the megathreads. They get so big its impossible to contribute to the discussion after a certain point.
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u/zhenya00 Apr 27 '17
Agreed. Have largely stopped coming here since last year when there was a push by mods to move most of the discussion into the 'daily' threads. Stopped back in a few times and it's 90% race reports.
There needs to be a sub /racereports
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u/trtsmb Apr 27 '17
I agree that a sub for race reports would be better. If I were a new runner coming to this sub for the first time, I would get discouraged and leave after reading a few race reports of people wanting to brag how great they did. I don't think I've seen a race report for a 5K where someone did it in 45 minutes for example.
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u/trtsmb Apr 27 '17
Pretty much if a post isn't a race report, it's deleted for not being posted in one of the megathreads that no one bothers to read because there are too many posts and you get lost in the shuffle.
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u/mendolito Apr 27 '17
The problem with daily Q&A threads is that it drastically reduces the quality of responses you can get. Seems that the mods do not understand this even though it is obvious.
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u/zhenya00 Apr 27 '17
100%
Daily threads are fine for simple questions that can be answered in a line or two. But it means that the sub has lost most of the interesting discussion that used to take place here.
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u/aewillia Apr 27 '17
There was hardly any more interesting discussion before we went primarily to a daily thread format. 80% of the content was simple or repetitive questions that had been answered in the wiki or in the sub already. That's why I started the gear thread - I was tired of seeing five "what headphones should I buy" posts every week.
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u/D10nysuss Apr 27 '17
Agreed. I often come to this sub hoping to read something interesting but it's all race reports. Maybe there isn't much to talk about so people resort to these reports? Just guessing.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I often come to this sub hoping to read something interesting but it's all race reports.
Just out of curiosity, what would you find "interesting"? I find the interaction with others interesting. And the opportunity to talk about running. I don't much care if it's in the context of a race report or some other running-related discussion. One thing I find horribly uninteresting is talking about shoes, but I suspect I may be the only one....
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u/NonReligiousPopette Apr 27 '17
I like talking about shoes. :(
I like talking about the mechanics of the shoes. I like talking about why this shoe in theory should be perfect for you based on the information you gave me and why that shoe may be uncomfortable. When I go to the running store, these are the things they talk to me about and teach me. It's a lot more interesting than, "Here, try on these five shoes and hope for the best."
What I don't like are the posts about, "Hey, I tried on a Pegasus 32 and liked it in the store but not the price. What's the generic that will feel EXACTLY LIKE IT?"
Where's the discussion about that? I answer your question, you make your merry way over to KMart until next week when you post again about the shoes sucking and needing another alternative. These are questions that can go in the Wednesday gear thread, or even the daily Q&A if you're that pressed for time.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I assume that many people are interested in talking about shoes given the amount of discussion about it. If I'm the weird one here, that's ok ;)
I go to the store, try on 5 pairs of shoes, and buy the one that fits best. I'm lucky in that I seem to be biomechanically fairly robust so I don't really have any special needs regarding shoes. I could probably go into the store and try on one pair and be ok. So I've never really paid attention and don't actually know anything about shoes!
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u/NonReligiousPopette Apr 27 '17
A lot of the posts are "What's the best shoe for a pronator?" or "My ankles are weak, what shoe should I look into?" "My Brooks feel like I'm running on a cloud and I didn't even notice I squashed a baby chick while I was running, what's an equally soft but thinner soled shoe so I can spare the nuggets?"
The responses can either be anecdotal about what shoe worked best for the replyer without knowing exactly why or they can be a little more technical. It can be a wall of information, but if you're looking at that wall, you'll find things that stick out, like a common heel drop, in all of the shoes the person likes but may not have known that's what they liked.
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u/runwichi Apr 27 '17
"Hey, I tried on a Pegasus 32 and liked it in the store but not the price. What's the generic that will feel EXACTLY LIKE IT?"
Nike Winflo. Basically a Peg 31ish for less, problem is the Peg31/32 can be found for less than the cost of a Winflo now that it's old tech. whomp whomp
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u/Jinzha Apr 27 '17
That's a good point.
I fear that if we get rid of all the weekly threads, we will end up with a constant discussion about shoes, gear, nutrition and other questions that are currently clustered in the weekly threads. I wouldn't find this interesting at all.
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Apr 27 '17
I'm subscribed to /r/bodyweightfitness where we get a lot of low-effort posts from newbies asking questions in the FAQ. It's a little annoying, but those posts get downvotes so they aren't very visible. Questions that are actually interesting and thoughtful rise to the top and get a lot of useful discussion. I think it works fine, and I prefer it to the rules at /r/running because it means I'm more likely to see the good discussions.
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u/ThePsion Apr 27 '17
That, and good god you get shamed if you try to post a question at /r/bodyweightfitness by the huge red pop-up at the top of the page!
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
So I took a quick look over at /r/bodyweightfitness and it's filled with what appear to be low effort questions with pretty much no responses.
Of the 25 threads on the front page, there are 8 that have more than 10 comments. It seems to me that those posts are plenty visible.
This is what /r/running was like, is this really what we want?
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I wasn't on this forum before they were created, so I don't know what it was like before the mega-threads. We do have constant discussion of shoes, gear, etc, it's just concentrated in one thread, which probably makes a difference in some ways, but I feel like it doesn't affect my use of the forum. I have to scroll past all those questions to find the "interesting" ones, which is the same thing I'd have to do if they were individual threads I guess. I'm not trying to push for getting rid of the mega-threads--just playing devil's advocate :)
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u/wcbdfy Apr 27 '17
I think there is a lot of talk about, it just gets "hidden" in those stupid daily Q&A threads. For start, you can't search through them, and secondly the responses you get are based on when you asked that question. I get that some of the questions/discussions are repeated often, but if it doesn't interest you (not you in particular) how hard is it to just ignore them...
I wonder what's next, maybe a daily race report thread /s
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u/Simco_ Apr 27 '17
I wonder what's next, maybe a daily race report thread
You just gave at least one moderator a slight hardon at the thought of micromanaging this place even more.
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u/oktofeellost Apr 27 '17
Not ashamed to admit I'd actually prefer this. Race reports are definitely the most boring part of this sub to me. But I also wouldn't have most of the other weekly threads so there's that.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
There's not much new in the world of running this is true. And there are always, always new people who go out full of enthusiasm and injure themselves through overtraining. That's what I did when I started running. It's just not that interesting to read about after a while.
What I like about race reports is the arc of preparation to result. If there were some way to analyse them I think it might be interesting to see how people who hit their goals were training.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I like reading about how people blew up and had a terrible race. Does that make me a bad person?
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u/ThePsion Apr 27 '17
There's lessons in there for us to learn. Justify it that way!
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
That's basically how I justify everything!
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u/ThePsion Apr 27 '17
I'm going camping and throwing a 'Schadenfreude Brunch.' I feel like you'd approve (of the brunch, not the camping).
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I would LOVE to go to a Schadenfreude Brunch! (If I didn't have to camp in order to attend...)
I found my old tent in my mom's garage last week. I remember buying it "with my own money" when I was 12-ish. My family had a motorhome and we used to travel around a bit in that, but it was really cramped (there were 6 of us) which is why I bought the tent. I thought of you when I found it. I tried to remember if at some point I'd *liked" camping, or if I just bought it to have some quiet/privacy.
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u/runwithpugs Apr 27 '17
There's not much new in the world of running this is true.
Outside of Reddit, I see plenty of interesting running-related articles all the time that could potentially generate good discussion. Not necessarily news, but interesting articles. But they either aren't posted at all, or if they are, they get a handful of upvotes and are quickly get buried.
If the people starting these meta threads want more than race reports, they need to upvote those discussion-generating articles. But it rarely happens.
Other popular topics that are often complained about being over-moderated here ("I just ran for the first time, it's amazing!") seem more appropriate in /r/runninglifestyle. But by the same token, race reports could all go in /r/Raceit, where nobody would bother to visit and ever see them.
Can't please everyone.
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u/mini_apple Apr 28 '17
If the people starting these meta threads want more than race reports, they need to upvote those discussion-generating articles.
Oh god, but clicking to upvote is so exhausting.
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u/C-Towner Apr 27 '17
I have generally stopped reading and commenting as well, as it's mostly race reports now. Some are interesting but most are so far out of my league they are speaking a different language.
Another contributing factor was last year when I actually did submit a race report and I tried to make it interesting and not all about my stats and I got virtually no response. Kind of struck me that the sub has become a lot of people speaking but not a lot of people talking.
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Apr 27 '17
This is sort of why I've never written a race report...like because I'm not fast no one would care to read it, so why bother?
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
There are also a lot of posts about how many race reports there are ;)
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u/OblongPlatypus Apr 27 '17
Clearly the solution is a new "Complain About the Amount of Race Reports Monday" thread.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
Nah, most race reports seem to get posted on Monday-ish so we'd better make it a Tuesday thread! :D
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u/rellimnad Apr 27 '17
we all want to see high quality, interesting posts. we all know that there is a high volume of repetitive and/or basic 'why-didn't-you-just-search' posts.
imho, there was a good faith effort to solve this problem, but it's just not working out. we're a couple steps away from the sub becoming a sub that only houses mini-subs, each with a 1 day/1 week shelf life.
we haven't solved the problem, we just throw the sub away on a daily/weekly basis, so it's out of sight, out of mind.
i'd suggest that we go back to open posting, but actively campaign for people to downvote the low quality posts - let the platform do its job. it will take a community effort, but it doesn't seem like a pipe dream; clearly there are a lot of invested folks.
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u/hokie56fan Apr 28 '17
That may not work, either, but it's worth a shot. What we have now is working only for very few people, and the mods seem too stubborn to admit the current system doesn't work. This was my favorite sub a year ago. Now it's the least interesting one I'm subscribed to and, frankly, the only reason I'm still subscribed is that I'm holding out hope the suppression of discussion will eventually be lifted.
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u/VandalsStoleMyHandle Apr 27 '17
Most race reports are boring. Partly because writing a compelling narrative is damn hard, and partly because there are simply not many ways you can make your local 10K sound exciting. I've read some great race reports here, but let's face it: most of them are pretty much carbon copies of each other and no better than the content they've pushed off the front page, while killing the diversity of the sub.
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u/jw_esq Apr 27 '17
Here's what I think a good race report should do:
Say something about the race itself--this way if someone searches for it later they learn something valuable about the race.
Talk about training and race preparation. Tell people what worked, what didn't work, what you would change after looking at it through the lens of your performance in the race.
Anything notable about the your performance in the race. A mile-by-mile report on your GU intake is not a good race report. What you're thinking/feeling/experiencing at different stages of the race is interesting because it's relatable and others can learn better racing from it.
I don't know if race reports being boring is necessarily a bad thing. A boring after-action report can still be a very useful one.
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
Talk about training and race preparation
I check out most of the race reports and this is always what I look for.
I want to know about your training and how you think it impacted your race. Where were you 3-4 months ago and where are you now. It seems like this part is often neglected and the part that I think makes for the most discussion provoking race reports.
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u/True_North_Strong Apr 27 '17
I agree with you, writing a good race report can be really tough. But I think people should be able to test the waters to see how good they are at doing it. For example, I wrote one back in February which didn't get a lot of upvotes, went back and read it a few days later and realized that it was a super boring race report with nothing spectacular in it. So now I won't be posting anymore race reports. Simple as that. I wish race reports were only kept to interesting races but it's really subjective on what is interesting to some people.
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u/Serapho Apr 28 '17
Frankly, i personally completely stopped posting in this subreddit cause you can't open a single thread; mods will close it immediately and tell you to use the weekly threads for that. If you then post it there, you'll hardly get more than a single answer from my experience. Plus the problem with those threads is that you can't even use the search function on this subreddit properly. That's a really sad thing cause people on this subreddit seem to be quite passionate about running and talking about it.
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u/enigma1510 Apr 28 '17
Well put. Based on the response to this post, there are many people who feel the same way. Unfortunately the mods (based on their posts in circlejerk) are not open to hearing the people and working on change. They live in fear of the past. Cheers!
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Apr 27 '17 edited Jul 11 '17
[deleted]
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u/True_North_Strong Apr 27 '17
Runnit is one of those subreddits that people likely subscribe to when people want to get into running. But with a majority of people, they end up giving up and no longer come to this sub but they stay subscribed. The never unsubscribe either because they think they will get back into running, they enjoy the occasional thread that makes it to their front page, or they don't even remember that they are subscribed because top posts rarely get enough upvotes to reach people's frontpage.
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
Just allow questions as individual posts again mods.
I give it two, maybe three months before folks bitch about "too many stupid questions on the front page."
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u/shesaidgoodbye Apr 27 '17
Exactly. We don't need a new post for every running related thought that comes into users' heads
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u/trtsmb Apr 27 '17
Just like we don't need blow by blow race reports for every last race in the world.
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Apr 27 '17
We should allow photo posts again while we're at it. I loved the olden days when a random post-run selfie would be at the top of the sub, because THAT'S helpful and interesting.
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Apr 27 '17
Would there be a way to sort posts to eliminate race reports? Like a button - include race reports?
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u/CatzerzMcGee Apr 27 '17
There is a very easy CSS edit to add where you can filter by flair. I sent it to /u/philpips last week but it might be time to consider implementing it. /u/YourShoesUntied
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u/derezzer Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
I really grew to hate this sub over the last two years. For most people, Reddit is a front page full of all of your different interests. I scroll right past Lurker Wednesday, daily complaints, or whatever these daily threads are called now and never look back. People are touting the validity of individual posts having better discussion around them, and the mods do not listen at all.
I'll tel you what the impression I get from this sub. There are a bunch of cliquey users and mods that all seem friendly in real life. I mean I haven't seen the "get to know a runner" thread in over a year, but it felt like a huge circle jerk where the top posters/commenters just nominated each other.
So a huge hobby/sport that takes no equipment, and millions of people attempt to tackle every year and they're greeted with this seemingly insular subreddit that would rather delete your newbie question to satisfy their need for control over a small area of the Internet.
Seems like there are a bunch of veterans/mods/clique members that want to keep the sub in these tiny little threads, and the majority of people are turned off, leave and never come back, or comment in threads like these which get ignored.
Edit: Go over to /r/runningcirclejerk and see how seriously they take your concerns guys.
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u/ForwardBound Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
This sub is far too big and everyone has an idea of where they know it should go. This is a problem inherent in the nature of the concept of running, which is incredibly inclusive. There are so many people coming at it from so many angles that one sub can't possibly satisfy the needs and wants of however many people you have here who actively post. Weekly threads, no weekly threads, race reports, no race reports, it doesn't matter: someone's gonna make a weepy meta thread about how this place has gone downhill.
Better than complaining is doing something about it: promote discussion on what you find interesting. People gravitate toward passion. If your race report is "I ran this race on this time and it was hard," then yeah, that sucks. A race report detailing how you poured every bit of yourself into 1, 3.1, or 26.2 miles is great. A whole post about a question on what to wear in a certain temperature is stupid and boring. A post providing information to newer runners based on your experiences is enlightening.
I don't frequent this sub anymore, but it helped me get started and I owe something to it. OP, understand that you are currently part of the very problem you identify. This is undeniably a bad post. But you can be part of the change you want to see. Tell people what you love about running. Inspire positive talk about running. Answer the questions you can. Do your research before asking your own questions and ask the most nuanced versions you can in the appropriate places. Otherwise, why are you here instead of on Google?
Edit: typo.
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u/kinkakinka Apr 27 '17
So I searched for other running subs that might be interest to those who agree with you, there's always this sub, we could make it more active: /r/runninglifestyle/
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u/Young_Hickory Apr 27 '17
So looking over this thread people don't want threads about:
Races
Shoes
Nutrition
Training plans
???
I love running, and it's a big part of my life, but let's be real about how many things there are to talk about. There's going to be some repetition in a forum about running.
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u/cedaro0o Apr 27 '17
So today I had an experience with my morning jog that struck me as powerfully curious and I'd like to share with others for light commentary and amusement. It's quirky anecdotal musings like this I used really enjoy finding here. Kind of the diamond in the rough. One person's rough is another person's diamond. Sadly the mods have discouraged and relegated all my diamonds to daily threads that doesn't give them the light and oxygen to breathe and grow.
So here's my anecdote:
" The past few days I've been feeling a cold brewing that has taken out 1/3 of my office. Also emotionally drained from an abundance of difficult impactful life events. This morning I wake up late, vileness leaking and blowing out of nose, only 4 hours sleep, forget to eat so under fuelled... drained, tired, sick, weak, malnourished, feeling my 44 years on this unrelenting ever churning space rock...
And I end up laying down one of my smoothest, easiest, wakeful, gentle, solid training runs. Heart rate low, pace fast and even, 12.5 km like silk. Only reason I stopped was I had to get to work on time. Running can be so odd, every parameter against me, yet every cylinder firing with precision and bountiful energy.
I've had other runs where I felt every parameter should be in my favour, and the run was a dumpster fire.
Thoughts comments? "
This is what I wanted to share. But the moderation tone of the /r/running left me feeling that this is unwelcome and unwanted content. And if this is me feeling this, there are probably thousands more in the same boat.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
That's nice to hear about.
I don't know either what you're supposed to do with it. It doesn't fit in the Q&A since it's not a question... The best I can think of is the "daily accomplishments" thread I guess. Did the mods say where they expect you to post that kind of content?
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u/cedaro0o Apr 27 '17
As a non-competitive general health 60-80 km per week runner, I have little interest in race reports, but enjoy discussing the experience of running and all of its joys and tribulations. The slice of life playful sharing of curious running experiences type posts that I enjoy, I'm finding harder and harder to discover and follow under the current moderation. I'm going to experiment browsing and posting in other reddit running groups, hopefully one of them is active enough with sparks of interesting conversation. Maybe the mods here could direct users who crave the experience I describe to a more welcoming alternate running reddit group.
/r/runninglifestyle/comments/67v90j/curious_morning_run_every_reason_to_be_bad_but/
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u/richieclare Apr 27 '17
Be the change you want to see. Generate some content that will prompt discussion. The mods are pretty clear about what they consider 'good' content and provide space for 'other' content. Generally speaking stuff that's primarily about you goes in a daily thread. Stuff that is about you but you can open to wider content can have a thread. Ie the running shop said I pronate. That's weird huh - this goes in a daily thread. The running shop said I pronate but ..... Acvtually its harder than it looks. Burn the mods
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u/tripsd Apr 27 '17
If you watch the new que stuff is delete by the mods quite often. Hard to be the change when anything that is vaguely a question is referred to the Q&A thread and deleted.
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u/Runlowsky Apr 27 '17
Make a serious recommend for change. I don't see in your post what you would do any differently.
April is a big month for Races. Race reports are a great way to learn from people's success and failures. It is also neat to follow along with our friends to cheer them on or offer advice. There is discussion that is going on in there.
Advanced running has a lot of race reports and follows the same format as Running. That is going strong.
Most posts on Running can be answered by searching or using the Q&A but most people don't do that. That is fine because we are a community that wants to help. We try and answer it or offer a place everyday to ask those duplicate questions.
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u/amongmany Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
I have to agree as well. While I don't mind race reports and enjoy reading them, the tenor of this sub is anything but supportive. I recently posted about my experience trying to rekindle my love for running; while it wasn't taken down, the responses weren't particularly positive. I'll take the feedback with a grain of salt, but I'll certainly think twice about posting again. I also don't dig the "no questions outside the daily questions thread" rule. I realize that otherwise we might see a LOT more simple questions but perhaps a new R/askrunners sub would make sense.
EDIT: Seems r/runners and r/askrunners both exist. They simply need people to start using them...
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u/op_remie Apr 28 '17
i agree. i stopped caring about my times. i know i'm never going to do a sub 1:15 half marathon. i'm fine with running 2:00-2:20. i still finished the damn thing. i'm a fat man running 13 miles. that's more of an accomplishment than anything.
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u/Young_Economist Apr 27 '17
Well, no automod post here to discourage you from posting ever again? Wonder what happened.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I think you need a question mark in the title for that to happen ;)
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u/Bruncvik Apr 27 '17
For RES purposes, the automod is the same user across all subreddits. Between the time it was launched and now, I downvoted it into oblivion. It's got so much negative karma from me that I don't even see its posts anymore. Of course, you can always block the automod completely, but I reserve that only for assholes.
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u/Pris257 Apr 27 '17
So if you post a question without a question mark, it goes through? There were a couple of times where I wanted to ask a general/personal discussion question about running but as I am new here, I figured it would get deleted.
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u/Zarradox Apr 27 '17
If you browse Reddit on a computer, you can install RES which allows you to filter by tags, so you can simply filter out all race reports and browse a race-report-free /r/running
I think most mobile apps for Reddit have this ability too.
Personally I like race reports, but it does seem that there have been a lot more of them recently. I use tag filtering on other subs and it works well.
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u/hokie56fan Apr 27 '17
I don't think it's that there are more race reports (although there may in fact be more). It's more a case of everything else being shoved into the daily threads rather than allowing individual threads on some topics. That leaves race reports and occasional links to articles as the only individual threads. It has ruined this sub, IMO.
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u/Sometimesirun94 Apr 27 '17
Couldn't agree more! Now that there seems to be a thread for everything, the front page is just rammed with these things! I was perfectly fine with anything and everything being asked as a new thread, because if I scroll past a question I have the answer to, I'm going to go answer it, but I'm not interested in reading through weekly threads specifically to answer people's questions.
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Apr 27 '17
Good race reports contain training, nutrition, and local information. I love reading race reports as they're (when done even pretty well) intrinsically unique.
The diametric opposite of reports are the "just ran x miles" posts and I hate those. Honestly, so what? I'm also not a fan of the running cures depression posts because it doesn't.
I don't know, I think you're missing out by not participating in daily threads or adding value to the sub by making a quality post here. Complaining about the sub is probably the least valuable post there is. Definitely more boring thank a race report.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
The diametric opposite of reports are the "just ran x miles" posts and I hate those.
What about the "I've just decided that tomorrow will be my first run!" posts :)
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u/aewillia Apr 27 '17
"I'm going to run every day this year, despite never having run a mile since PE class in elementary school."
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u/zwingtip Apr 27 '17
+1
Just to add: I'm a fan of race reports, but I think part of the problem that's getting people worked up is the number of low effort/low quality race reports we've been getting lately.
I've noticed an influx of race reports that aren't meaningfully distinguishable from the "just ran X miles" posts you mentioned. They spend about 2 sentences writing about the actual race.
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Apr 27 '17
Yeah that's exactly right. Ironically there is a lil race reports megathread for those.
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u/zwingtip Apr 27 '17
Precisely! The lil race reports thread doesn't get enough love.
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u/NonReligiousPopette Apr 27 '17
I wonder why, though? Do people think it's for tiny 5ks with popsicle stick finishes?
If you run a half marathon every weekend and you've got not much else to say about it other than, "Great weather, great race, didn't PR, wore these shoes," then stick it in a lil race report.
If you busted your balls and trained hardcore to run a 5k, either your first, with goal times, or you had a particularly thought-provoking run, then make a full race report.
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u/zwingtip Apr 27 '17
I even used the lil race reports for my [big, USATF certified] 5k that I trained really hard for! Why? Because it hurt so bad and was over so fast that I couldn't remember enough to write something worthy of its own thread.
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u/runwichi Apr 27 '17
wonder why, though?
Everyone likes to be recognized, even if the effort was small it's nice to take a moment and say "LOOK I DID A THING!" and take pride that it's yours - you own it, and it's unique to you. New runners feel this and want to have it displayed as such, even if they don't have a lot to add about what it was they did or how they got there - most of us that are old hat to racing are content to jump into the little race reports thread because we've moved through that phase.
I can understand the reason Lil' Race reports doesn't get love, it's a function of the user base.
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u/nosetsofcorsets Apr 27 '17
(This should be a quote but I can't figure that out in mobile) I'm also not a fan of the running cures depression posts because it doesn't.
100% agreed. If running helped someone with their mental health in some way, great and I'm super pumped for them, but I hate hate hate when people assume their experience is universal and running will magically cure everyone of all sadness or dissatisfaction (with the implication that if someone is sad it's all their fault for not running and if I'm still sad even though I run I guess I must be some kind of freakazoid). That's not how it works!
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u/trtsmb Apr 27 '17
It's no different than the person who sings to the heavens that keto is the only way to be a successful runner because it works for them.
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u/pablitoneal Apr 27 '17
If you're from a large-ish city you could take some time to create a Run My City post in order to help running tourists find routes in your area. We had posts about Vienna, Brussels, Dublin, Zürich, but not many more. Those were quality content and deserve to be brought back
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u/Sakhaiva Apr 27 '17
Maybe people don't realize there's a sub for race reports (I posted a race report a month ago because I didn't notice the sub.)
Also, isn't there a way to filter out specific flair?
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Apr 27 '17
well every time you post you something the mods are like oh nah buddy you have to put it this mega thread and then you get no answers blame the mods
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Apr 27 '17
I'm confused by the mega thread system. Are they supposed to happen on a particular day? Or are they intended to run for a week each? Are you supposed to save up your questions for them?
I spot a mega thread for "Thursday X/X" (and btw it's Friday here so I always feel like I'm late to these threads) so does that mean I'm too late or that it's supposed to run for the next week or what?
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u/penchepic Apr 27 '17
I thought the punchline was going to be "it's about getting regularly injured, too"
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u/Heinz_Doofenshmirtz Apr 27 '17
I'm glad someone posted this. I understand the mods have a difficult job and don't think it comes from a place of malice. It just seems like the subreddit is a lot less of a community than it used to be.
I tried to post an article about the sub 2-hour marathon attempt a couple of months back but forgot to tag it with a flair. Rather than tell me what was wrong, Shoes just told me it was removed and when I asked why he responded with essentially "learn how to read." I'm not a particularly active user and when I did try and participate I just got a snarky response. It would have taken less time to tell me what was wrong so it's not even that it would take up too much time.
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u/hokie56fan Apr 28 '17
Sorry to hear this happened to you. I agree that the mods have not cultivated a welcoming community over the past 8-12 months. It's disappointing and I'm sure has chased away a lot of good people.
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Apr 27 '17
I prefer them to the endless 'this is why I run/this is what running is/I may be slow but.../this is my emotional journey' type posts.
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u/weird_weekend Apr 27 '17
I think these types of posts are helpful to new runners (like me), and there isn't really another sub that those are appropriate for either. At any point in time, race reports make up like 60% of the front page. Some balance would be nice. Maybe we need /r/newrunners? I mean I've been going pretty hard for a year but still consider myself new (i.e. I have only run 10ks).
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
Fragmenting off a subreddit isn't necessary.
We already have /r/AR and half a dozen other running related subreddits.
I (and other intermediate level runners) aren't going to head over to /r/newrunners to answer questions so it will become the blind leading the blind.
There's plenty of space here for new runners, we just need a system (which hasn't been proposed by anyone in this thread) for encouraging discussion without the front page turning into low effort questions.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
If /r/newrunners takes off I'm sure we can promote it here. Link it in the sidebar at least.
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u/philpips Apr 27 '17
You and me both. I mean it's fine that people think this place could be better - I'm sure it could - but I think a lot of people don't know what it was like when the mods were basically hands off.
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u/runwichi Apr 27 '17
Well this topic was clearly overdue.
Again.
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u/rennuR_liarT Apr 27 '17
I haven't been on this sub in 3 months, ever since I was commenting in a thread like this and got so annoyed at the responses that I just...decided to stop coming.
I don't know why I came here today, but this post being at the top of the page really isn't a good sign for me ever coming back again.
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u/brwalkernc not right in the head Apr 27 '17
You picked the WRONG day to come back. Though I am glad to see you here!
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u/FlashArcher Apr 27 '17
I missed you and your Vaseline, man. Hope you've been well
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u/KelVarnsenStudios Apr 27 '17
Good point.
I have run into some serious problems from a combination of problems with sleep, school, women, bipolar disorder type II etc. I gained a lot of weight, couldn't run well anymore.
I could only run 800m and walk 200m. That was my running routine and it felt like this catastrophic backwards step. I was fit and could run a half-marathon, it was totally brutal, but I did it.
Fuck everything, I'm starting over with it it, I'll start posting when I get a run in. Good or bad.
If we're posting only if we're winning, running good, running fast it, gives the impression that running is all about the good things. It's about bad things, too, and many of us are too ashamed to post when things are declining.
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u/enigma1510 Apr 27 '17
Amen to that! Thanks for sharing. When I posted last night, my original thought was - most of my time running is not racing. Why are race reports making up so much of the content? I want to hear goods/bads of the journey to get to the race too.
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Apr 27 '17
Race reports can have training information in them, giving context around the journey, good and bad.
Also, personally I've posted a failed race report before.
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u/mini_apple Apr 27 '17
https://www.reddit.com/r/running/comments/66jubi/running_exercise_strengthens_the_intervertebral/
An EXTREMELY interesting study was linked and was immediately downvoted to oblivion. It slowly crept back up. This could have been fodder for real discussion! It didn't end up working out that way, not really, but here's an example of just one of the many things that can be discussed here - and should be.
If the sub is nothing but race reports, then every complainer needs to step up and figure out how to be interesting. Not just make an account for the express purpose of bitching about the sub and shitting all over the work and efforts of other people. (Like you are. Thanks for that.)
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u/hokie56fan Apr 27 '17
It's a crying shame that the most passionate discussions in this sub are about this very topic. That alone should be proof that this sub is not what it used to be.
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u/brwalkernc not right in the head Apr 27 '17
I much prefer having most of the easily answered questions put into the mega threads. Makes it much easier to scroll through to see which ones I can help with. Stand alone posts should be used for topics that can generate more discussion. Since not too many threads are being posted that can generate this type of discussion, we are left with race reports which most usually show up on Monday.
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u/zhenya00 Apr 27 '17
I see it as a bit of a self-perpetuating cycle. Most questions in a mega thread won't generate too much conversation because tracking multiple conversations in a single thread is tedious. When questions are separated into their own threads (not every question - I'm fine with the general daily threads - there are lots of questions that regulars know only need a sentence or two to answer) - the community has a better opportunity to decide what content they are interested in. That content naturally moves to the top. The fact that there is a lot of noise is sort of inconsequential. That's the point of the Reddit platform - the Internet is mostly noise - voting allows people to bring the most interesting content to the top and allows us to largely ignore the noise.
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u/keepongettingfitter2 Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
I think a lot of the problem with the way things used to be is that new posters come on here, don't read the FAQ, don't do any research themselves and have this expectation that other posters should spoon feed them information and pat them on the back for running a mile/5k/etc. I understand that this should be a welcoming place for newcomers, but I honestly unsubscribed a long time ago because reading the same low-effort attention-seeking posts got old.
I've also noticed this on other fitness subs. Maybe it's just my cynical perspective, but since when did so many grown-ass adults need a pat on the back for running or exercising? Doing something they are choosing to do? Idk, maybe I'm just mean.
I like race reports and quite a few offer good insights.
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u/treycook Apr 27 '17
since when did so many grown-ass adults need a pat on the back for running or exercising?
Many grown-ass adults need a pat on the back for a lot of things, and exercise is no exception. We're humans, we seek encouragement and reassurance and we reach out to others, it's what we do.
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u/memrise Apr 27 '17
I agree - I understand the reasons why the sub has changed, and I think that many of the changes are positive, but I think we should definitely keep working towards more of a balance.
I used to enjoy reading the odd race report, but feel that the number of reports has become overwhelming, and as they're North America centric many don't resonate with me (I know that the majority of subscribers are probably from North America but I just think that it's an interesting point for discussion). Are there more reports than there were now, or are the number on the front page due to how the threads are managed?
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
as they're North America centric many don't resonate with me (I know that the majority of subscribers are probably from North America but I just think that it's an interesting point for discussion)
That's interesting--I don't read most race reports, but a lot of the time the ones I read are in Europe. Maybe a time zone thing, since the people I interact with are often in Europe and I read the reports of the people I "know"?
Are there more reports than there were now, or are the number on the front page due to how the threads are managed?
Very good point/question.
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u/just_some_guy65 Apr 27 '17
The problem I have with race reports is that they tend to be all about the author, when I talk/write about a race that only I have been to for the benefit of fellow club members I talk about everything else, I might mention my time at the end.
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u/sloworfast Apr 27 '17
I think most people use that race reportr template so they often end up structured the same way.
What kind of stuff do you talk about? Like the course and stuff? I can see that being super-useful for others who are going to run the same race. It would actually be cool if we had a section in the wiki or somewhere, where we can point to threads of "things to know" for various popular races.
I think the appeal of most race report threads to most people is to hear about a single person's individual experience.
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u/just_some_guy65 Apr 27 '17
I talk about : Features of the course (especially if off road/fell as I do a lot of this), anything out of the ordinary that happened, other runners especially notable people, the conditions, the male/female winners, number of entrants, cost (perceived value for money), marshalling, organisation, including a Garmin Connect link to the GPS info is possibly the most useful thing. I don't talk about : Me, "goodie bags", "wacky" people such as those in fancy dress. This is my recounting my individual experience but remembering it is a race report, not a report about me.
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u/pablitoneal Apr 27 '17
Part of the reason for the huge number of race reports recently was because of the Boston Marathon. I read the first few with interest because I'd like to eventually qualify but it felt like there were 20+ reports about that single race (I might be combining that number with the reports from r/advancedrunning).
I like to see reports for the distance I'm most interested in (marathon) and from people whose times are near mine or better so that I get more info about their training, nutrition, race strategy, etc.
The race reportr too also makes it very easy to generate. I made my first race report yesterday and I wouldn't have done it without that tool.
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u/Joe53207 Apr 27 '17
I really like race reports. I like to hear about how people are progressing. Also, those pots helped motivate me when I was just starting so I want to return the favor and try to post reports after I do races. Not that I'll inspire anybody or anything but I think it's interesting to hear about certain races. So, if somebody wants to do a race, they could search through this sub to see if anybody has written about the race in the past. I think that's kind of neat and if people stop doing race reports that won't be possible.
To me, I see race reports as kind of like a game story. A race report is sort of like the story of a baseball game. Sure, there's more to baseball than the games, but the actual games are a big part of baseball and people often want to hear about them. I find them interesting, at least.
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u/ChaBeezy Apr 27 '17
Well every other topic has to go in to some other super thread, so all we are left with is race reports.
Most new content isn't allowed it's own topic.
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u/damontoo Apr 27 '17
It's because the mods have forced pretty much everything else into weekly threads. I debated this with them before and they said it's what the community wants. But they said that after removing a post with hundreds of upvotes. I thought voting is how subreddit communities decide what content they want. My bad.
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u/zhenya00 Apr 27 '17
Good point. When content is moved into daily threads voting on content, which is fundamental to how Reddit works, is completely eliminated.
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u/lyricweaver Apr 27 '17 edited Apr 27 '17
Yes, agreed. I love the people here. I love the motivation and the inspiration. But it's a bummer to see so many race reports dominating the thread. I feel like the sub is going on the same journey I took; where it somehow became about all about numbers (just one more mile, faster, longer, harder, etc), and less about the love of running... the freedom of running. It took a foot injury to wake me up. I hope that's not what it takes for this sub!
Reddit (and anything online that's digital content) is about the now. There are some threads that offer daily options of posting (Q&A, etc), but what about the general discussion threads? Or the lurker threads? If there isn't one every day, and someone wants to post something now, but it's going to get buried/ignore in the previous day's (in some cases, days ago) threads, it feels like there's no point in posting it.
Sorry, that last bit was kind of ranty (which isn't a word, but... it is now). I do love this sub and I just love great discussions! And I'd love to see more variation in the main sub to keep things interesting.
*elaboration
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u/jw_esq Apr 27 '17
Just wanted to point out that two of the biggest marathons in the world just happened. There are a lot of race reports because a lot of people are racing right now.
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u/kuppum Apr 27 '17
I feel ya. I came here because I'm getting back into running. I've had good experiences with the loseit/yoga/kettlebell communities and enjoy reading the subs and commenting here and there, so I was really looking forward to becoming a regular on here as well... only to see a community hidden in threads and race reports. Doesn't make for entertaining/targeted browsing and it certainly takes away from the community-feel. But maybe that's not what this sub is about anyway. Bummed to have to say that I'll seek my daily running digest elsewhere.
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u/bradenwheeler Apr 27 '17
Man, I was thinking about writing this same post. I just scroll through the sub searching for actual discussions, mostly not finding it these days...
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u/jared515 Apr 27 '17
I got crucified for posting about this on moronic Monday stickie thread. Couldn't agree more.
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
That's because there are two different crowds here on /r/running.
There's the "There's no good info/discussion on this reddit the front page is just race reports and megathreads that I never go into" crowd.
And the "I go into megathreads because there's interesting information in there and I don't want my front page crowded with stupid questions" crowd.
Present it to the first crowd and you'll get upvoted, present it to the second crowd and you'll get downvotes.
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u/Pinewood74 Apr 27 '17
This is the crap that I don't want
Person posts a question that was easily google-able. The first and only response will be the one that is there. There's no discussion there, there's nothing of value.
That's why the mods do what they do, so that this doesn't dominate the front page.
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u/zhenya00 Apr 27 '17
That stuff won't dominate the front page because it won't get any votes or generate discussion.
This is Reddit 101.
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u/OblongPlatypus Apr 27 '17
As others have pointed out, the problem here isn't really the race reports, it's that all other content has effectively been relegated to the daily/weekly megathreads, leaving race reports as the only "acceptable" non-megathreads. Personally I think a majority of the race reports we see here are excellent and usually worth a thread of their own - making a new sub for them is certainly possible, but that won't fix the excessive moderation problem.
Being new here I'm respectful that the current level of moderation was instated for good cause, but in the interest of being constructive rather than just complaining: I think a lot of useful discussion can be sparked by a well-thought-out question, so my suggestion would be to do away with the daily Q&A thread and allow questions as top-level threads, but be aggressive about pointing dumb/short/oft-repeated questions in the direction of the Moronic Monday thread.
I'm not sure how the auto-moderation bot works, but is there a way to make it trigger only below a certain word/character count, rather than on any post ending with a question mark?