The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers

Closer to home, good to see Cole running break 30 for 10k

Cole is the only YouTuber I "know" being a regular fixture, and often winner, of Kent/SE races since about 2019.

It'll be interesting to see if he can crack his, fairly ambitious, goal of 220 for his first marathon

He alluded to a bad patch of personal life so not sure if he's had bird problems.

Ok, I was a spectator at the Brighton Half at the weekend. To my delight, the myth, the legend Nick Bester was running. He was in second place when I saw him; however, he faded big-time over the last three miles.

Overall observations:
- He's a big guy to be running that fast.

- I was shocked at how many Best Athletic runners there were (must have been 15+). Even reasonable runners were part of his cult (e.g., the first woman). I wonder why they are paying over the odds to join a club where the founder is so self-obsessed they name it after themselves.

- The most bizarre part was at the end of the race. Nick had finished 6th, and the announcer asked "how he found it". He started acting like he'd won the Olympics, along the lines of "I just want to thank the crowd for your great support" followed by a "boomshkala" and abruptly ended - the whole thing was odd! Especially, as not that many people watch the Brighton half.

I have two feeling about big guys who run marathons fast (for their size). First, impressed, second, why the hell are you putting your body through that, when it's clear you're not best suited for this event??

I wonder where would be the line to be acceptable to be that cringy with the celebration and self obsession? In terms of finishing position and time. I would say sub 2:15 at the minimum and top 3 probably, in small to medium sized marathons. Maybe his achievement seems huge in his own eyes, but on the outside it's like I said - very cringy.

To be fair I ran it yesterday and crossed paths on the out and back along the a259. Even in that very short timeframe I heard multiple runners and spectators shout “Go Nick” or “Boomshakalaka” and these areas weren’t heavily spectated at all. Can only imagine what it was like along the more populated areas and this is probably what he was referring to. But yeah I was also very surprised by the sheer number of Best Athletics vests, they were everywhere!

I guess that's what happens when it's your third race in seven days. It's a miracle he's not injured more often.

Some of these YouTubers seem to love burning the candle at both ends.

People like Bester will go on and on and on about how breaking 2:20 or some arbitrary marathon time is their dream but then run all out 5ks and Half Marathons regularly throughout their marathon blocks. Train for the marathon, concentrate on the marathon and maybe you will get faster at the marathon?

Although they allegedly dream of these PBs in the marathon they need to be constantly on show and putting out content. They're their own worst enemies

Many of these guys seem to have borderline mental health issues and you wonder if putting their entire lives out in the public domain is really what they should be doing. They probably receive some absolutely horrendous comments and DMs and for what? A free Coros Pro and some Saysky half tights?

imagine to be in finance (bester) or law (kofuzi) and to trade this for being a running influencer? it makes zero sense to me, to be frank. this is a downgrade in my eyes. but i guess for them it's an improvement.

i think one have to be either uneployed/broke or to work something very crappy for this "running influencer" gig to feel like a win. no?

I don't know. If you've worked any of these sorts of jobs, they are soul destroying. You have no autonomy, work long hours, doing mostly pointless work. I chucked in a banking job for a lower paid more interesting career.

Also, I heard Bester was actually selling mortgages; he's spins a narrative that he was a high flying financier; however, more than likely, he was a low end sales guy. Also, as much as it pains me to say, he's probably making more money now!

Ok so I had a look at Nick Bester's Strava, and I must admit I don't follow him much, but in the last 7 days he:

- Raced a 10k

- Did a hefty enough track session (9.2km of work)

- Raced a 5k

- Raced a half marathon

- Did all this while hitting his usual weekly mileage (92 miles)

That is an insane amount of work and I'm honestly probably jealous of his recovery ability and injury resilience (although you can't be sure there's no foul play). I could only get away with two of the five points listed above in a week and even at that it would be a pretty big week for me.

All while building into his 'A goal' half marathon this weekend - even just running a pretty max chat HM is very questionable prep for a target race, but add in all of the other things - in the middle of a marathon build - it's insane scheduling.

That honey he advertises must do wonders for his recovery...

now it makes a little bit more sense.

Met him a few times briefly - always seemed like a nice guy. Glad that his training and approach has paid off, rather than letting content drive what he does seems to prioritise his bigger picture running and work life which I can get behind.

If he can keep putting the work in he seems on course for the sub 2:20 crack, although it's always a big step up for your first marathon.

Always considered Bester 1000% on PEDs. Like, not even a discussion, clear-cut as Lance Armstrong.

Would race medics really leave an unconscious person in the medical tent for a "couple hours?" Wouldn't they get transported to a hospital at some point?

I wouldnt have thought so, I suppose he wasnt unconscious but just has no memory of it, a bit like when you have a colonoscopy :D

To give Cole massive credit, if you follow up on Strava it's amazing how controlled his threshold should reps are (5:30/mile ish) for someone of his ability. He definitely doesn't have an ego blocking him executing a training plan (which absolutely working as per 29:45ish 10k).

He seems to have good turnover (400m repeat speed) which his done/doing well to convert. I was a bit unsure on the sub 2:20 target at beginning but think his training, looking on Strava, looks near perfect. I expect him to do it tbh.

Discipline normally pays off.

Expect to get a video from the USATF this last weekend.