The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers

Cancel the drone, cut the slo-mo frame,

No final lap, no glory game.

Ben Parkes uploads, but hearts don’t lie—

Sarah’s left, no reason why?

Oh, but we know. We’ve seen the signs:

Too many races, too few lines

Of thanks or love or even glance—

She played the crew; he played romance.

YouTube kings with carbon dreams,

Monetized lives and taper schemes.

But he’s no Floberg—none of that grace,

No warmth behind the steely pace.

Just intervals and merch to sell,

And Sarah stuck in training hell.

She booked the flights, she found the trail,

While he chased wind, ignored the gale

Within their flat, where silence grew—

No vlog can cut what's cold and true.

And oh, that elapsed time—what a tease.

A five-mile run? Took sixty-three.

The splits are tight, the cadence sweet,

But where’s he really stopped his feet?

"Quick stop for gels," he might explain,

"Or filming cuts, or traffic strain."

But mile by mile, excuse by excuse,

That Strava gap turned love’s own noose.

What happens in that missing space?

No GPS, no heart-rate trace.

Another DM? A sneaky call?

A fan he met near Primrose Hill Mall?

The truth’s not split in graphs or pace—

It lingers in the unseen place

Between a beep and real regret,

In moments runners just forget.

Kofuzi’d never ghost like this,

Ed Bud would buy her shoes—or bliss.

Even The Welsh Runner might’ve stayed

Instead of filming love decay.

So let the channel carry on,

With drone shots rising with the dawn.

But Sarah’s gone. She beat the gun.

She ran the smarter, harder run.

Ok, enough Parkes fan fiction.

what’s the latest Matt Fox update? And what’s the thoughts to Journey of Lees shock video quitting running?

Parkes has more followers than even Walmsley.

Wtf has this thread become lol

I’m a little bit scared

Maybe it's just a ShoeTuber trying to discredit the thread! Many of them definitely read this thread!

The running boom is coming to an end, so I expect more YouTube channels to flame out with it.

maybe if I just wait long enough, Tracksmith will have no other choice! mwahahahaha

I'm surprised @poetwithpace doesn't get more of a mention and following on this discussion. Random fact is that he was one of the original running youtubers and has been producing films and content for over 9 years with his GoPro and giving live commentary during races.

I think Donato’s a cool guy. He’s one of the very first people (probably after Sage) to support the Serious Runner videos and always comments on my animated channel. i feel like he also doesn’t strictly the Shoetuber playbook… and that’s often not in one’s favor.

Diadora has money?

A lot of VC money is entering start up running brands (it's why Rabbit and Tracksmith have shoes). They're all trying to be the next Hoka. Of course there won't be a next Hoka because Hoka was about innovation.

And despite what the ShoeTubers want you to believe: Strava tracks the miles run in every shoe. The most miles in a shoe last year? The Nike Pegasus 41, which the ShoeTubers all hate (they say it's because it's old school and boring and low stacked; I think it's because to have that shoe be the best performing shows that there are ways to sell shoes that don't involve sending Kofuzi to Italy).

tomsguide.com

The Nike Pegasus is the top running shoe among Strava users in 2024 — as a running shoe reviewer here’s why I think it’s the people’s favorite

@tomsguide

If you can't beat them, run with them in the Nike Pegasus

Open link

What I'm surprised by is venture capital firms buying into the whole influencer charade. It's not just running. The trips provided by Tarte are a debacle every year:

usmagazine.com

Every Tarte Influencer Trip Controversy: Drama, Room Sizes, More

Grace Riley

Read about all the controversies Tarte Cosmetics has faced while hosting their influencer getaways

Open link

I would think if you're going to sink money into investing in an early to mid stage running gear/shoe start up, that you'd have a clear idea of the value of marketing and not just blindly nod your head and go "sponsored posts on Instagram!" I still think run club demos are probably more effective than influencer marketing.

But with the contracting stock market, the VC money is going to dry up. It'll be interesting to see if the likes of Kofuzi and Thomas from Believe the Run re-center on their local running communities and their own training--what made their channels popular in the first place.

Seth James DeMoor had always been passionate about his YouTube channel, dedicated to reviewing running shoes, but over time, his obsession began to take a toll on his marriage. He would beg companies for free samples, promising to give them glowing reviews, and soon his house was overflowing with shoes he had never paid for. Brigid, his wife, had once supported his hobby, but the endless influx of boxes into their home became a constant source of frustration. On top of that, Seth's growing reliance on coffee to keep himself energized while driving long hours for his channel added to the chaos. His mornings were spent with one hand on the wheel, the other clutching a coffee cup, speeding through life with little time to connect with her. Meanwhile, the mounting stress of their mortgage payments weighed heavily on both of them, making every disagreement feel more urgent and harder to resolve.
The breaking point came on a quiet evening when Brigid finally had enough. She told Seth she couldn’t keep living in a home that felt like it belonged to his YouTube channel rather than their life together. The piles of running shoes, the constant need for validation from his viewers, and the financial strain of their mortgage had made everything feel unstable. Seth, though heartbroken, couldn’t deny the truth in her words. He knew he had been consumed by his passion for the channel, letting it overshadow the things that truly mattered. When the divorce papers arrived, it felt like both a relief and a deep sorrow. As Seth sat alone, surrounded by boxes of shoes and empty coffee cups, he realized he had sacrificed the very thing he loved most—his marriage—for the fleeting approval of an online audience and the pursuit of something he now saw as hollow.

Oh yes

It seems that the long-rumored ShoeTube recession has arrived. From the description of the latest Believe in the Run Podcast:

As much as I love ragging on them, I hope they don't lose their jobs. The above isn't a great sign though.

And for his age he's a top class runner,pretty sure he's mid 60's now.

He also has done a couple of videos recently - one where he talked about a human attacking/chasing him on a recent run. And one where he talks about a dog attacking him on a recent run.

That’s bad luck. Got to feel for him. Don’t think he reported to police either occasion from what he said though which maybe he should have done.

Her Strava is still uploading runs from the same place they have an apartment together. IDK about you but if I just broke up with someone I wouldn't be still staying in a one bedroom apartment with them, I'd move out, so this all seems unlikely.