The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers

Floberg made sure to label his Grandma's Marathon Strava activity as "long run workout," but his heart rate data suggests it was an awfully hard workout. The effort was very similar to McKirdy.

Michael Ottesen blew up at Grandma's and in his Strava activity he called it a sauna. He seemed to be really fit and ready for this race.

Start: Overcast clouds, 67°F, Feels like 68°F, Humidity 94%, Wind 0mph from N
End: Scattered clouds, 72°F, Feels like 73°F, Humidity 84%, Wind 10mph from E

94% humidity, 0mph wind. oh my god...

But obviously Floberg has lost some fitness. He's not well-trained enough for a 26.2mi long run nearly at marathon effort to be considered reasonable training (unlike, for example, Jake Barraclough). So this was another overall setback considering he tapered for this and now has to recover from it. After thinking he had a chance at sub 2:30 at McKirdy I'm gonna go ahead and call it now for Chicago - no shot. That said, I think someone else could pilot his body and train perfectly from now until then and do it. I just don't think he'll get it figured out.

I've no idea what he thought he'd gain from this run. He would have been better off having a good crack at a half marathon to see where his fitness was before starting Chicago training and then aim for a reasonable time can hit (probably a slight PR)

Coros & Garmin. Two of the most popular running watches. Yet one of them seems to be giving watches to every running influencer going.

They obviously have done the research for this as a marketing strategy so imagine it works.

but within this forum - does it actually make you want to buy the one which doesn’t advertise on the running YouTubers videos? Like, makes it seem like they know their product is good enough to not need to do it…

I think Phily needs to back off the heat training and the strength training and the Final Cut Pro training.

What she needs is a couple of good weeks of poncho walks.

Coros's build quality is atrocious, and its software isn't much better. It feels like a Kickstarter project run by two part-time developers sharing one PC. Influencers would absolutely not choose Coros over Garmin if given the chance.

She would thrive under Seth’s tutelage

lol I’m not his biggest fan either but come on, he has over 3 months to prepare for Chicago. Not a write off yet.

Ben Parkes videos are so hard to watch. Crying, vomiting, talking about his poor mental health. Every. Time. Please stop doing ultra marathons - it's so painful..for everybody

Seriously. I haven’t watched the new video but I can tell from the title that it’s just the same sh*t as last year. He should’ve just saved the labor and reposted last years with a new title

He talks about how when things get hard all the dark thoughts come into his head.... That's literally part of ultra running (and distance running in general). Literally why people talk about how it's a mental game as much as physical. Feels like a disrespect for the sport tbh to just chalk every failure up to mental health. Cringe af

I see many influencers using Coros, but as soon as their contract expires they immediately jump back to Garmin

I use COROS, swapped from Garmin, and the pace 3 is way more feature loaded than the Garmin for the equivalent prices. I don't think my Garmin even allowed me to view interval splits!

Overall, I am very happy with it - the battery lasts for ages and it charges quickly. The arm band is excellent and it seems to be accurate.

I agree about the build quality - it feels and looks a bit like a cheap plastic child's watch - however, this does not bother me too much.

I used to like the guy but he just refuses to train properly or try hard at anything. Can't watch him do yet another race at 50% effort while constantly filming himself and talking about how "amazing" it is. Why not actually put some effort in and go all out for a PB?

I know it's a first world problem; however, it must be hard for Ben.

I get the impression Ben, like a lot of us, uses running as therapy. However, races can be stressful and negate the therapeutic benefits.

I had some family heath issues recently and it's been super stressful. As such, I've just put any races on ice and have been following SirPocs NS plan. It's been so good for my mental health, just running for enjoyment.

Ben does not have this luxury - he probably feels he needs to do these races to earn a living. If he does not, he's back being a middle manager for a paper merchants.

Göran Winblad at 170 thousand subscribers, only 1,000 behind Seth!

As I am sad, just compared the 2. The HR is nearly identical! Furthermore, he ran even laps the whole way; how is that a workout?

Disclaimer: I like Ben and have posted in the past that I'm a fan.

I feel like the criticism is harsh, people have been complaining about many of the London Marathon YouTubers sugarcoating or trying to spin the narrative after a bad race in recent weeks.

His Comrades video isn't an easy watch, but I didn't feel like he was trying to manipulate the narrative or make up an excuse - he was very open about the fact he had a bad race and the time was not what he hoped or felt like he was capable of. It's hard to understand what people want, if not that? A slightly more disingenuous swing and a miss narrative?

I think his authenticity is one of the reasons why he's one of the more popular influencers.

Nail on the head. A rare, fair comment here