The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers

LiRF gives a leader (not a coach) enough knowledge to be dangerous.

Why would an influencer spend £527.50, 3 days in person, 1 day online and complete a safeguarding and first aid course on a qualification to coach?

I can only assume that as long as someone at the affiliated club or coaching company has done a CiRF and 'oversees' their 'coaching' this is how they're currently being allowed to operate?

There are hundreds of LiRFs out there on social media misrepresenting themselves as coaches.

BITR NYC recap:
- Not caring about pissing people off with their giant shakeout run blocking running and bike lanes.
- Robby getting all the glory and airtime for barely running a sub 4. He was supposed to lead a pace group, the whole point of which is helping others, but had to ditch them to sprint the last half mile to make sure he hit his own personal goal.
- Wide Jared stealing other people’s blankets in the warm up tent and Thomas making a big joke of it.
- Robby joking about punching someone because they dared to cross the course during his walk shuffle 20 miles in.
- Karl and Wide Jared complaining about actually having to run during the tough parts of the race because people are filming or photographing them.

- scaring a random female runner by taking their shirts off and yelling her name when she didn’t know who they were.

- wide Jared trying to to be a hero like Robby by helping up a woman who fell and clearly didn’t want help (after previously nearly knocking down another woman himself)
- The whole group in awe because Casey Neistat, someone with actual media and running skills, ran a sub 3 in a normal non super shoe.
- Robby further playing the hero by buying someone a pack of cigs.
- Meg, who ran the best marathon, getting to tell basically none of her story.

Oh yes!

Which registered account are you insinuating is doing this?

She’s fundamentally not qualified to coach running, unless she’s being directly and actively overseen, in person, by a fully qualified coach (CiRF or Athletics Coach equivalent).

The LiRF is the lowest level of accreditation in the UK. It does not qualify someone to coach, only to lead sessions under supervision. It’s a short, mostly online, questionnaire-based course that practically anyone can pass. To hold yourself out as a ‘coach’ with just a LiRF is like calling yourself a doctor after completing a first aid certificate.

What’s frustrating is that people like this give nothing back to the sport, no contribution to clubs, governing bodies, or the long history of volunteers and qualified coaches who’ve spent years building athlete pathways. There’s also no duty of care when you’re unqualified and uninsured. Yet they market themselves as credible coaches after only a few years of recreational running and zero experience actually coaching athletes in person.
And let’s not pretend she’s being ‘overseen’ by anyone qualified. If she’s attached to Runna, that setup is algorithmic, not human oversight. There’s no genuine coaching involved. It’s as credible as Ben Parker’s so-called 2:34 marathon which, for the record, has no official result anywhere. His real PB is just under 3 hours. That sums up the smoke and mirrors perfectly, misrepresentation dressed up as expertise.

This kind of behaviour cheapens what coaching actually means. It disrespects those who’ve done the hard yards to earn qualifications, protect athletes properly, and uphold standards within the sport.

But in today’s age of the new runner, standards are in the toilet.

Well said. Thank you.

Very well put. Ever thought about starting the HMRC of Athletics?

Has she formally admitted this? Or just danced around the topic?

is floburt still making vids?

I'm sure there will be an epic video about NY full of him saying "I love this comment" "core memories" and "so privileged" he undoubtedly will also "share some miles" with "his boy" (insert name of latest friend he hasn't alienated yet)

Whatever to his bromance with that Clark kid? He disappeared off the face of the earth

Nick Bester with another sensational training run this morning 15 x1 k, the guys is an absolute monster. He called the "Kipchoge sesh" His powers of recovery is insane

Ben Parkes and Ben Parker aren't the same person.

No one knows who Ben Parker is.

Thanks for trying to clarify, unfortunately you’ve clarified the wrong person.

Easy mistake, though, attention to detail matters in both coaching and debating.

I agree he's not popped up in this thread and nor is he a youtuber (as far as I know). He's relevant in the discussion of Anya Culling as he is CEO / Founder / Head Coach of that scammy coaching app Runna, which is, I presume, why he was mentioned.

Sorry, my bad

He hasnt raced or trained seriously since DNF’ing at McKirdy