I was prowling around on some other running sites, and it's pretty clear that much of the running community hates LR.

skepticrunner wrote:

In my (very limited) experience, very few people are even aware of LR's existence. The people that do know of LR are generally people who take running very seriously.

WoRD

I love this site. When I want to hear about some crazy stuff I just click on whatever and fire away; when I want to find out about running I just click on the threads that are about running. As a running geek, it is nice for there to be a place where you can go and everyone knows who, say, Venuste Niyongabo is.

This is why a lot of runners stay away from Lets Run. Just because someone is slow does not mean that don't take the sport seriously. Calling them hobby joggers is derisive. Making fun of someone who just ran their first marathon in four hours will not encourage them to try harder. It is probably some middle aged guy who took up running a year ago and trained his butt of to get in shape for that four hour marathon.

Slower runners do speedwork, hill training, fartleks, whatever, to do the best they can do. You can say they don't have talent I won't argue with that, but you would be surprised by the effort and their love of the sport.

Their entry fees at races pay for the prize money and appearance fees. And they buy the shoes from a local running store instead of online to support the store and the runners they employ. Believe me, they would love to run a 17:00 minute 5K. But it's just not going to happen for most runners.

I'm one of those lame, slow guys and I haaaaaaaaaaate all the PC, feel-good vibes at all the other sites I've looked at. I know I'm slow, I know others are faster, and I want to hear what they have to say. Even if it is, "You're slow, bro. Train harder and race." That's way more helpful than, "Hey, you're trying and that's what counts! :) xoxoxoxox OMG you're soooooooooooooooooooooo inspiring! Snootchie Boothchies baby doll! See you at the finisher podium!"