The Trials and Tribulations of Running YouTubers

I think this is what he means when he bleats on about 'the community' - it's shorthand for 'the wallets and high gullibility of the recreational running community'. Imagine if every UK 2.25 marathon egomaniac started their own merch line. Oh, hang on.....

Where's that? I only see him moving to the side at 8:15 in his Youtube video but don't see him taking anything?

I've bought Ben Parkes merch. Not at all because I'm worshipping an 'elite', but because I enjoy his free content and it's a really small gesture of support. For the same reason I sign up to Patreon of podcasts I enjoy, or buy merch from the Coffee Club etc.

And if I wear while running, it's because I need a hat and that's a good hat. Ben isn't pretending he's Kipchoge, he's simply offering non-elite running content. Plenty find it relatable. Plenty do not. No big deal?

Wearing YouTuber merch as an adult, bit weird that mate

What $hoetuber will you be for the LetsRun Halloween party!?

I have bought an FOD Runner shirt (several years ago), a Yowana Hobby Jogger hat, and a “10 Junk Miles” Path Projects hat for the same reason.

Hi. You must be new here. Welcome.

Do you frequently go back and check your old posts for up votes? Jesus Christ that’s sad.

Fair enough to you as purchaser and kit wearer - could show the name of anyone famous, or just not have anyone's name but still be great kit. Just seems odd that a fairly non-descript runner and, in my view, quite bland persona - who has gone public about his fragile mental health in those occasional periods when he's not quite in 2.25 marathon shape - decided that the best words to stick onto some kit, which he wants to sell as widely as possible, are his own name. If it was Coco Chanel or Louis vuitton i could see the point.

Does anyone else feel like Ben Parkes doesn't enjoy making content anymore? He's still able to turn on the children's TV presenter energy for the camera but he just seems to churn out really generic training tips and shoe review videos now. Compared to what he was putting out 3-4 years ago it's worlds apart.

Disclaimer: I quite like Ben's content and have bought one of his singlets (it's decent!) but don't know him personally

I agree, I think he's got a bit stale. I think injuries have been holding him back, so he's not able to do anything more than test a few shoes and run a few marathons with a camera at a comfortable pace.

I think over the last few years he's got ideas about running ultras and more 'epic' events than typical road events in the UK. Which is fine if that's his ambition, but it hasn't made great content and it seems to have also taken a toll on his mental health when he's inevitably crashed out halfway.

His niche is basically being a nice relatable guy who shows the average runner what they are capable of if they knuckle down and get the work and mileage in. Whether via over stretching in his choice of events, to physical injuries, to mental battles, he seems to have lost his way a bit with this.

I hope he can put a good block of simple, uncomplicated training together and have a go at some local races to get back closer to his peak form. I do wonder whether he's lost his motivation a bit to do that though, but is too dependent on what he's created so is just letting it coast.

Yeah, he's looked disinterested at best in recent videos. I gather he's not enjoying the process or his profession as much as previously. He may even feel trapped (I hope not).

Luckily, for those starting out, his template-style training plans are dirt cheap at 10 GBP or similar. Since studies show many people who pick up running later in life don't stick with it long term, this can provide safe guardrails without a high entry barrier.

There are other YouTubers who haven't earned coaching credentials who are charging large sums, sometimes even monthly subscriptions, for essentially the similar template-style results.

Agree with both of those posts above. I feel like Ben is that nice relatable guy but he really does seem to have run out of ideas or goals. I think his partner Sarah is actually running more interesting stuff - maybe it'd be a good a good idea for him to focus on filming her running instead of his own if she's into that?

Actually STCJ is not an acronym, unless it is commonly pronounced as "stickage" "setcaj" or similar. It's an initialism.
Examples of acronyms are SCUBA, NASA, etc.