Been here for over a dozen years. I fully understand why the pro running community thinks that LRC is toxic. Pro runners are recognizing how important mental health is in their sport. There is currently a sea change going on in not just pro running, but in sports in general about how mental health impacts performance. Matt Wolff, the pro golfer with the goofy, but highly effective, swing, had to take a mental health leave from the tour after only being a pro for just under two years. Wolff quickly won on the tour and finished 2nd at his first US Open and 4th at the PGA championship. But Wolff had to take a few months off because of the pressure. And for Wolff, a big issue for him was his relationship with his fans. He was too hard on himself when he did not play well because he felt like he let his fans down. Then, in tennis we saw Osaka and Raducanu suffer mental health breakdowns. And these are sports where the players are financially secure for the rest of their lives. Osaka is the richest female athlete in the world right now.
So, in the pro running world, even the top athletes do not have anything near the kind of financial security as golf or tennis and are constantly dealing with incredibly high pressure races and expectations from fans and sponsors. On LRC, most of the pro runner talk is either an accusation of doping in the case of a great performance or the "____ goes home devastated" when someone has a bad race. While pro athletes in football, baseball, soccer, etc. are accustomed to the sports radio smack talk, pro runner are not. Pro runners are able to live in anonymity and are not the kind of media figures that other pro athletes are. I was at the park with my kid on a nice day. There were dozens of parents and kids on and around the playground. Shannon Rowbury was there with her kid. 3 time Olympian and AR holder. No one recognized her.
LRC is entertaining if you have a thick skin. But I would never expect pro runners to be able to endure what goes on here. Pro runners these days have to be on social media and leverage their image to make money plugging gear, sports drinks, etc. They cannot be on LRC posting about Trump or COVID and still expect to be a brand ambassador.