Do "running influencers" harm the competitive nature of the sport?

Listen, young one, wind whisper truth...

"Influencer," you say? Pfft! They chase fleeting shadow, not burning sun. Screen flash bright, but heart cold like winter moon.

True warrior, no fight for clapping hands, but for fire inside. Muscle ache, lung burn, THIS life song!

Not "like" make strong, but hill climb, sweat drip, leg shake. THIS test true spirit, warrior heart!
Let them preen for glowing box, chase empty echo. You, young warrior, chase setting sun, chase own shadow.

True joy not in number count, but heart full like harvest moon. Remember: victory taste sweet when earned, not gift-wrapped.

So run, young one, run wild like mountain wind. Let earth feel your step, let sky hear your laughter.

True prize not in fading fame, but knowing you conquer self. THIS victory worth more than thousand likes.

Well one runner who falls EXACTLY into your profile above proved a little vulnerable here - the bit about 'people..love this' seemed to go to their head, they got caught cheating and making up false results and the rest is another Letsrun thread.

1.) If influencers get people off of the couch and moving that's great and I support that.

2.) Influencers that have bikes that follow them during races and get in peoples way are bad for the sport

3.) I don't like how influencers get free bibs into hard to get into races. They act like getting 6 stars is a huge accomplishment but it was basically handed to them. When I was in the runners village at Boston this year and saw that some influencers who did not have the qualifying time to be there were running it, i was upset.

4.) Nick Bare is on steroids. He is a liar. Any influencer who is associated with BPN, I questioned if they are on PEDs. I think less of the BPN for knowingly let these influencers dope. I would like Nick more if he came clean about his juicing. I might actually watch his content and see what the human body is capable of doing with the help of PEDs.

good lord, just listen to yourself

travesty how society has gone in the age of the neoliberalist, capitalists

honestly a terrible state of affairs

Man I cannot wait for the day the truth comes out about BPN. Look, I like nick, he seems (keyword "seems") like a great guy, and he works hard. If you are cheating to achieve fast times, you are a cheater, plain and simple. You arent a fast runner, you are a slow runner who needs PEDS to be competitive (competitive is relative here).

Bare is as natural as Mike O'Hearn.

You forgot to mention the obvious thing about Spirinac - how hot she is

Elizabeth Clor dishes out ridiculous and bogus training advice.

But she loves singing about zebras and wearing yellow and blue dresses. She's nothing if not original. No snark from me!

Pretty decent content.

LRC is worse for the sport than influencers could ever be

He should have been focused on running for his team. But honestly this was peak Seth. He really went downhill after this.

The type of influencer I want to see is someone running under the influence.

A drinker with a running problem.

Nice to see Seth chatting with other runners in that video.

Her running (or shuffling) form is awful. How can anyone watch her videos?

I generally don’t have a problem with anyone who brings more attention to the sport. But influencing is all about me me me, and then there are the runners who just don’t know what they’re doing.

Hungry runner girl, for example, just runs to burn calories and has the worst training plans.

And then there’s one who started out running fast and then her feed turned all into her divorce drama, which I guess is relatable for some, but I’m here for the running.

Then there are all the guys who claim they’re natty but are clearly juiced.

They are bad for the sport.

Most of them cheat and lie about all kind of things from their training to their diet. They are probably doping and cutting corners. They block up the races with their cameras and run mediocre times. I can understand getting into running and finding influencers who look more like you but what are all these people still inspired by? They are doing what theoretically anyone can be doing in the sport.

If a running influencer gains attention by say, being a "Fat Runner" it's not really in their best interest to actually lose the weight. But if you actually train for a marathon, weight loss is going to happen. I've noticed a trend where "fat running influencers" actually gain more weight over time. Slowly, what as once an earnest hobby goes by the wayside but the influencing "coaching" etc continues.

As for the others, don't waste your time. It's so obvious Matt Choi is a grifter. I can't believe people fall for it.

I'm pretty certain he doesn't know any local Colorado runners. Such a strange little guy.