Jay Holder, the head of Running USA, asked if we could help get the word out on the Global Running Survey.
Jay's been very helpful to us (he's the media liaison at the Olympics and some World Marathon Majors), so it's time to give him a hand.
If you want after filling out survey you can leave your email address to enter a drawing for a free Premium Treadmill (valued at $4,999)! or a free racer entry.
I noticed that the questions were geared towards squeezing more money out of the gullible runners and get their email at the end to promote there stupid treadmill worth maybe $1200.
I took the survey. My primary factors when deciding whether or not to take a survey are 1) who's conducting it, and 2) what's it for.
Re: the first factor, I found this on Running USA's website:
Running USA is a non-profit organization committed to the growth and success of the running industry. Our promise is to deliver quality education, exceptional industry content, valuable research and ample networking opportunities. We connect. We support. We educate.
That sounds like an organization I'm ok with supporting.
Re: the second factor, they didn't do a good job of explaining the purpose of the survey, what type of topics would be covered, and how the results would be used. All the intro said was, "this survey will assist Running USA with building recommendations to move the running industry and its events forward." That was pretty vague, but I gave it a chance and was glad I did.
A lot of the questions are about road races, how we decide which races to do, how much we expect they should cost, and which aspects of races are most important to us. As someone who races regularly, I thought answering those questions was a good way for me to weigh in and have my voice heard, which could potentially benefit me if the results are shared with race directors. To me, that's what makes a survey win-win: participants sharing opinions that inform the researchers, who can then use those insights to make products or services better for the participants.
Side note: if you're so against the brojos that you don't want to help anyone who's helped them, then you shouldn't be on this site. You are helping the brojos by visiting their site and posting on their message board.
Running USA is a non-profit organization committed to the growth and success of the running industry. Our promise is to deliver quality education, exceptional industry content, valuable research and ample networking opportunities. We connect. We support. We educate.
That sounds like an organization I'm ok with supporting.
Re: the second factor, they didn't do a good job of explaining the purpose of the survey, what type of topics would be covered, and how the results would be used. All the intro said was, "this survey will assist Running USA with building recommendations to move the running industry and its events forward." That was pretty vague, but I gave it a chance and was glad I did.
A lot of the questions are about road races, how we decide which races to do, how much we expect they should cost, and which aspects of races are most important to us. As someone who races regularly, I thought answering those questions was a good way for me to weigh in and have my voice heard, which could potentially benefit me if the results are shared with race directors. To me, that's what makes a survey win-win: participants sharing opinions that inform the researchers, who can then use those insights to make products or services better for the participants.
I took the survey too, but it all seemed geared toward marketing a treadmill and/or other expensive running gear.
I answered all of the questions honestly, all the time chuckling to myself that most of my answers are absolutely NOT what these folks want to hear. I spent $0 last year on any running gear besides shoes; I never use a treadmill and would not buy one at any price. And all of the questions about "inclusivity" left me cold. As a white person I'm often a minority ethnicity at my local road races, but no one seems to notice or care, as it should be.
I took the survey too, but it all seemed geared toward marketing a treadmill and/or other expensive running gear.
I answered all of the questions honestly, all the time chuckling to myself that most of my answers are absolutely NOT what these folks want to hear. I spent $0 last year on any running gear besides shoes; I never use a treadmill and would not buy one at any price. And all of the questions about "inclusivity" left me cold. As a white person I'm often a minority ethnicity at my local road races, but no one seems to notice or care, as it should be.
Pretty much the same. I took it and found some value in it. I also wouldn’t buy a treadmill. I spent a lot on shoes as I found VF3s last year.
I didn’t really understand the inclusivity questions either. I feel like most of the races I do are pretty representative of the community and I don’t think about it.
Running USA is a non-profit organization committed to the growth and success of the running industry. Our promise is to deliver quality education, exceptional industry content, valuable research and ample networking opportunities. We connect. We support. We educate.
That sounds like an organization I'm ok with supporting.
Re: the second factor, they didn't do a good job of explaining the purpose of the survey, what type of topics would be covered, and how the results would be used. All the intro said was, "this survey will assist Running USA with building recommendations to move the running industry and its events forward." That was pretty vague, but I gave it a chance and was glad I did.
A lot of the questions are about road races, how we decide which races to do, how much we expect they should cost, and which aspects of races are most important to us. As someone who races regularly, I thought answering those questions was a good way for me to weigh in and have my voice heard, which could potentially benefit me if the results are shared with race directors. To me, that's what makes a survey win-win: participants sharing opinions that inform the researchers, who can then use those insights to make products or services better for the participants.
I took the survey too, but it all seemed geared toward marketing a treadmill and/or other expensive running gear.
I answered all of the questions honestly, all the time chuckling to myself that most of my answers are absolutely NOT what these folks want to hear. I spent $0 last year on any running gear besides shoes; I never use a treadmill and would not buy one at any price. And all of the questions about "inclusivity" left me cold. As a white person I'm often a minority ethnicity at my local road races, but no one seems to notice or care, as it should be.
Yeah, those questions were a bit odd. I can't imagine being at a race and asking or being asked about sexual orientation
The survey ended up frustrating me a bit, since I was asked questions and shown answer options I shouldn’t have been shown based on prior answers. And the design of the top 3 questions automatically assigned a ranking when it shouldn’t have. These design elements will impact all survey takers.
They are going to get false positives to some questions, and the data isn’t going to be highly valid. The business decisions coming off the back of this survey risk being somewhat misguided.