Running Times to cease publication 2016

rojo wrote:

EZ10Miler wrote:

This stinks. I know the age of the magazine is over, but I still enjoyed reading RT. I think they did a respectable job of providing decent, relevant information regarding the sport over just the lame ol' stuff you see in RW.

Maybe that means there's a void and someone will fill it?

What a great coincidence. LetsRun - The Mag - will be launching in 2016. We'll feature a profile piece like the one you see today on the homepage plus a few print only Q&As and a column or two on training - one by JK.

Giving away your content for free is a bad business model.

I hope you can capitalize the demise of RT. There's a market out there for something more than what RW offers.

DrBrinkman wrote:

OK that last bit made no sense. I'll revise....if you tossed the 80% and used the resources to make the 20% better....then I'd pay for it!

Actually, the bit where you wrote "Lot's of media is like this" is the part that really makes no sense.

Avid Reader wrote:

At least there is still Marathon & Beyond.

I am glad I can still look forward to receiving my copy of Marathon and Beyond every couple months as well as The Runner and the Ohio Runner. Running times really went downhill when they got rid of the Race Highlights section that told all the top times in the country for different age groups.

rojo wrote:

Giving away your content for free is a bad business model.

Your content is mostly what is provided on the message board by your visitors.

So you get your content for free.

Amazing how Athletics Weekly (UK) publishes weekly and continues to thrive, while RT goes from monthly to e/o month to out of circulation. AW has even increased their platform to include Running Monthly. Apparenlty they have figured it out. It's not as much about the digital age of communications as it is the abysmal support of competitive running in the USA. The governing body of USATF is complete farce, the emphasis on running has moved from internal and / or external competition to how many selfies can I post of my medal and shirt and one of fundraising for nearly every type of organization under the sun. USATF and RRCA need to develop the 'club' model which is very successful in european and oceanic countries if running is every to grow in popularity in the USA.

And Track&Field News continues to hang on here as do New England Runner and Runner's Gazette. Both magazines have small circulations but have always stayed focused on the competitive part of the sport.

Marathon and Beyond worth getting?

alternative reading wrote:

Marathon and Beyond worth getting?

I think people are joking. At least I hope they are. Either that or they don't realize that the December issue was also their last issue ever:

A shame as Tito Morales wrote a great feature on LetsRun.com in Marathon and Beyond in 2009 which you can read here:

What I don't get about this closure -

Before you close a business, your last option is typically that you try to sell it. Presumably that didn't happen here (I assume potential buyers would be other magazine companies, Competitor, rich individuals with an interest in the sport, etc). So in not trying to sell, and in closing RT, Rodale thinks they can increase profits at Runner's World by some amount larger than a potential sale price of Running Times.

i work in finance wrote:

What I don't get about this closure -

Before you close a business, your last option is typically that you try to sell it. Presumably that didn't happen here (I assume potential buyers would be other magazine companies, Competitor, rich individuals with an interest in the sport, etc). So in not trying to sell, and in closing RT, Rodale thinks they can increase profits at Runner's World by some amount larger than a potential sale price of Running Times.

Buying a competitor and closing it down isn't exactly a new business model.

Still doesn't make sense.

Let's say that RT makes $500k per year and RW makes $5,000k per year. Collectively the two pubs brought in $5,500k.

Most of the advertisers are the same, and those shoe brands are not going to run twice as many ads in RW now. RW will pick up some, so say RW will now finish at $5,250k. Rodale will see a loss vs. the prior situation.

I guess this math only works if RT was profitable. If not, it gets back to my question about selling.

I see what you are saying. I guess it's just that the whole idea of the paper magazine is going away, so you zap the least profitable one first. That being said, I wish they could have kept RT around even if it were just an on-line publication.

so is the jan/feb issue legitimately the last one? I just bought it a B&N in case it is. It has the forms to subscribe to running times in it. What would happen if I subscribed at this point?

Same here - - issue arrived over the weekend, nothing in the cover or inside to note of this being the last issue. Inside are the subscription forms for price break on 2016. My subscription does not expire until Jan / Feb issue 2018 and I've not received notice of publisher cancellation, refund, etc.

I certainly hope Rodale does not expect to just roll over those with a balance on their subscription to Runners World for the remaining issues. Not interested.

runnerboy1 wrote:

Amazing how Athletics Weekly (UK) publishes weekly and continues to thrive...

I think "survive" is a better word. From what I hear, for many years, successive editors kept it going on an almost voluntary basis or by dipping into their own pockets, writers got a pittance or wrote for love, and it limped along on a shoestring.

IMHO, one thing which helps is the synergy between Athletics Weekly and the Power of 10 (national results database). They are closely tied so that (a) AW have automatic access to all the results, and (b) every old geezer in the sport knows that the way to get your results online is to send them to AW, like they did decades ago.

Last summer, AW was bought by the Great Run people (Great North Run and other big races) so it should be reasonably safe and secure for some time now.

runnerboy1 wrote:

Same here - - issue arrived over the weekend, nothing in the cover or inside to note of this being the last issue. Inside are the subscription forms for price break on 2016. My subscription does not expire until Jan / Feb issue 2018 and I've not received notice of publisher cancellation, refund, etc.

I certainly hope Rodale does not expect to just roll over those with a balance on their subscription to Runners World for the remaining issues. Not interested.

I received a note in the mail informing me that I could opt out, get RW, or opt for another Rodale mag.

Ez10Miler wrote:

I received a note in the mail informing me that I could opt out, get RW, or opt for another Rodale mag.

I also received this postcard. But i was hoping that the last edition would give some notice that it was their last edition...like a trip down memory lane or something. I'm super bummed it's gone.