I have recently become aware of what a "running crew" is. They're supposedly edgy, hip groups of runners who reject the "running club" label.
If you're not familiar, see this:
https://www.runnersworld.com/rw-selects/running-crews
And definitely, this:
https://www.highsnobiety.com/2017/10/13/nike-running-paris-10k/
Are these "crews" good for the sport? Or not?
Please discuss.
How is this not a club or a team? Can a club or team become a crew if they start calling themselves a crew?
Anyway, if it gets more people to love running then yeah it's safe to say that it's good for the sport. But if it's just giving people who are already runners something to be pretentious or elitist about... then idk.
me 2 wrote:
How is this not a club or a team? Can a club or team become a crew if they start calling themselves a crew?
I think the rejection of the club label might have to do with the view that clubs are kind of "square," or too serious.
Great, now hipsters have discovered running. Going to ruin running just like they did cycling. ?
Seriously mate? wrote:
Great, now hipsters have discovered running. Going to ruin running just like they did cycling. ?
How did they ruin cycling? Messenger culture permeating track/road racing?
So this is what happens when there's no more color or glow runs? Sounds like an annoying group of pretentious "misfits" that are going to give runners a bad name among the communities they run in. Let's get a group of 50 people and run through the city streets at night causing chaos and commotion and noise...go back to the night club, please.
me 2 wrote:
How is this not a club or a team? Can a club or team become a crew if they start calling themselves a crew?
Anyway, if it gets more people to love running then yeah it's safe to say that it's good for the sport. But if it's just giving people who are already runners something to be pretentious or elitist about... then idk.
It's basically the same thing. I feel like many in NYC have been modeled off Orchard Street Runners which puts on some unsanctioned races. It seems a little hardo for my taste (see below) but whatever works for people I guess.
http://orchardstreetrunners.com/what-a-run-with-you-feels-like-to-me/colorrunner wrote:
Let's get a group of 50 people and run through the city streets at night causing chaos and commotion and noise...go back to the night club, please.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I think there is a limit to the "chaos" that a pack of actual runners can cause. I think that argument might better apply to groups like hashers who are getting wasted during events and spreading flour all over the place. Even then, I generally view that as more benign and fun than disruptive.
eh.. wrote:
It seems a little hardo for my taste
I feel you there.
I don't get the whole "run to the bar" thing as a weekly event. If you're trying to improve yourself at all, what's the point?
Getting fitter wrote:
I don't get the whole "run to the bar" thing as a weekly event. If you're trying to improve yourself at all, what's the point?
Alcohol consumption and improving yourself are not mutually exclusive. After all, I won NYC in 1983 and all I did was drink beer and train like an animal.
Getting fitter wrote:
I don't get the whole "run to the bar" thing as a weekly event. If you're trying to improve yourself at all, what's the point?
Also, to answer your question, I think the point is to be social and enjoy other activities in addition to running.
Seems like plenty of chaos is happening as outlined in the article. Running in the streets, running in the bike lanes, "our point is to be heard"... I can appreciate that they seem a bit more hard core than the typical social run club that's predominantly composed of less accomplished runners (running skirts and compression socks) but I can also see this movement getting a bit out of hand and causing some serious issues in the neighborhoods they run. Feels like bike messengers meet Tuesday morning club ride and all chaos ensues.
Rod Dixon wrote:
Getting fitter wrote:
I don't get the whole "run to the bar" thing as a weekly event. If you're trying to improve yourself at all, what's the point?
Alcohol consumption and improving yourself are not mutually exclusive. After all, I won NYC in 1983 and all I did was drink beer and train like an animal.
Well, can't argue with that as I will never come close to the elites at a major - and frankly your 2:08:59 puts you right there with the elites today. However, most people don't train like animals, so I doubt the effectiveness of combining one of someone's two or three weekly runs with three beers.
I'm often of the mind that whatever gets people interested in running is a good thing.
However, it does seem like some of these "crews" have been set up by big brands as a means to advertise to millenials. There is some irony in that, as some of these crews portray themselves as running counterculture, when in fact, they are the embodiment of mainstream consumer culture.
From the High Snobiety article:
"NIKE ENERGY (formerly nikelab) came to me and BLACKRAINBOW Agency and asked us to create a concept and a team of influencers who would be able to run 10km by the end of the year for a global event called the HUMAN RACE."
Influencers? Cringe.
Maybe I'm being closed-minded.
x1,000.
The most revolutionary, counter-culture thing a true iconoclast can do these days is...
...go for a run without their phone and not put it on Instagram.
Abdoujaparov wrote:
x1,000.
The most revolutionary, counter-culture thing a true iconoclast can do these days is...
...go for a run without their phone and not put it on Instagram.
+1
Getting fitter wrote:
I don't get the whole "run to the bar" thing as a weekly event. If you're trying to improve yourself at all, what's the point?
Because not everyone runs to train and race fast. They just run for the enjoyment and as a social activity.
Novel concept, I know.
So you’re calling me an iconoclast.
An aside, doesn’t this basically already exist with the Hash Hound Harriers?