The Top 10 Threads on LetsRun.com in 2021
By LetsRun.com
January 6, 2022
We at LetsRun.com take great pride in our journalism, but we really love our forum, where you, the crazy, passionate track and field watcher, can be a fan.
The forums are the lifeblood of LetsRun.com and are a good indicator of what American distance running fans are obsessing about.
As we start a new year, it is time to look back at the top 10 running threads on our forums (based on # of impressions of the first page of the thread) in reverse order.
10. Emma Coburn jogs it in
The women’s Olympic steeplechase final was a shocker. American Courtney Frerichs made a bold attempt for gold and settled for silver, while America’s steeplechase darling, Emma Coburn, faded to 14th and would be disqualified. This thread caught everyone’s reaction.
9. Big development: Woman who falsely testified in Jarrion Lawson case is one who popped Houlihan. (Houlihan ordered a carne asada burrito)
When American record holder in the 1,500m, and 5,000m Shelby Houlihan tested positive for nandrolone, the forums started going berserk. Six of the top 10 threads on the year are related to Houlihan’s doping positive, including this one with a super long title.
8. SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT!!! – Shelby Houlihan is running in the Olympic Trials! (Yes, Really)
(You know a thread is popular when bots are scraping it on other news sites). Ultimately, Houlihan was prevented from running.
7. Galen pissed off Eliud
One American male marathoner is known worldwide, Galen Rupp, and during the Olympic marathon Rupp got the attention of the world’s greatest marathoner ever, Eliud Kipchoge.
Kipchoge gestured at Rupp and then soon took off to get the win. People wanted to know what was going on.
6. Tom “Tinman” Schwartz and Drew Hunter/Tinman Elite have parted ways
Breakups rarely are easy, even if they need to happen.
Once upon a time, Drew Hunter was the brightest distance prospect in the United States, and was part of the social media popular training group, “Tinman Elite”, affectionately named after Hunter’s coach, Tom ‘Tinman” Schwartz. This spring, the news broke that not only was Hunter not going to be coached by ‘Tinman” but the training group would still be called “Tinman Elite.” The perfect combo to spike a thread into the top 10.
5. Strength coach evaluates Shelby’s bust: “You are a liar”
Super popular topic. Check. Definitive headline. Check. A star’s fall from grace. Check.
4. Full Shelby Houlihan Report is Out from CAS
This isn’t your normal recipe for a top 10 thread — a super technical document being released with a bland headline, but this one got an assist from prominent placement on our homepage. And it doesn’t hurt that the LetsRun.com audience is one of the top 25 most educated on the internet.
3. Red flags in the Houlihan case that need explaining
As the American distance running public adjusted to the shock of hearing the news of Houlihan’s positive and the “burrito defense,” they tried to break down the intricacies of the case.
2. Matthew Centrowitz triggered by Oregon Runner’s “your move” comment
Maybe Matthew Centrowitz could see what was coming.
After Oregon teammates Cooper Teare and Cole Hocker ran 3:50 in the mile in February, U of O walk-on Carter Christman commented on Instagram at reigning Olympic 1500m champion and Oregon alum Centrowitz, “your move.” Centro wasn’t very happy, replying “never heard of you pal so I had to look you up. Imagine a walk on with a 4:14 mile PR talking sh_t to the reigning Olympic champ lol. I don’t need to move. I already have the Olympic standard and more importantly the hardware. Go back to pacing your teammates.”
A classic thread was born, the “Your Move” LetsRun.com shirts were made, quickly sold out, and made the NBC broadcast from the Olympic Trials where Cole Hocker stunned the running world and Centrowitz by winning the Olympic Trials 1500m.
1 . Shelby Houlihan BANNED for 4 years
This thread had it all. Anticipation: It was originally titled, “You heard it here first. BIG, BIG, BIG, BIG NEWS appears to be coming a 6:30 pm ET today…..” and then the big, big news, Shelby Houlihan had tested positive and was being banned for four years. Throw in the burrito excuse, and our servers were working overtime.
And while those may have been the most popular threads in 2021, the debate is raging on the forums on who was the…
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Looking forward to seeing all of you on the #1 running forum in the world in 2022.