New Site for Runners!—Runnertalk.net

I'm such a social-media nerd, especially when it comes to running-related social sites. There's just something so cool about connecting with runners from all over the world. In previous posts, I've mentioned various great social network sites for runners such as Athlinks, Dailymile, seriousrunning, and Runners'Lounge. Now I've come across another site with a slightly different twist that I'd like to add to the list—Runnertalk.net.

Runnertalk was initially started as a blog by 20-year-old runner and information technology student Patrik Pettersson from Sweden. After lack of time updating the site, Patrik forgot about it for a while. Almost a year later, he decided to reinvent Runnertalk as a social media site for runners. Patrik loves how there are many good blogs and websites about running out there, so he designed Runnertalk as a place where all the best articles from those sites can be made available. Before he started the site he had seen a lot of sites like this (digg clones) in other niches such as finance, health, and web design, but he had never seen such a thing for runners, so he thought it was about time one was created.

Patrik's vision is to make Runnertalk THE place to find and discuss great articles about running. His dream is that it can be a site that's available to everyone. The members will find great posts and the bloggers (whose posts are submitted) will hopefully find new readers. He knows at the beginning there won't be a lot of submitted stories, but as the traffic grows to Runnertalk so will the traffic to the stories. The site is in constant development and new features will continue to be added. For example, Patrik's planning to add some buttons for bloggers and webmasters to put on their sites to make it easy for their readers to submit and vote on their stories.

So how does it work? When a user submits a link it will land in the upcoming section. Other users can now vote on the link. If the links get a lot of votes it will be transferred to the Popular section, the main page of runnertalk.

Do you have to become a member? By signing up as a member you will be able to affect the content on the site by submitting, voting on and commenting on the links you like the most. The sign-up process is quick and most importantly, it's free!

How can bloggers participate in the site? As a blogger, your posts will get more exposure and more readers will be driven to your blog by submitting your articles to Runnertalk. When they are available, be sure to add one of the links/buttons to your blog, making it easy for readers to vote on your posts.

So, take a few moments and check out Runnertalk. If you have a running blog, try submitting a few of your favorite posts!

Newspaper Blog Helps Unite the Local Running Community

My hometown newspaper—The Greensboro News & Record—has recently added a wonderful service for the local running community. Eddie Wooten, the Church and State Team editor for the paper and a runner himself, recently added a running blog titled Running Shorts to the paper's website. Wooten began running in 2003 and has entered and finished 12 marathons, seven half-marathons, two Ultimate Runners, the Blue Ridge Relay and occasional 5Ks and 10Ks. Wooten hopes the blog will bring the running community together by introducing runners to people they see on the local greenways, to some of the elite runners in the area, to people running for various causes, and to people who just want to run. I'm really looking forward to following the blog and learning more about my fellow local runners. (FYI: Greensboro readers, scroll down the right sidebar and you'll find a link for the Running Shorts blog under "Social Network 4Runners" and under "Local Running Services.")

I've been a member of several running social networks such as dailymile, athinks, Runner's Lounge, seriousrunning, etc. These sites have been great for connecting with fellow runners across North Carolina, the US, as well as the world. But until, Wooten's local blog, I never realized all the great info I was missing out on right here in my own backyard. It got me to wondering if there were other newspapers around the country hosting a blog specifically for local runners. My research didn't uncover many community-based running blogs. Most of the newspaper blogs I found featured general fitness posts not particularly aimed at uniting the running community. Kudos to Eddie Wooten and the Greensboro News & Record for being trend-setters! Here's a few of the blogs I did find:

Arizona:

The Arizona Daily Star has recently added a running blog which is part of a bigger website (aznightbuzz.com/running) that includes a calendar of local running and walking events, news, training tips and other information about running in the Tucson area. The blog is geared for all levels of runners and walkers, too.

California:
The Sacramento Bee provides a Health & Fitness Blog for its readers "presenting the latest research on health issues and fitness trends in the region and the nation." A recent post titled "Youth Sports Participation = Emergency Room Visits" points out that 22 percent of hospital emergency department visits are from sports-related injuries of children ages 5 to 17.

New York:

The Post-Standard of Syracuse, NY features a Health & Fitness Blog. This blog features local residents accomplishing their health-related goals as well as providing general fitness and health information. A current post reads "Exercise, calorie counting help Syracuse sisters drop a combined 304 pounds."

Tennessee:

The Knoxville News Sentinel provides a fitness blog that includes all types of fitness-related information including running. A recent posting titled "Running with headphones, or without?" talks about the pluses and minuses of running with headphones in light of a recent Runner's World column about a 17-year-old runner that was struck by a car during a nighttime 5K/10K in Bakersfield, Calif.

If your local newspaper features a blog specifically designed for the local running community, let me know and send me a link. I'd love to check it out. I'm sure Eddie Wooten would too.