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When it comes to personal fitness, most of us already know a few of the main benefits that can come from maintaining an active lifestyle. These benefits can include everything from lowering the risk of coronary heart disease, to extending your life expectancy. The great thing is that running represents something that’s available to almost everyone, with no required budget, memberships, or age limit.
But with an estimated 50 million+ people running in America alone every year, who do you turn to if you’re looking for advice on anything from how to start running, to the most effective ways to improve your race times. For millions of people, the answer lies in a number of popular running blogs.
This is why we’ve put together a list of top 10 running blogs to follow in 2015. Each of the running blogs listed below is, we feel, the best in its sub-category, from international running to ultramarathons, reviews, and building running communities.
After starting the blog back in 2009, Dorothy Beal – founder of mile-posts.com has put together an impressive list of achievements, including having the site named as Best Twitter Feed by Run Washington, being a cover model for Women’s Running Magazine, and completing 28 marathons to date.
In terms of what to expect from the articles, they tend to focus mainly on the running lifestyle, covering everything from running race recaps to family activities, favourite running playlists, and attendance of various fitness Expos. One of our personal favourites is actually one of the shortest, and is about how she managed to run some of her fastest times with a simple change in mindset. Definitely worth a read.
As well as being filled with useful content on ways to improve your own running, Mile Posts has a useful ‘Pace Calculator‘ tool that’s designed to help you plan individual runs and future goals with a little more accuracy.
In addition to all the high quality content you find on the blog, e-coaching is also available, involving quarterly training plans specially designed for you as a runner. The coaching includes individualized attention and frequent communication via social media and email, which is ideal for if you’re looking for a more 1-to-1 approach.
Training plans are available on their own, although these won’t include adapting to any changes in your performance or ability throughout the season.
Mile Posts has also been featured on the Saucony website and social media channels, as part of the ‘Find Your Strong’ project, where Dorothy has also written a number of inspirational articles.
Running since she was 13, Lauren has already managed to build up an enviable list of accomplishments, including being part of 6 world championship cross country and track teams, winning numerous state championships, and finished as high as 7th in the World Championships for the 5k.
After running her first race in 1995 and turning pro in 2003, the Ask Lauren Fleshman blog was started in 2009 as a way to share her experiences with other people from around the world who are passionate about fitness and running.
You’ll find the site divided into 3 main categories of Journal, Fashion, and Food. If you want to find out more about what it’s like to be a pro athlete, or simply want some tips on how to improve your own running performance, the Journal is certainly the best place to start.
One of the more unique features about the blog and perhaps a clue behind the choice of name, is that you can also search through a large collection of questions relating to all aspects of running, competing, mental strength, and life balance. With over 5 years of answers from Lauren herself, we’re confident that if you’ll be able to find the answer to any running questions you have right here.
If you’ve already read our shortlist of the top 10 fitness company blogs, you might have seen how highly Oiselle ranked. Lauren is actually sponsored by Oiselle, and praises it as a highly authoritative voice for women’s running.
This is precisely why we chose to include Oiselle and Ask Lauren Fleshman in our roundups, and hope that you find their content just as exciting and interesting as we do!
If you’ve ever searched for a particular type of running shoe, you’ll know that there’s no shortage of sites that sell them. There’s also no shortage of sites that write reviews about them, but how do you find the in-depth review that goes the extra mile with comparisons and specs?
Launched by Peter Larson in 2009, this is the main goal behind Runblogger.com, a site that was originally started as a way to share his own thoughts on a much wider variety of fitness related subjects.
A PhD in biology and fascination with the benefits that can be gained from good running form is really what led to the change in direction with the site’s content, with comprehensive running shoe reviews being the driving force behind the site’s incredible popularity.
Whether you’re looking for the best running shoes for road running, trail running, or ultramarathons, you’ll also find a very useful shortlist of recommendations to suit your preferred running style.
In addition to writing about running and running form, Pete has also completed more than his share of marathons himself, with 9 completed since 2007, and a much larger list of short distance races to back them up.
Outside of the blog, Pete has carried out interviews with various fitness magazines, including Runner’s World, Triathlete Magazine, and Men’s Health, as well as contributing to numerous academic articles on the subject.
If you’re looking to expand your knowledge of form, footwear, and injury-free running, you can also pick up a copy of the ‘Tread Lightly‘ book, which was co-authored with Bill Katovsky.
If you love reading about ultrarunning in exotic locations around the world, Ultra Runner Girl is the blog for you.
Despite being relatively new to ultrarunning, Stephanie started the blog in August 2009, around the same time as giving up her career in corporate law to assist some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.
It’s this work in human rights that has also resulted in her being able to run in a wide range of locations around the world, and often in extreme conditions. This includes high conflict regions such as South Sudan and Afghanistan, where she’s launched numerous projects through Free to Run – a non-profit organization that uses running and physical fitness to empower and educate females in conflict affected communities.
While Stephanie has no doubt covered her fair share of 5K distances, it’s the ultrarunning (usually classed as any running event longer than the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles) that’s her true passion.
With a long list of achievements including completing six 250-kilometer races and numerous 100-mile events, it’s not just Stephanie’s human rights and charity work that you’ll find inspirational, but the dedication she has to distance running and sharing her experiences with you.
Her passion for writing about her experiences – both running and human rights – in locations from the Amazon jungle to Thai Buddhist monasteries has also led her to become a successful freelance writer, with articles published in Breaking Muscle, Healthline, GoTrail Magazine, and ActiveWearUSA to name a few.
Specialising in women’s health, Laura Fountain – the founder of Lazy Running Girl – has not only created a highly successful running blog of her own, but also shares her running experiences in a monthly column for Running Fitness magazine.
As a ten-time marathon runner and triathlete, it’s clear that Laura has built up an extensive foundation of knowledge about not just running, but also health, fitness, distance events, and even her favourite choice of running apparel.
All of this information is shared via her blog, which currently has hundreds of articles detailing her experiences with various fitness events, including marathons, half-marathons, 10K’s, and taking the running spot in the Ironman relay in Austria.
As a UK Athletics qualified run leader, Laura has also created a number of running groups for varying abilities, from people who are completely new to running, to those who have a little more experience. You can even find a free guide on how to plan for a successful and stress free race day when the time comes.
Even with managing the run groups and keeping the blog updated with her latest running adventures, Lazy Running Girl also has a book, aptly name ‘The Lazy Runner‘. So if you’re looking to find out a bit more about the runner behind the blog, and how it all started, this would make an excellent starting point.
The book also contains a comprehensive guide to running kit and choosing which races to take part in at different levels, together with motivational tips and practical advice for tackling your first marathon.
As a 2:39 marathoner and USATF certified coach, Jason Fitzgerald started the Strength Running site back in March 2010, which quickly gained in popularity to become one of the most popular running sites in the world, helping more than 200,000 runners every month.
Most of the articles you’ll find on the site are based around helping you improve your running, at the same time as preventing the risk of injury.
As well as providing a wealth of useful tips for more advanced runners, you’ll also find an extremely useful guide on everything from goal setting to increasing your endurance.
The articles themselves are completely comprehensive about each topic they cover, and extremely well written, covering everything from the causes of over-training to hill sprints and even running shoe reviews.
While the articles on the main blog are certainly more than enough to cover most running situations, you may have a number of questions relating to your own personal training that need more of a 1-to-1 approach.
This is why after running competitively for over 14 years, Jason offers a number of personal coaching plans. These are designed to help breakdown the structure of your running and make adjustments that will help you run a personal best, all while maintaining an important focus on injury prevention.
The Strength Running site has also been featured on other highly respected fitness and lifestyle sites, including The Huffington Post, Runner’s World, Lifehacker, and Shape.
After she started running at the age of 12 and later going onto achieve a degree in health education, Hungry Runner Girl was created by Janae in October 2010 as an online resource where articles about running, fitness, food, and family could be created and shared with other people who are passionate about running and leading a healthy lifestyle.
Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your next run, or simply want to read about the experience of others as a source of motivation to help you reach your goals, we would certainly recommend the collection of Race Recap articles.
Although half marathons certainly appear to be a favourite for Janae, she’s also completed a wide range of other race types and distances, including 10K, 5K, full marathons, and the Century Race.
But it’s not just the fact that the articles on Hungry Runner Girl are written on such a regular basis and cover such a wide range of running related topics that makes this blog such a favourite of ours.
Janae regularly takes time out of her day to respond and interact with the comments that people leave after reading the original article. This may not seem like much, but when you consider the popularity of the site means that it’s not unusual for a single article to receive over 150 comments, this is quite a time consuming process.
But in much the same way as the articles, her responses are designed to help the person with any questions they may have, which shows just how dedicated Janae is to both running and helping people who share her passion.
As a writer for Runner’s World, Dead Karnazes started his blog back in November 2006 with a run across the country from the New York City Marathon back to his house in San Francisco.
An internationally recognized endurance athlete, this is just one of many accomplishments that Dean has achieved so far, and actually came immediately after running 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days.
While Dean’s Blog is almost entirely focussed around endurance races and running, you can find out more about his achievements, as well as his charity work and nutrition plan over at the Ultramarathon Man site. You can even read about his training tips and experiences running through places like Death Valley and the South Pole in his bestselling book, ‘Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner’.
In terms of what to expect from the blog itself, with hundreds of articles to choose from including daily life tips to improve your running and how he prepares for events like the Badwater Ultramarathon, we’re certain you’ll find something that will benefit your own running, no matter your level of experience.
But as well as writing about his running experiences, Dean has also written articles expressing his thoughts on everything from pre-race nutrition to the actions governments are taking to solve the obesity epidemic.
Many of the experiences covered in the blog have also been picked up by national publications such as Men’s Health, ESPN, and The New York Times, with TIME magazine naming Dean as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People In The World”.
Ali first fell in love with running during her first summer in NYC back in 2008, and quickly gained experience through a series of races and her first half marathon.
A couple of years then went by before the Ali On The Run blog was created, which then led on to completing her first full marathon the following year in September of 2011.
In fact, the great benefit of starting the blog a year earlier is that the entire experience was written down in what has now become one of the site’s most popular and commented on articles.
Whenever you’re discovering any new running site it can always be a little daunting knowing where to start, particularly when you have many years of articles to explore.
Fortunately this is one of the few sites we’ve come across that actually documents some of her own favourite posts in a guide entitled ‘Must Reads‘, which is definitely worth a look.
If you’re passionate about racing, then there’s also a section dedicated to recording the races that Ali has taken part in over the years entitled ‘Race Recaps’, with full articles documenting the experiences for the races after October 2010.
You can also find a number of posts on Ali’s experience with the November Project. You may not have come across this before, but it’s extremely good news for cold weather runners. It’s essentially a popular fitness movement born in Boston that’s growing across the US, but you can find out more over on their official website.
Outside of the blog, Ali also had a passion for dance from a much earlier age, including competing in competitions, which eventually led to her current position as Editor in Chief of Dance Spirit magazine.
Founded by Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks back in 2009, the primary goal of Black Girls RUN! is to help reduce the percentage of African-American women who are classed as overweight due to an unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.
While the high quality blog content is certainly an effective way to improve your fitness, the BGR! team have actually taken this a step further by creating a nationwide community of running groups to cater for people of all running abilities.
Although the majority of these groups are along the east coast, you can also find them as far west as Washington and Oregon. If you want to find out if there’s a group close to your location, it’s best to check their website directly, or take a look at their incredibly popular Facebook page.
It’s often the members of the BGR! community that actually keep the blog regularly updated with new articles about the latest training techniques and running experiences, such as intuitive breathing, how to plan for a solo run, and how the Run/Walk method can be used to complete the more challenging segments of longer distance running.
If you’re looking for a source of inspiration, it can often be useful to read about the stories of others. This is why the ‘Sole Story’ collection of articles was created, providing motivational stories of runners from all around the world.
As well as the articles on running experiences and how to improve your own running ability, there is also an extensive number of fashion, beauty, and health and nutrition articles to enjoy.
There’s even a WALKB4URUN virtual race series, which is a training program designed to help anyone new to running complete their first 5K. You can register online, map out your own route, and the training plan will help you to achieve your goal.
USA Home Gym gives in-depth insights into gym equipment, supplements, and fitness training methods. The motivation behind USA Home Gym is to provide you with information that goes beyond what you can find in any user manual, customer review, or other online review sites.
We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
