Fast Running Blog

Sasha keeps talking about World Domination and getting the word out about our little blog. World domination does not occur by placing 20 of the top 30 at the St George Marathon of some other local race.

Maybe would think big? I suggest Boston.

Why? Boston is prestigious, Boston is big, and Boston is not really all that competitive. With a little effort we could probably place 10 runners in the top 100 (about 2:35) and 20 in the top 200 (2:40-2:42).  We don't have the talent for the podium, but 1 million spectators would definately notice that 10% of the fastest runners were wearing the same strange jersey. WEe'd likely get some local press, or maybe even some better publicity. And, it would be lots of fun.

As side benefits we could test our skills on a relatively fast, but fair course. It is one of the biggest races out there not on a Sunday. It's in the spring so it won't interfare with everyone's favorite fall marathon.

Any takers?

My thoughts are to wait until we can take 5 places in top 25. Otherwise the publicity will be worth  the cost. Also, top guys would be able to get comp/hotel/air fare. I'd much rather storm Boston than Twin Cities. One reason being that Twin Cities is a Sunday race, and I will not encourage anyone to run on Sunday. But also for reasons mentioned by Dallen. More spectators. Most non-runners have at least heard of the Boston marathon. Not many have heard of Twin Cities.

I think we should get a good group to go in the next year or two.  I know there was some talk a while ago about 2010.  Boston is a great experience and I would love to train hard and see what I could do along with others.  I would be a blast!

Hopefully the FRB will be well represented this year at TCM with Logan and Seth in the US Marathon Championships and me in the US Master's Marathon Championships. 

According to the top runners board, we have 9 runners with a 2:25 (top 25 at boston) equivalent PR. I don't really trust those numbers, but we do have at least 5 guys whe could do legitimately do it.

I've never tried to get a comped entry, but I doubt that the Boston marathon is interested in paying travel expenses for people who run 2:18-2:22 St George marathons.

My thoughts are that there are probably enough of us out there that already have an interest in running Boston, but would be more likely to do so if other team member had the same plan.

I would definitely train hard and be up for it.  I want to go back to Boston anyway.

I imagine they would pay travel expenses for sub-2:19 record eligible course American. And we have guys that have the speed for this, just not yet enough endurance. And we keep adding people too.

Boston with a large group of friends and running partners would be a blast, no matter if you get comped or not.  Just make sure we pick a good weather year!   :)

I think part of what Dallen is suggesting is to run the marathon without comps- I think very few bloggers would dream of getting any sort of race fee or travel comp at Boston.  But I know there are a lot who would love the run the race at least once in their life.  So you coordinate ahead of time so everyone does it in the same year- maybe 2010.  I bet you could get at least 20 bloggers.

Having a big FRB contingent go up to Boston (no comps) would at least be a start, and for sure would attract some attention - especially if we have fairly large groups of people running together.  I have always wanted to do Boston myself - depending on how well I do this year at SGM, I may be able to convince Lybi to let me do it.  I don't think I could handle waiting until she gets a BQ . . . not that she couldn't, just that I don't know how long that will be, or if she will ever decide to run a marathon.

20 bloggers going to Boston means $20,000 spent on travel and neither FRB nor St. George Running Center, nor MarathonGIS,  gets to see any of it in any form (speaking for FRB, our web ad revenues do not make that much especially with the market now going down) while the bloggers have less money to spend in a way that financially benefits the blog. To go to Boston like this just to promote the blog is rather wasteful. If that money was redirected to the blog, for $20K I could hire a programmer to add a whole bunch of features and a web designer to fix the looks, and we would be able to attract a lot more bloggers achieving a much greater growth than we would have by parading our way through the streets of Boston in FRB uniform.

While we are on the subject of finances. The blog has one positive aspect - other than time, our operating expenses are pretty much zero. The revenue is around couple hundred bucks a month. Which can pay for the gas of the FRB vans in a relay, and offer a few perks to the team members. But that is about how far it goes. I want it to go further. I need to figure out a reasonable revenue model. We have fairly decent traffic - 4700 uniques a month with over 200 K page impressions and growing. Decent search engine rankings. How to convert this into something better than what Google Adsense offers?

Some thoughts I had:

* Paid online coaching. The plus is that we are doing it already without being paid. The minus is that it takes manpower. I was thinking of offering some kind of a plan where a blogger will get guaranteed visits from a team member. Question is how much to charge, and how to split the revenue.

* Our click through and product purchase rates are terrible. I suppose that is actually good all things considered. Shows that people that visit the site want to stay and are not impulsive buyers. So we do not offer a lot of value to the majority of AdSense advertisers. However, if we found an advertiser that was willing to pay just for brand name exposure to the target group, this would improve things quite a bit. At $5 CPM this would bring $1000 a month. How can we find such an advertiser?

* Any other ideas?

Seems like the the bigger running sites have paid monthly sponsors for their banner ads. If you can get beyond Google and get some small running-related company to directly pay you a few hundred bucks a month, that might be a start. I don't know what sort of traffic you need to get paid ads, but it's just a thought. If you want, I could put you in contact with a guy who's built a big running site from the ground up. He'd probably have some ideas.

Running Boston is not about the money. 98% of us are not interested in getting comped entries, free travel or prize money. We just want to enjoy our running experience. Going to Boston as a team would be a great experience. Much better than going individually. It could also be cheaper by sharing on expenses.

As for making money for the blog, we just need more bloggers. Especially female bloggers who read more blogs.

Are the search engines finding our individual entries? Much of the traffic to my old blog was accidental by people googling terms that I might have used. Most of the people quickly left, but some people actually came back.

Another idea: can we find a way to get some exposure in our favorite magazine Runnersworld. They might be interested in a small piece about us. We are rather unique. Even a couple paragraphs would be great exposure. I think what Sasha is doing would be a great piece for that little section where the profile "everyday heroes".

FRB yard sale? Just kidding.

I agree with Dallen, Boston is an experience that every marathoner wants to be a part of.  No matter the cost.  And it would be an extra added bonus to go with a bunch of friends.

I like experience, but since you experience things subjectively, I am perfectly happy to experience Boston by running a local Utah marathon, then plugging in a range of times I could have run in Boston based on that, and saying to myself, yes, you could have made top 75 (or maybe even top 50 on a good day). What I enjoy in particular about running Boston virtually is that my kids have something to eat once it's over, when a household appliance breaks down we have money to fix it, and all that while the Fast Running Mommy can stay home and take care of the kids. I suppose you can say I have a simple mind.

Money can be saved for the purpose of going on a trip.  Maybe it would be fun for you and your spouse to go without kiddies for a fun getaway.

People shouldn't be discouraged from doing something just because you wouldn't do it.  Especially while they are not breaking any laws and commandments.  True, it may not be the most efficient use of funds in an attempt to benefit the blog, but I don't think that is the point.  The idea is many people are interested in running a Big race like Boston/New York and do so with people they care about (Fellow Bloggers).  As a side-effect of many bloggers running the race, the blog is exposed, but the main goal remains the same (Run a cool race with many cool friends).

I agree.  I don't think many bloggers try to run or "spend in a way that financially benefits the blog."  Granted, we spend money as bloggers and hopefully that benefits the people we know.  Just like running in general, we run for the sake of running, not because it is related to finance in any way.  Same with Boston- I enjoyed my Boston experience a few years ago even though I had a horrible race.  And my wife absolutely loved the vacation- it was one of her favorites ever!  We wouldn't run Boston to promote the blog- we would run it for the sake of running Boston.  Having a large FRB group with singlets would just be an added and enjoyable benefit.

Which is exactly why I would not make a big deal about the blog going to Boston this way :-) The blog is not going to Boston, you are. I do not want anybody to think that I want them to spend $1000 on a trip to support the blog or feel obligated or encouraged to do so in any way. I do encourage people to qualify for Boston, though. But once they've qualified, I'd much rather seem them save their money for something else that they will probably need more in the future than a trip to Boston and place in the top 50 of a local marathon instead. Unless, of course, they are set for life as far as money is concerned, and feel very secure in their financial future. Which I highly doubt is the case for most bloggers.

I wish we had better commonly acknowledge standards of fitness than just a BQ and an OTQ that do not imply that you have to go somewhere to prove that you've accomplished something. Somewhat similar to what they have in Russia. There is a standard applied to all sports, and you get a ranking based on your performance. They have the following rankings: 3rd, 2nd, 1st, master of sports candidate, master of sports, international master of sports, and merited master of sports. What is nice is that this allows you to compare how well you do in different sports, and when you talk to somebody, regardless of what sport you are in, when you tell them your ranking they have a decent idea of what you have accomplished. For example, when I told my dad that I got a master of sports candidate, he immediately understood the significance of this even though he hardly knows anything about running. He said: "I did not think my son could do that" One of the greatest compliments I have ever heard because I knew he understood.  Contrast this with in response to the same performance: "What? You qualified for Boston? My neighbor who I see running all the time has been trying to do this for years!" Or, if you qualify for the trials, "What are the trials?" or "Are you going to the Olympics?"

So for example the standards are (for guys):

3rd degree - to finish a marathon, 1:21 half, 38:00 10 K, 17:45 5 K
2nd degree - 2:50 marathon, 1:15 half, 34:40 10 K, 16:35 5 K
1st degree - 2:37 marathon, 1:11:30 half, 32:30 5 K, 15:30 5 K
candidate - 2:28 marathon, 1:08:30 half, 30:35 10 K, 14:40 5 K
master - 2:20 marathon, 1:05:30 half, 29:25 10 K, 14:00 5 K
international master - 2:13 marathon,  1:02:30 half, 28:06 10 K, 13:25 5 K

To get a merited master you need to win something serious, like a world championship or the Olympics and do it more than once.

The standards are based on the percentages of the people reaching the norm, I believe, or at least somewhat correlated. You can tell that the longer the distances get the easier the standards become. I suppose this is due to heavy drinking in the general population which spills into runners as well. It is hard to run a good marathon with a trashed liver. But while the standards may have a glitch or two, at least they have a nationally acknowledged and general population understood standard that one can achieve.

Maybe in that spirit we should create our own FRB standards, and start promoting them in every way we can. Eventually that may result in a wider adoption of some meaningful standard on a wider scale. Suggestions are welcome.

I think we understand that the blog is not going to Boston, but that a group of friends who all happen to be FRB'ers are- no obligations, just for fun!  All are welcome.

As for the idea that we need something more than Boston- it is an individual choice.  I certainly think we all need to be wise with our money, but I believe money does not exist for the sake of money or for endless saving.  Money should be used for our needs and wants, present and future.  Personally, I love traveling and would rather spend money now to experience things such as running Boston, backpacking in New Zealand, touring Europe, camping in our national parks, hiking in Hawaii, etc. rather than sitting at home until I am old and feel very financially secure.  I have done all of those and am very, very glad I did- they are a part of who I am today.  I think we should encourage people to similarly enlighten their lives, especially in running-related ways.  I think basing a vacation around a run is great!

Anyone want to run the Great Wall of China marathon or Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon with me?

I've loved this thread!  I would hope Sasha would remain neutral to the idea if people do decide to go to Boston (not campaign against it :) ).  I would love to target 2010 for Boston, especially if I can go with friends and have a once in a life-time experience in the process. 

Yeah, that is my dilemma, too.  But it would be awesome!  Maybe someday...

I totally agree with you Jon.  Boston was a fantastic experience for me, one that most runners would thoroughly enjoy and should try sometime just for the experience.  Personally, it was as rewarding as winning my marathon.  This community of runners is just that, a community of friends I would even say, that can trace their commonality back to a love of running and a connection through the Blog.  If this group of friends want to spent their hard earned $ to share a wonderful experience at Boston and we just happen to wear the same shirt, why not?  We could all just go and not wear the Blog shirt and have just as good of a time.

Jon, I have a friend who did Antarctica last year, how about that as an adventure?