Reading and Running

I've been asking a lot of people this lately, partly because I want to find a good one, but partly because it's just interesting.

What is your favorite running magazine and why?

I think the general concensous (sp?) is Runner's World. Tons of info for every type of runner. Very inspiring stuff. Covers every aspect of running: nutrition, stretching, workouts, weather, shoes, injuries, you name it.

Without question, Marathon and Beyond. Runner's World can be fine, but generally its strength is in the one big interview they do in every issue. The rest is fluff and repeat topics. Running Times has a fair amount of good training information, and is geared toward a more competitive mindset. Marathon and Beyond is probably the best running magazine out there, though, as it has a nice mix of training information, articles, and general writing about running.

Nice topic!

Runners World gives me a headache -- to much stuff. Don't know who they are talking to....Having said that every now and then they surprise me with a really good article -- I like the one recently about the NY Marathon/shadowing race Director Mary Whittenberg, and the part about the Chicago Marathon and what wen wrong.

But for the most part, I think that Runners World is a joke: Aricles about which lipstick to wear when you are running. Or last year when they had a guy on the cover who ran the Philadelphia Marathon with his dog...and he wasn't blind. How can they promote such a thing...How would you feel about having a DOG in the race that you trained so hard to qualify for Boston? They are a joke. RUNNERS LITE is what I think of when I think of RUNNERS WORLD.

RUNNING TIMES has very good training articles - no nonsense - to the point. They also have good profiles on the elites, which I think are inspiring.

They have two great columnists - Rachel Toor - who's brilliant and funny, and Candace Karu. I hear that Candace is leaving ! Bummer...her column, The Running Life is great.

All in all I like Running Times the best

I think Marathon & Beyond is uneven. Some great articles, and some 'random' ones I have no interest in. It almost seems like anyone can submit an ariticle for publication in that one.