Running magazine suggestions...

nager

I'm thinking of getting a subscription for my brother-in-law for a running magazine for x-mas. He got into running in the past year or so, running the dublin city marathon last october and he loved it. He's not one for sitting down at a PC and looking on-line for info on running - but he probably would flick through a magazine when he gets a spare minute or two.

Any suggestions on which one - as I haven't the foggiest...

Cheers.

Pisco Sour

Support local athletics and get him Irish Runner Magazine. There's 6 editions a year. It's a pretty good magazine. I've always enjoyed it. Good focus on elite athletics, along with training tips and all that stuff.

RoyMcC

I can't say I ever took to Irish Runner. You might have little choice though as Runners' World and Running Fitness subscriptions appear to be restricted to UK only.

Woddle

Running Times is a great mag, I looked into a subscription before and I think it was expensive for anyone outside US and Canada

SpionJoe

A 12 month subscription to Irish Runner (6 editions) will set you back €25 and they a throwing in a free Fit4Life dirary at the moment.

http://www.athleticsireland.ie/content/?page_id=9560


My advice would be to get it for him and let him make up his own mind about the magazine.

Joe

nager

SpionJoe wrote: »

A 12 month subscription to Irish Runner (6 editions) will set you back €25

Think I'll go with the Irish one.

Cheers for the advice folks:)

ultraman1

mens running.....for runners with balls is a good read

TFBubendorfer

In my own personal opinion, Marathon & Beyond is the only magazine that's worth anything. The rest of them are filled with the same old recycled articles again and again and again.

Cartman78

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

... The rest of them are filled with the same old recycled articles again and again and again.

Very true....got a loan of 2-3 years worth of Runner's World mags from a work colleague a few weeks ago. Have been flicking thru a few of them and they are all so exactly alike it is bordering on unbelievable.

Every edition features:
1) Nuts - Nature's super food and why you must eat them
2) The Ultimate Core Workout
3) The Mega Guide to Winter/Spring/Summer/Autumn Running
4) How to get faster in 6 weeks
5) How to lose weight in 6 weeks
6) Improve your marathon time by doubling/halving your mileage

RoyMcC

RW/RF are aimed at the mass market which is made up largely of beginners and improvers. If you're in the bracket(s) above that then yes, it can be repetitive. Personally I'm amazed that they can find so many different ways of presenting the same subjects.

But what would you like them to do? Pack in publishing because they've run out of ideas? Clearly there's a constantly renewing market for these mags. As you grow out of them there are new people starting out who devour all those articles.

And to be fair they have plenty of good features besides the staple diet; after 10 years of reading RW I'm still picking it off the shelf, though admittedly not with the sparkle-eyed enthusiasm of yesteryear.

Cabaal

Cartman78 wrote: »

Very true....got a loan of 2-3 years worth of Runner's World mags from a work colleague a few weeks ago. Have been flicking thru a few of them and they are all so exactly alike it is bordering on unbelievable.

Every edition features:
1) Nuts - Nature's super food and why you must eat them
2) The Ultimate Core Workout
3) The Mega Guide to Winter/Spring/Summer/Autumn Running
4) How to get faster in 6 weeks
5) How to lose weight in 6 weeks
6) Improve your marathon time by doubling/halving your mileage

In fairness to running mags, outside of interviews with runners there's very little new content they can use

G-Money

You can subscribe to Runners World if you are outside the UK:

http://www.qualitymagazines.co.uk/store/displaystore.asp?sid=1356


I've considered subscribing to it before, but it sort of feels like the same stuff each month.

I bought Running Fitness recently and thought it was ok, but it was the first ever copy so I don't know how repititive it is.

Irish Runner is grand, I kind of would prefer it was once a month rather than once every two months.

RoyMcC

G-Money wrote: »

You can subscribe to Runners World if you are outside the UK:

http://www.qualitymagazines.co.uk/store/displaystore.asp?sid=1356


I've considered subscribing to it before, but it sort of feels like the same stuff each month.

I bought Running Fitness recently and thought it was ok, but it was the first ever copy so I don't know how repititive it is.

Irish Runner is grand, I kind of would prefer it was once a month rather than once every two months.

That's a handy link for non-UK subscriptions. It's strange they don't promote it via their main site.

Running Fitness isn't a new publication at all. To be honest you need to be really enthusiastic to read both RW and RF but they both get steady sales.

Cartman78

Cabaal wrote: »

In fairness to running mags, outside of interviews with runners there's very little new content they can use

Totally agree - it's a testament to very creative editing and marketing that these magazines are managing to survive.

I guess if it's popping thru your letter box once a month you may not necessarily notice that it's so repetitive. However, if you're doing a bulk intake like I am at the moment it's very obvious.

A 12 month subscription might be worthwhile but any longer than that & you're basically reading the same stuff over and over again.

TFBubendorfer

RoyMcC wrote: »

But what would you like them to do? Pack in publishing because they've run out of ideas? Clearly there's a constantly renewing market for these mags

Cabaal wrote: »

In fairness to running mags, outside of interviews with runners there's very little new content they can use

Well, all I can say is that I have been subscribing to M&B for over 5 years by now and the content is of consistently high quality and non-repetitive. Obviously it isn't aimed at the "lose-xx-pounds-in-6-weeks crowd", which may explain the difference. My main criticism is that it is too US-centric for my taste, but as it is a US publication that's hardly something I can blame them for.

As for the other publishers, if the repetitive nonsense they keep repeating in their mags keeps selling then I'm certainly not the one to tell them to change things, but they won't find me amongst their customer list.

By the way, Runners' World and Runners' World UK are two entirely different publications. You can tell by the website alone: the US one is actually very good (despite the print magazine being lousy) while the UK one is atrociously bad (at least it was the last time I looked, which admittedly was quite a while ago).

asimonov

Woddle wrote: »

Running Times is a great mag, I looked into a subscription before and I think it was expensive for anyone outside US and Canada

I agree, running times is the best - the subscription seems good value, I didn't do it though because of the 8 - 12 weeks (WTF) wait.

Thank you for contacting Running Times Magazine.

We can mail a US version of any magazine to most foreign countries. The price for a one-year subscription to Running Times Magazine is $55.00, which includes postage and handling. Please allow eight to twelve weeks for delivery.

All international orders are sold on a prepaid basis. We accept Master Card, Visa, Discover, or American Express. To place an order, please call us at 1-610-967-7888 or you can fax your information to us at 1-800-813-6627.

If there is anything else we can do for you, please contact us.

Your complete satisfaction is our goal. If we did not answer your inquiry to your complete satisfaction or if you need additional assistance, please call us at 800-816-4735.

Sincerely,

Ispin

My local news agent here in North Cork gets me Running Times, costs me €5.80, and I get it when it's published, no wait. Any newsagent can do this. Great magazine, mostly about the scene in the u.s. but very good and interesting articles. In this months edition they have an article on winter running and mention "icespikes", studs you can retrofit on runners for running on ice/snow. I subsequently ordered a set. Lots of interesting stuff like that, that you won't see on the rehashed articles on RW.

RoyMcC

Ispin wrote: »

My local news agent here in North Cork gets me Running Times, costs me €5.80, and I get it when it's published, no wait. Any newsagent can do this.

But you're in the PROC where everything is possible. People in funny places like Kerry, Kilkenny and Dublin may struggle

G-Money

Where do you get Marathon and Beyond?

Mens Running for me. Gives you the technical info, whilst also maintaining a sense of humour and light-hearted tone

TFBubendorfer

G-Money wrote: »

Where do you get Marathon and Beyond?

There is a "subscriptions" link on their web page. You can get either the paper or the digital (or both) version.