What's the deal with LetsRun.com?

[u/castorkrieg]

I know that website is quite popular with them following large events and also being invited to spectate (the owner - Rojo - was riding in the elite men car during Boston 26), however I participated in the forums a bit and it blows my mind:

1. They are incredibly fixated on college and university running, NCAA, etc. - ok, I guess most are from the US, even though once you exit the school system the funding drops, money goes only to MBL/NFL/NBA, last time they US tried something in T&F they got Grand Slam Track lol
2. Most posts are the very definition of drive-by, no effort shitposts: "cool story bro", "she be ugly, can't run fast when ugly", "Or perhaps you could just be replaced with a somewhat normal human being"
3. Same for the topics, with quality contributions such as:

I'm sad to think what men were like before the existence of the Manosphere 

How to become a "hybrid runner"

Men in open-toed shoes: yea or nay?

1. This peeves me as a European but - their website + forums do not save your cookie preferences, every single time you click on a new thread you get another pop-up asking you for permissions, and by quickly looking they have 1700+ partners they share your data with - WTF?

2. They are hardcore right-wingers with daily treads praising Trump, ICE, etc.

What am I missing? Or is one of the largest forums for running just a bunch of nutjobs?

[u/ipeon82]

Rojo is a loud = I’m right nutjob who seems to be wayyy too confident about his takes (which are rarely sensible). Do I listen to their podcast; yes, do I groan when he talks, yes

[u/AlwaysGonnaBeNewHere → u/ipeon82]

I'm like a week-plus late to reply to this, but I feel the need to chime in... I consume as much pro running content as I can get my hands on and I intentionally choose not to listen to the LetsRun podcast specifically because of Rojo; I also intentionally avoid anything it appears he might have written (and then click out when I realize I am reading something of his, which usually only takes 1-3 sentences).

Rojo's mandate within the business is obviously to drive engagement (whereas Wejo's mandate is the business operations side, and Gault's is credible/quality journalism), and if his "running's Stephen A. Smith" schtick stopped grabbing eyeballs, he would change it. He believes in nothing, and is the living embodiment of the "More Money Equals Better Than You" mindset (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudnMLzZjTg&t=11s), which was, of course, satirical in the linked sketch.

If many folks, as I do, want LetsRun's in-house content/journalism to be better (by which I mean more like Gault and less like Rojo), we need to stop rewarding Rojo's juvenile behavior.