I started writing Runblogger in early 2009 as a complete internet novice. I had never used Facebook or Twitter, had never written a blog article, and to be honest I can’t recall if I’d ever really even read any blogs.
Fast forward 4 years and I’ve written ~800 blog posts, and I spend a good chunk of my free time reading blogs, participating in forums, and interacting with friends on Twitter and Facebook. Through Runblogger I’ve met an incredible number of great people from all around the world, and I continue to be amazed at how much the decision to start writing has changed my life.
Two of the first people I met in my foray into the on-line world were Thomas Neuberger and Caleb Masland. The three of us were all active on the dailymile.com website back in early 2009 (not too long after it launched). The circle of friends we made in those early days on dailymile remains a tight-knit bunch, and Caleb, Thomas and I have all seen the benefits of getting involved in the social running web. Caleb has developed a successful on-line coaching business, and Thomas manages a rapidly growing blog called Believe in the Run.
Sometime last year the three of us started talking about working on a joint project. I can’t recall exactly how the conversation got started, but we all share a passion for running and the social web. We all like to write, and we recognize the power of mutual support and content sharing. We started talking about ways to merge these interests.
One of the things we observed is that the web is full of runners who are producing great content – whether it be blogs, podcasts, or videos, some of the best information out there comes from independent content producers who each share their passion for running in their own way. But, finding that content can be a challenge. Because independent sites, particularly those that are not yet well-established, typically lack the reach of mainstream media sites, a lot of great content goes unread, unviewed, or un-listened to.
Our goal is to try and change this. We decided to start working on a website whose goal is to curate the content of independent running websites. We want to feature the work of those who are sharing their passion one post at a time, often in relative obscurity. We want to feature you! It’s an ambitious goal, and one that will require some amount of trial and error and a lot of hard work, but we are excited to give it a go.
Our project is called Run Radar, and while the site is still under construction with the help of a talented developer named Alex King, we wanted to announce what we are up to and invite you to submit your site for inclusion in our database. You can also join our mailing list to be notified when things are up and running.
We anticipate that Run Radar will feature both unique content (produced by us and anyone interested in contributing unique, quality content), as well as links to content we find to be of exceptional value. Our goals are to share and support – to share freely and widely and to support the work done by those representing the independent running web.
We have already started in some small ways – for example, if you have running-related content you’d like us to check out, post it to Twitter using the hashtag #runradar and we will see it (you can follow us at @Run_Radar). You can also use the #runradar hashtag on Instagram if you have running-related photos to share.
In the meantime, you can check out our holding page at www.runradar.com and submit your site information. We hope you join us!
About Peter Larson
Outstanding! The future of the internet is pulling the signal out of the noise. Looking forward to seeing the best of the best.
I agree, hope we can pull it off!
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Cool, my new green A5s are the first thing you see when opening runradar! This must become a great site! Succes.
I take the blame for the A5 being there! :)
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This sounds like a fantastic endeavor, Pete! I can’t wait to see how it progresses!
This sounds like a cool project, almost a one stop shop for running info. We will keep an eye out on your progress and follow the hash tag.
Cool. Typically, I’m anti-aggregation as everyone thinks they’re going to do it well. But, I have found it hard to find the good running content that’s spread out all over unless somehow someone points it out. This’ll be good.
I hope so, I’m not so bold as to claim we have a solution to good aggregation, but we’re going to try!
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Great, I have always appreciated the Blogroll posts here and think that what you’re putting together will really be a great site.
Curious: will you still be posting here, cross-posting, or will (ultimately?) all new content appear at the new site? It’d be nice to aggregate my bookmarks :p
Runblogger isn’t going anywhere, will still be my main site. I will probably post on the new site too though. Still a lot to figure out!
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more sites to look at while at work! hooray!
I like that, Monday is always my bet traffic day :)
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Pete, that sounds like an awesome idea!
This is a really great idea. I know there is so much great running content out there, but there isn’t really a good guide for finding it. I feel that Google searches will find established running sites, but newer, smaller sites are often buried in the search results.
That’s the idea, hope is to help more sites get seen. Working on best ways to filter content since many sites are not solely running related. May involve some kind of tagging.
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We just submitted our site, http://blog.gametiime.com, for Run Radar and followed you on Twitter via @gogametiime.
Can’t wait to see what’s next to come! Good luck!
Thanks, well keep you posted!
Thanks, Pete!