Socials & Advertisement In Sport

Today’s topic is a little ‘different’ in that it’s mainly an opinion piece on social media and advertisement in our sport. In my ‘opinion’ this is a pretty toxic aspect of our world and leads to a very negative comparison culture that generally doesn’t make us feel better about ourselves or our accomplishments. It’s difficult to combat these feelings of inadequacy, and I thought it may be useful for me to share my views on the subject and my own experience. 

For the record, these views are coming from a 27 year old male who likes to run long distances for fun. Social media isn’t likely an issue for many of you reading this article, and if you didn’t grow up with Instagram and Strava, consider yourself somewhat lucky. For those of us who have grown up or are young enough to be influenced by these platforms, you probably have an idea of what I’m talking about. It’s hard to see another athlete logging twice the mileage or a cool photo of your friend running HARD up a high-alpine ridgeline and not think about how you are falling short in some way. 

The reality is something that we all know, is occasionally articulated, but still often forgotten. That photo of your friend sprinting at 13,000’ is a snapshot of a long process. First he/she has to set up the camera (or have a running partner find the perfect angle with the perfect lighting). Next, you have to run down the hill or trail so that you can carry momentum through the perfect shot. Lastly, you have to execute that 20 second effort making sure that you drive your knees high and carry the expression on your face that you want to put out there (stern/happy/focused/etc…). This is followed by a couple of minutes of gasping on the side of the hill as you look through the photos to make sure one captured the moment! 

But...what is the moment? As a coach, I love that this is happening out there. It’s like a set of strides that I don’t have to program into the log! As an athlete and fellow social media user, I don’t necessarily love this. This is pretty much straight out of the ‘David Roche coaching handbook’, but you are all doing the best that you can and these forms of social media make it feel like that isn’t enough. I suggest that any time we log on to one of these platforms and feel worse after the experience, we delete them or unfollow the person that made us feel worse. 

I’m incredibly guilty of everything listed above. I have attached photos to some of these newsletters that were taken in the manner described above. No one is intentionally trying to post content that makes others feel worse, but it’s just the nature of social media. When I log in and see a cool photo of something that I didn’t do that day, I feel like I’m missing out. When I see a runner put up a strong time on a hard race or route, I feel slower as a result. It’s silly, but it’s not just me, and many of you have had this very conversation in the training logs. 

Additionally, these feelings influence training and running performance. To be your best, you have to believe in yourself and your training. Seeing those ‘better training blocks’ or ‘stronger looking’ athletes tends to detract from this confidence and make it harder to show up for yourself. Just as we dial in nutrition and build fitness in preparation for a race, distancing from toxic influences and thoughts at times is incredibly important during the process as well! 

Gear Advice: 

This week’s piece of ‘gear’ is especially exciting because it’s free! It’s also a phone app and not really ‘gear’, but something I use A LOT in the summer and was incredibly useful when living out of the van and visiting new areas all of the time! Gaia GPS is a great platform that allows you to map and upload different GPX files. You can map on your computer and load maps onto your phone to make sure you stay on route on new trails/in new areas. Additionally, since this uses your phone’s GPS tracking capabilities as opposed to cellular coverage, you can track where you are on your route when you’re in remote areas without service! 

Simply create an account on their website, download the app, and start to map out future adventures! Let me know if you have any questions, but this platform is something Ellie and I are always using!