Latest online community from the Enthusiast Group; Simon Martin is enthusiast-in-chief; Brad Feld blogs on marathoning
Boulder, Colorado (PRWeb) November 20, 2006 -- Runners, from world-class athletes to passionate enthusiasts, have stories to tell, photos to share and videos to show off, without waiting for a professional journalist to decide if it's publishable: YourRunning.com.
The Boulder, Colorado-based Enthusiast Group has debuted the new YourRunning.com online community where runners can share their stories, advice, news, photos, videos and product reviews. This is the third online sports site opened by the company; the others are YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com, communities for climbing and mountain biking enthusiasts, respectively.
YourRunning.com, which has been opened to public use during its beta period, is based on the concept of "citizen media" -- which simply means that runners themselves are the authors of much of the content on the site.
"Sports enthusiasts have compelling stories and images to share, but they typically are under-covered by traditional media," says Steve Outing, founder and publisher of YourRunning.com and the Enthusiast Group. "It's nearly always the stars of any sport who get media attention. But everyday athletes and sports participants deserve coverage, too. They should have a media outlet of their own. That's what YourRunning.com and other Enthusiast Group sites are about."
YourRunning.com isn't all user-submitted content, however. Serving as head cheerleader -- encouraging and helping runners share their stories and images and offering expert advice -- is Enthusiast-in-Chief Simon Martin, a Boulder, Colorado-based runner and journalist who regularly tops his age class. Martin is currently working with Olympic running coach Bobby McGee to attempt a run on the mile record for over-50 runners.
Martin writes a blog on YourRunning.com about his running life ("Simon Martin's Run Time"), produces a podcast about running, shoots photos and video, and answers questions in an Ask Simon forum.
"I'm excited to be a part of the new YourRunning.com community," he says. "The site makes it so easy for runners to talk, to share training ideas, epic stories, pictures, videos, start their own blogs. ... I don't think there's ever been anything
like it. In races and training we're often out there suffering -- I mean having enormous fun -- on our own, but it's other people who have helped me get the most out of my running. I'm really looking forward to being part of a new network of like-minded enthusiasts."
Also with a regular presence on the site is Brad Feld, a well known venture capitalist and enthusiastic marathoner who is working toward a personal goal of running 50 marathons by the time he turns 50. Feld, who is ranked as the most-linked running blogger by Technorati.com, has started a regular blog for YourRunning.com.
YourRunning.com is about audience participation and interaction. Every piece of content posted to the site allows visitors and users to comment and discuss, and they can share anything they wish, as long as it's on the topic of running. They can ask questions and get expert answers from Martin as well as get advice from other YourRunning.com users. "This is not like your traditional running magazine or website," says Outing, who is a well known interactive media expert and columnist. "This is about runners sharing their passions with each other. It's two-way dialog, not traditional one-way, we-tell-you-how publishing."
The site routinely runs contests and promotions, rewarding the best inspiration tales, photos and videos, for example, with running-related prizes provided by sponsors. Use of the site is completely free to its users.
About the Enthusiast Group
The Boulder, Colorado-based company was founded in early 2006 by Outing and Derek Scruggs, an experienced Internet entrepreneur, with the goal of creating a network of citizen-media-based websites serving adventure and participant sports. YourRunning.com, YourClimbing.com and YourMTB.com are the first sites published by the company to open to the public. Sites covering additional adventure and participant sports are planned for roll-out later this year and early in 2007, and the company is seeking athlete editors. See http://www.enthusiastgroup.com/were_looking_for_top_athlete_editors
The Enthusiast Group is funded by a group of 11 investors, including Omidyar Network (a mission-based investment group founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar), DB Medialab (the new-media arm of Norwegian national newspaper Dagbladet), and Brad Feld.
Websites:
YourRunning website: www.yourrunning.com
Simon Martin's Run Time blog: www.yourrunning.com/blog/simon
Brad Feld's 50 by 50 Blog: www.yourrunning.com/blog/brad
YourClimbing website: www.yourclimbing.com
YourMTB website: www.yourmtb.com
Corporate website: www.enthusiastgroup.com
Contacts:
Simon Martin, YourRunning.com enthusiast-in-chief: 720-221-7809
Steve Outing, founder and publisher: 303-543-7810
Derek Scruggs, founder and CEO: 303-543-7810
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