It's a World Full of Runners! (Runner's World - Magazine)

Member Name: nykied

Product:	Runner's World - Magazine
Date:	30/09/09 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great for running enthusiasts or a total beginner

Disadvantages: Can be a little repetitive

Having been a subscriber to Runner's World since 2006, I felt that it was time to write a review on the magazine. It's published monthly, although the time that it takes to get pushed through my letterbox varies, probably due to the amount of subscribers it has varying.

The magazine itself is very diverse, with new product reviews and trials, recipes, letters and some individual stories about people involved in the world of running.

~The Stories~

These are very interesting; indeed these stories are the ones that I turn to as soon as I open the magazine and they can be as diverse as a story about a woman who's ran around the world alone, how long it took her and why she did it, alongside a story about a man who's lost three times his own current body weight through dieting and running. All of the stories are very interesting and always grab my attention.

~The Recipes~

A lot of the recipes look appetising, although I must admit that I've never tried one. There are always pictures, which I find is an essential part of a recipe and they always involve healthy ingredients, along with explaining why they're good for you and what benefit they give to your body.

~The Reviews~

Runner's World have reviewers that they employ but they also get people who have no affiliation to the magazine to review new products. This gives a rounded view, although you get the idea that the RW employees are also all runners. The topic varies, being shoes one month, heart monitors the next and so on. They seem to be impartial and they do tend to use language that even the newest runner can understand.

~Letters~

These usually relate to stories that have been in the last issue, about things that have struck chords with readers, but they also have a 'Hot Forum Thread' section, detailing what is usually the most random thread on the forums at the time.

~Race Reviews~

The magazine has lots of race reviews each month, giving details on how many entered, how many finish, best time, worst time and a magazine review. They also have quotes from people who actually ran the race, which tends to give you a better idea of how it was. There are also pictures to accompany each race review. It's not, as you might expect, just the 'big' races that feature. For example, when the May issue came out, there wasn't a review on the London Marathon which had taken place in April. There have been, however, reviews on Santa Dashes or Christmas Pudding Races, which are fun runs and can appeal to all.

~Race Listings~

Each issue has a back section devoted to upcoming races in all areas. These are easy to look through as they're divided by date and then by geographical area. They also give details such as how many can enter, whether you can enter when you turn up, how much it is and whether there's a goody bag (always a priority!).

~Advertisements~

As with any magazine, lots of the pages consist of advertisements, but these mainly consist of things that will appeal to runners and in the run-up to races such as the London Marathon, appeals from various charities to run for them. The advertisements don't seem to take over the magazine as they do tend to in some fashion magazine and there are certainly no perfume samples to stink out the whole magazine!

~Forums~

The online forums are great. They're split up into sections for ease of use and these include Training, General Running and Injury. The people on there are very friendly and there's always someone to offer advice if you've got a problem. At least one of the people who regularly contribute have won the London Marathon! There's also The Clubhouse. This should really be called The Madhouse, as it's where all the crazy people are (myself included), but it's great fun and people on there meet up at races and two have even got married recently.

~My Verdict~

Runner's World is a very good, in-depth magazine if you're into the sport and there's always something of interest in every issue but it can get a bit monotonous when you subscribe and get it month after month. The covers are not the best as they always use stick-thin models who look perfect and as though they've not run a step in their life in case they trip and fall over in their heels! You do tend to get an offer if you subscribe, such as a discount for six months or a free sports watch (my watch is still going after three years and it's got me through three marathons!)

So, a good buy, but maybe just subscribe for 12 months and then buy it once every so often. A lot of the content is available online (www.runnersworld.co.uk) but you get access to a lot more if you subscribe to the magazine.

Summary: If you're a runner, it's worth subscribing to