That’s the word on the message boards. Complaints of Runna’s training plans center around ramping up both distance and intensity too quickly leading to overuse injuries like stress fractures, muscle tears and shin splints.
But I’m not so sure it’s AI’s fault.
I got injured, for instance, without the use of Runna while being a USATF-certified coach. Hmmm. And I’ve never even been that runner who’s trying to increase my mileage or speed.
Much like the heavy Lime Bikes of London, where faulty and poorly-maintained bikes are being accused of severely breaking the legs of its riders with increasing frequency. The sentiment hasn’t been helped by the way Lime bikes litter and pollute London.
The seemingly unstoppable encroachment of AI is seen as a similar scourge of society, and might add to the ill will towards Runna. We don’t want AI. We want humans. But humans copy my articles, using AI to turn them into bullet points, and pass them off as their own on LinkedIn. Humans can suck as well.
Yeah, I share some of those concerns about AI, don’t worry, but I’m mainly wary of how fallible (this was a different word in the draft) humans can be. Especially towards other humans.
For instance, what if the coach just isn’t very good? I trained with coaches who appeared alarmingly inflexible with their approaches, several good friends have ditched their high-profile $100+/month coaches because of a distinct lack of nuance and care (what Runna is accused of), and everyone has heard the multiple horror stories from former college athletes about being forced to run while injured, or else…
For me, a key piece of data in the injured runners conversation is one that I remember from Born To Run, one of the highest-selling books about running of all time. Christopher McDougall’s classic book mentions how at least 65% of runners achieve some sort of injury every year.
While he was using that stat to sell barefoot shoes (nice try, but no thanks), it’s a huge stat, and while the current stat would be interesting to see, 65% of runners have been getting injured way before Runna existed.
So, let’s add to all of my anecdotes by undertaking some science with the incredible sample size of this newsletter’s readers. Double figures of participants in this vote, no doubt, and the results will be unquestionable!
Basically, have you been injured in the past year? And we’ll define ‘injury’ by any physical, musculoskeletal ailment (not respiratory) that stopped you from running even one time. Please only vote in one poll. For science’s sake.
If you DON’T use Runna, have you been injured in the past year?
If you DO use Runna, have you been injured in the past year?
Maybe it’s a problem that can simply never be solved. Maybe pounding the streets or trails just causes injuries every so often. Maybe novice runners are just more likely to get injured. Just like novice cyclists are more likely to hire a bike, and wear them without a helmet. Maybe a human coach is no better than a few lines of code.
Which ‘maybe’ will you settle upon?
Last week on Running Sucks
I spoke to running shoe designer and *5x Boston qualifying marathon runner, Richard Kuchinsky about how running shoes affect the way we interact with the sport.
When I asked about Richard’s favorite part of running, he said it was that running is his outlet for creativity. Quite handy for a designer.
“The biggest thing is how much mental running is than physical. You’re hitting The Wall at 30k and it’s not just your legs that are dead, it’s in your head. The benefit is mental as well, not just physical. I’m in way better shape than I was smoking a pack a day ten years ago, and I’ve lost almost 50lbs, but having the mental outlet, and using the time for my own creativity and thinking though all the bad ideas and purging them on a long run, that’s been the biggest thing. Don’t worry about the physical parts. The main benefits are mental 100%.”
Last year on Running Sucks
I wrote about how the ‘Run Clubs Are Dead’ narrative was one I saw the whole time I was writing about rock music. Run clubs are going nowhere.
Running Sucks Haiku of the Week
“Never a given.”
A good reminder
from a friend I miss.
He couldn’t quite make time to come into London to see me in August, but we always try. We’ve been friends since we were 11. He’s one of the small handful from school that I’m still in contact with. I told him that we’d see one another next summer, but that’s a whole year. It’s never a given.
After a couple of serious losses in my orbit over the past few years, I’ve certainly been more mindful with my time. I make sure that I spend it correctly, doing the things that give me joy, with the people that I want to share that joy with. This is in part because we’re in the same physical place so infrequently — a pitfall of having formed my life in one country, and then moved 5,000 miles away. This weekend I filled that cup.
Both running and writing are very solitary endeavors, so it was nice to get out of a house befallen by flooding and illness in recent weeks. I went to a punk show (a thing that gives me joy) on Saturday night with a couple of those good friends. You know the ones. We saw High Vis at the Regent in Downtown LA, and a fourth excellent old friend was in the second band, Secret World. That was a special boon because he lives in Sydney, Australia, so it’s been some years since we had a hug.
It was a good reminder to always make the effort and take every opportunity. Hug your friends. Next time is never a given.
Housekeeping
MY BOOK - I accidentally paywalled the What and Why of the book (oops), but that’s gone now, so please go read my spiel, and please pre-order a copy of This is Running pretty, pretty please please.
USA - Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop US
UK - Amazon UK | Waterstones | Bookshop UK
BUY ME A COFFEE - If that’s too much, consider this tip jar. I’ll take it!
SHARE - Send this to your injured friends. Will the article make them feel better? No, but you thinking of them will.
WIN - If you’re an upgraded subscriber, you can win a $100 Janji gift card once every month of 2025. Upgrade if you want to enter. You can upgrade by sharing as well. You see? You can feel better too!
FOLLOW ME - Instagram / Strava
Thanks for reading,
Raz x
I take up so many issues with AI (destroying critical thinking skills, the environment, etc. etc.) but I use Runna because I find it's interface accessible and because I can't afford a human coach (yet!). I think there can be problems with AI training programs, but there are simultaneously problems with individuals listening to their own bodies, or not. We live in such a techno-focused world that I tend to focus on what I see as a bigger issue: that humans are losing the ability to listen to ourselves - we're inundated with fitness influencers saying we need collagen, and our cortisol is too high, and we suck at eating, and we should be on GLP-1s, we should drink tart cherry juice to sleep, etc. that most people aren't really listening to their bodies and what feels good...I realize the listening to self is an entirely different article topic, but when I hear about people getting injured via AI training programs, the root (at least in my circles) is following the plan without checking in with oneself. Not everyone, but most people have internal signals if things aren't going right!
I'm a Runna user and I haven't been injured this year, but I also make adjustments to the plan as needed. I let it push me when it feels reasonable, but I forget about suggested paces and mileage if it doesn't. I'm mostly using Runna as a training plan framework so that I can remove the mental load of making a training plan and feel reasonably prepared for my races. But, my goals are slow and steady improvement and finishing well. If I had more aggressive pacing goals or something, I might hire an actual human.