QT: Crowdsourcing Advice from Other Runners Takes a Bit of Discernment

Social media is an interesting beast.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to go through the laundry list of pros/cons of social media today.

But what I do want to talk about is crowdsourcing advice from other runners, specifically via social media.

A Good Thing (in Theory)

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with seeking advice from other runners.

In a sense, that is the basis of knowledge, right?

I have a question about something. I ask you for your take on the subject. You share your experience.

With a little luck, your experience helps me in my situation.

Thanks to social media, I am connected to thousands of runners.

So, in theory, that should make it even easier to glean quality advice from other runners.

Sometimes, that’s true. Other times? Not so much.

Equal Parts Truth and Bullshit

To paraphrase my buddy Stephen Lee, advice from other runners is almost always completely true and complete bullshit.

And what he meant by that statement is that when most people give you advice, they truly are trying to helpful.

Within the running community, I’d say that the odds of someone trying to steer you in the wrong direction is virtually zero.

But here’s the problem: just because something works for me doesn’t mean that it will work for you.

So for me, the advice is the complete truth.

Yet for you, it may very well be complete bullshit.

How to Know the Difference

There are no hard and fast rules to know the difference between the advice that will help you and that which you should completely disregard.

Because what works for someone else, whether you know them well or not, may absolutely work for you.

But in general, I find that knowing the person I’m giving advice helps me give better advice.

Because I’m better able to offer something specific to the individual instead of giving some one-size-fits-all generic advice.

And we all know my thoughts on one-size-fits-all anything…

To Ask or Not to Ask…

So what am I trying to say then?

When you’re struggling with a running-related issue, should you seek out advice from other runners or not so much?

Yes, you should definitely ask.

Just be willing to ignore the advice that doesn’t apply to you at the moment, ok?

Asking other runners for advice is a great way to learn, but not all good advice should be followed. #runchat Click To Tweet

How Do Discern Which Advice from Other Runners is Right for You?

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