Monday, January 24, 2011

fun's over

in response to a rather unpleasant thread on let's run: http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=3886791, i deleted all of my previous posts. nobody gets to take my words out of context and use them as a joke.

incredibly disappointing as just a few days ago i posted about how much i loved being part of the running community because i think it's so rewarding and supportive. but over the past few days i've seen a totally different side of the sport that makes my stomach churn. admittedly, i've had my own catty thoughts at times but they were moments when i wasn't feeling confident in my abilities as a runner - classic cases of one trying to make oneself feel better by saying something unfair, unkind, or flat out untrue about someone else.

i was also disappointed to hear from someone in the running industry that i needed to "check the attitude" i have. i know a lot of my posts were a bit on the obnoxious side but i wanted this whole blogging experience to be fun for me to write and fun for people to read. and when you get right down to it, that's me. that's my personality. i understand that may not mesh with everyone else, but to have someone tell you that your personality is unwelcome in the running world is pretty hurtful. however, i do understand that his (i'm sorry but i have to assume this was a male) advice was meant to help, not hurt.

so it looks like i'm starting over. might be a little more boring but i'm not interested in getting myself or my team in the middle of any sort of internet cat fight.

even though i deleted all the posts, there are a few things that i wanted to hang on to...

... my interviews with colorado runner magazine and runcolo.com were both really fun to do and i was grateful to both for taking an interest.
http://www.runcolo.com/content/interview-heather-utrata-580/
http://www.coloradorunnermag.com/read_feature/athlete-profile-heather-utrata

...two runner's roost teammates (kylee and stella) and i swept the women's yeti chase 10k

...at frosty's frozen five and ten miler, three new teammates (amy, kim, and lonnie) ran strong and impressive races - what a great way to represent runner's roost! - and i was really excited to see them kick off the year like that

and that's it. the rest was just fluff.

i've been advised by many to just ignore all the negative stuff. i thought i was a pretty tough cookie but it's actually really hard to not let that get to you. but on we go.

looking forward to a good long run tomorrow.

8 comments:

  1. I have been a runner a long time and was told recently about letruns.com by a running store employee when I was buying shoes.Most of the people on that discussion board are NOT RUNNERS.You can tell by their discussions/posts on the board.Don't let it bother you.You will meet a lot of great people at races and during training not on Letsrun.com. The letruns.com should be renamed to letspretendtorun.com

    Peace

    Greg

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  2. Stay positive Heather! I say, you be you and don't let someone totally outside your circle steal your mojo. You rock! Your friends believe in you. You believe in you. Be Heather and not a censored Heather, have fun. The Roost team rocks!

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  3. I wouldn't let it bother you. Every good blog has its share of completely unnecessary controversy. There's something about the anonymity of the internet that brings out the worst in people. If you aren't pissing someone off every so often, you aren't saying anything interesting.

    For what it's worth, I think the running community IS extremely supportive, helpful and welcoming. It's the internet community that is condescending and vindictive... Don't confuse the two.

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  5. Buck up. Running is many things to many people. But it isn't boring. Forget the haters and log a few more miles; you'll be fine. Wisdom comes from negative experiences much more fully than from just positive experiences. LetsRun has broken many a person, don't let it break you.

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  6. Good Morning,

    I am president of a track club in the southeast and was notified of the B.S. going on at Letsrun.com.We have begun to notify their ADVERTISERS and are asking them if they want to be associated with the so-called "World Famous Message Boards."The fact is we KNOW where we spend our money but what about the psuedorunners on Letsrun? Heather you are correct in that REAL RUNNERS stick together unlike the people who are on LetsPretendToRun.com. It was not just the thread about you it is something that has been going on a few weeks.

    Good Luck with your training! You are on the right path by joining a local running group and this is how real runners act.

    alan

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  7. thank you all for your comments :) it looks like the entire thread was deleted... hm...! alan, whether or not the deletion had anything to do with your talking to advertisers, that was really cool of you to do and i appreciate it and i bet a bunch of others do too!

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  8. Hey, Heather - davedlg is absolutely right - the internet community is harsh and thoughless. The anonymity gives them a false sense of power. Don't give it to them. Have you ever glanced at comments at the end of an on-line news article? Usually it consists of comments written by complete idiots who write something mean and negative, rarely is there a positive comment. The running community is awesome. Don't lose faith in them, and don't lose your spunk and sassy outlook on life - I've enjoyed all of your blogs!

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