Running Social: A Marketing Blog Hop

Social media is changing our lives in ways we never imagined. It’s now the place where many of us go for our news. It’s where we view our family photo albums. It’s even where we go to find out what everyone is doing tonight.

For the runners among us social media’s impact is felt every day. It’s been a subtle shift for our community, but now we’re all running social.

We state our goals loud and proud on Facebook. We update our friends (like it or not) on our training progress. We share tips, gear advice and our pet peeves (damn you treadmill!).  The running world is one of the most powerful fundraising groups on the planet, and social media has helped make it easier than ever to entice people to give and take donors along for the journey.

In short, social media has changed the world of running, whether you’re a participant, a charity runner, a journalist or a race organizer. For our first Lightspan Digital Marketing Blog Hop coming to you Jan. 8, we’ve assembled 10 voices to share their perspective on how social media has changed the way we train for races, fundraise for charity, report on events, motivate ourselves and organize races.

Each of these writers will be posting on their own blogs Jan. 8, linking to each of the posts in the marketing hop so you can easily hop from one perspective to the next to get a complete look at the new world of social running.

Then at 1 pm Jan. 8 (CST), we’re hosting a Twitter Chat using the hashtag #marketinghop to continue the conversation. We hope you’ll join us and share your thoughts on how social media has changed the way you immerse yourself in the running community.

Meet Our Bloggers

Myles Dannhausen (@mylespulse): A freelance writer and journalist, Myles has written for Running Times, Chicago Athlete and Silent Sports. He also serves as the course director and community manager for the Door County Half Marathon and the Ridges Ride for Nature. His last marathon was a disaster.

Tom Held (@tomheld): A longtime writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tom now blogs at The Active Pursuit and OnMilwaukee and is the go-to source for silent sports news in Wisconsin. He runs fast and recently got hooked on Cyclocross.

Maggie Wolff (@not_margaret): Maggie is a runner, cat lover and online marketer who writes the MagMileRunner blog.

Tim Cigelski (@thebeerrunner): Tim writes for Draft Magazine as The Beer Runner. He’s on a two-year streak of running and drinking beer, every day.

Ashley Kumlien (@MSRuntheUS): Ashley launched MS Run the U.S. to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that her mother has battled since 1980. Grab a copy of the January issue of Chicago Athlete and you’ll find her photo on the cover.

Lauren Matricardi (@fleetfeetchgo): Lauren is a blogger and digital marketing manager for Fleet Feet Chicago, supplier of great running gear and training programs throughout the city.

Bob Richards:  Bob blogs at Chicago Run-Times. A long-time contributor and editor at Chicago Athlete, he covered silent sports for the Chicago Sun Times, and contributes to Silent Sports magazine. Bob has completed numerous marathons, countless 5ks, ski races and other events. He organizes the Community Bank of Elmhurst 4 on the 4th race (CARA Runners Choice Circuit), and the Northern Illinois Nordic XC ski race. He splits his time between Villa Park, Illinois, and Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

Lightspan Digital: Three of the ladies from Lightspan Digital will be adding their thoughts in a post for the site. Kate Hamilton (@katemhamilton) completed her first marathon at Chicago in October, for which she ran to raise money for Team to End AIDS and beneficiary AIDS Foundation of Chicago. Mana Ionescu (@manamica) is the founder of Lightspan who took up running two years ago and has been running 5ks and half marathons regularly ever since. Michelle Laing (@M_Laing) is a dedicated runner who logged 1,500 miles in 2012, and smoked the Chicago Marathon in her first try.