Why did you start the blog?

I was going through a “5k phase” in my life and enjoyed training, improving, and looking into what helped me improve – such as technology, training regimes and diet. I wanted to share those experiences to help others in a similar situation. After 3 minutes consideration I found the5krunner.com domain name and checked all the various Twitter handles and the like were free, and it all started from there.

I accidentally got into multi-sports and did ‘quite well’ for a while, at least sometimes I did. Or at least my fading memory of that tells me I did. (I have top ten and top 5 finishes at ETU and ITU multi-sport finals).

Thus, almost immediately, the5krunner.com’s name became somewhat inappropriate for someone who does triathlon and spends more time cycling each week than running!

My competitive interest has re-emerged, and, in 2024, I won a national duathlon age group qualifier and also bested my recent 5K percentage time, which is in the low 80 per cent.

Although I say “I” quite a lot, there are other people who help out from time to time.

Is this your full-time job?

As of 2024, this is my main job, but another job requires some time every week.

No. Not. I have a few other ‘jobs’. One is a ‘proper’ job that pays ‘money’ (just). Whilst everyone at my ‘proper job’ knows what I do, I run this blog relatively anonymously as it just makes things more accessible to the clients of the proper job – all of whom do NOT know.

My main ‘other job’ is not sports or tech-related! Previous ‘other jobs’ have been in corporate IT for multinationals, and some reasonably senior roles have been in smaller tech companies.

Hopefully, that is now as clear as the mud on your MTB.

Sounds like the blog is a full-time job, regardless of what you’ve just said? There’s a lot of content.

It takes a fair amount of time, I agree—a labour of love. Sleep is for wimps.

I put in many hours each week to all my work efforts. This blog doesn’t pay me what I think it should for the effort expended.

Some of the stuff I write is inspired by a sports news event or something a friend might have done or said about their weekend’s training. Those things are quick and easy to write. The reviews do take a long time. Usually, they are several days spread over a couple of weeks.

What is your writing and reviewing style?

I tried initially to write in a natural voice as if I were speaking. I then realised there were ambiguities in what I wrote. I don’t like that, so I tried to become more specific, which meant I ended up using too many words. A September 2024 purchase of Grammarly seems to have sorted me out, but my content now probably sounds quite different and formal to longstanding readers.

I’ve also looked a fair bit at what styles of writing generate clicks and, more importantly, an intent to read to the end. I try to avoid click-bait type titles (which do work), but I’d prefer you to read to the end and come back, so clickbait doesn’t help that, and I try to avoid it. You’ll have to forgive me sometimes if I don’t have the best, most focused title. I’m not a trained journalist and don’t have an editor or SEO team. Sorry.

I dislike articles that drag you in and tease you before delivering on the title. Thus, I often answer the point in the title very quickly and then start again, giving more details to those who want it.

I try to write honest opinions which might be contradictory. I’ll usually give you what I think on balance at the end. You’re probably very intelligent, so I’m sure you can decide based on what I say, and you don’t have to agree with me.

For reviews, I start with a few interesting paragraphs and then give a formal SEO-friendly summary with pros and cons. This seems to be what Google and most readers want. Some readers want more detail on specific points, so I often continue with a more detailed review. However, the products I cover are complex and usually contain features identical to their predecessors. It becomes tedious to cover old features again and verbose to cut and paste huge sections, but I appreciate that you may not have looked at this kind of product for a few years, so, to a degree, I have to mention some important old features again. I always perform lots of real-world tests, and I repeat some structured tests. I used to give detailed accuracy reports, but people are almost always not interested in accuracy other than being told in a sentence or two if the product is accurate. Sadly, nearly all reviewers do not test accuracy properly (a few do, you know who). Still, many people seem to trust others when they say how accurate products are based on comparing two graphs with different axes and scales and how accurate their predecessors were when we all know they weren’t accurate.

Does it make any money?

Yes, from affiliate revenues and commissions from Amazon and Wiggle. It’s, at most, a tenth of whatever you might think it is. I need to read a saved page: “How to monetise your blog.” I’ll read that after the following review is published. Maybe. Although I’ll probably be too busy on the next piece.

Do you get freebies, and does that make you independent?

If you are reading this and thinking of doing the same thing to get freebies, don’t bother. You can get trivial freebies through sports-tech blogging, but buying them is much easier than spending at least several hours researching, chasing, and writing about them.

You will find it VERY hard to get free watches, bikes, wheels and power meters. Very hard! Most big companies use PR agencies, and they supply things on loan and want them back. Specifically, Garmin has a global 2-month policy for EVERYONE; they will NOT give you a free watch. At least, that’s what they say. For independence from the market leader and other factors, I have zero relationship with Garmin other than as a customer like you – I don’t even get press releases.

More about that is (here).

When a company approaches me, I first clarify that I have ALL THE GADGETS I WOULD EVER NEED and that I’ve bought the ones I use for training and racing.

I remember one time in 2020 when I had over ten pieces of Kit that needed returning. Although, secretly, I have to admit that I’d like to keep a few of them 🙂 But they are relatively inexpensive, so I might buy them if they retain my interest—tech changes. My interests change.

There is a subconscious bias when reviewing something—a bias to be favourable. You should remember that whenever you read any review, try to work out the reviewer’s bias – they ALL do have a bias. I try to think of at least something negative to say – and sometimes that’s easy! I try to be as independent as possible, and I am sure I will fail at that occasionally.

My natural inclination would be, “That’s a cool feature for my friend X to use because of Y,” rather than, “Personally I would never use THAT feature, therefore it is rubbish.”

Maybe that’s the wrong question. Independence, bias, and balance all have different meanings. This site IS financially independent of suppliers; it is sometimes, by definition, DEPENDENT on suppliers/PRs for early-release Kit; it does have some inherent bias that we all have; it tries to be balanced by writing negative and positive opinion pieces.

I am lucky to have gotten a chance to try cool stuff out for free. Sometimes, new stuff that many people have not yet had the same opportunity to play with. Sometimes, new stuff does not work and wastes HOURS of my time. Lucky? Free? It depends on how you define it.

If you think I am too nice to some companies, please rest assured that I have had some serious run-ins with a few companies who have disliked my writing. On none of those occasions was I asked to correct anything factually incorrect, and I AM always happy to correct my mistakes.

How Popular is the blog?

Five million page views a year when I last looked. If you want to look, FREESTAK, VUELIO and ACE might have more detailed stats in their PR systems.

That might sound like a lot to you. It isn’t. If you want to make a living from this sort of thing, I estimate that a blog would need 20 million page views annually. (DCR’s probably gets 40 million plus the YouTube stuff!).

Will you feature my event or product?

Generally YES and sometimes NO.

The YES would be for startups of interest to me and, hopefully, you. Generally, I will circulate a press release and their image. Indeed, for companies who send them, I regularly circulate press releases and sometimes add my comments…either positive or negative. That seems to be how journalism works, although I would not classify myself as a journalist.

The NO would be for an uninteresting (to me) product or a large commercial race – although I would gladly cover such races if I ran it or if a friend ran it and I felt I had something to say about some aspect. I also often give some degree of publicity to Age Group multi-sport qualifying races/championships – mainly because I then use what I wrote as my aide memoir for the race date!

Do companies like what you say?

I’ll gladly correct factual errors. Few companies ask me to do that, and companies rarely are unhappy with my take on products.

In recent years, a few companies have not been happy with some of the things I’ve said. They think their products are better than the reality. If a reviewer is continually, even honestly, negative about certain products, the manufacturers won’t deal with them, and that includes me and others. Only the most powerful bloggers can say what they want and still have relationships with suppliers.

How can I support the blog?

Hopefully, I can sometimes entertain and sometimes inform.

I appreciate financial support to keep it going and there are links to Amazon and other mechanisms on the sidebar to the right. Anything you buy there is the regular price and I get a small commission.

I engage with some people by email or in the comments on specific posts.

Some of those people have been kind enough to give me a paypal donation or e-coffee which I really appreciate eg for training advice. I just like helping people out.

Of course, a great way to support the blog is to read it. Ultimately, though, I’ll need to make some money out of it as water and gruel are not helping my athletic performance 😉

Can I copy your posts or images?

It’s the internet, and I can’t stop you. You can credit any images or content and provide a link back…that is always appreciated. So copy away…and give credit to the source, please.

I only have a problem if you are using my stuff to make money! Don’t.

To be clear – NO, YOU CAN’T COPY MY POSTS/IMAGES if you are a commercial organisation. Please ask.

How can I ask you a question?

Please remember that I am not a free advice centre for anyone wanting to buy a running/tri gadget. I remain delighted to answer a thought-through single question. Please read this if you wish for complex advice or have many questions to answer.

So…

“Yes”. Either by email or in the posts’ comment sections. I prefer you to post a comment, as someone else may give a great answer as well.

Email (in**@th*********.com) is the best way to contact me, although I occasionally use Facebook and Twitter.

Recommendations

I can say precisely what you should buy if you like me.

You are different to me.

I am thrilled to make recommendations, and I do so in the posts listed below. One thing you should remember when reading any review is that the reviewer will subconsciously look at the product from their perspective. Sometimes, a reviewer will list all the features of one product and compare them to the list from another. One has eight features, and the other has 12, but which is the best? If you see it in those terms, you realise how ridiculous recommendations can sometimes be. More definitely does not mean better.

And you also have to factor in that not all companies will release features that work.

I try to be empathetic and put myself in the shoes of you and other sporty people, as well as what they use and how they use it. However, empathy is a gift that humans generally lack.

For example, in the RUNNING WATCH recommendations below, I suggest types of runners as I see them rather than “This is the best watch for $100”.

• Recommendation: Best triathlon watch
• Recommendation: Best Running Watch

Bikes, wheels or running shoes – I don’t know all the offerings well enough to make an informed recommendation, although I have a good knowledge level in some specific niche areas. Slightly older stuff is better value for money, newer stuff MIGHT perform better, branded stuff costs more, brands might be able to buy components more cheaply, and second-hand stuff might be damaged or stolen…most of it is relatively apparent. More expensive is probably better…hmmm, maybe!!

Recommendation: Power Meters and Bike Trainers – I keep writing something, and five new products are released. I’ll get around to doing this properly one day!

What Kit do you use?

All I would say is that my best-ever race performances used very little gadgetry, and I rarely wear a watch when not being sporty.

I use Polar, Garmin and Suunto. My partner prefers the Polar stuff. I have Assioma, Stages, Kickr & Shimano power meters, but friends keep borrowing them – others come and go occasionally, and all seem pretty good (Rotor, Garmin, PowerTap). I have a TACX trainer or two. I use SportTracks and Golden Cheetah software. I have several bikes and wheels, and my favourites are Specialised, Cervelo, and Mavic. I use Watt Bikes, Speedo and Zone 3 kit as well. I use a variety of running shoes, my favourite being Skechers and New Balance.

My running clothes are variously branded, and I have more Nike than I should. My cycling clothes vary from cheap Sports Direct to nice Assos bike shorts.

I have several Zone 3 tri suits, my club suit, and a few GB AG suits I never wear for fear of being overtaken and laughed at.

Reviews

You seem to be biased towards Garmin products

Err. No, I’m not! Really.

Please read a bit more of the blog!

I have ZERO links to Garmin – no PR info, freebies, or PR samples. I buy my own Garmin, just like you. EXACTLY like you. It’s a long story as to ‘Why?’ I am in that situation, but, in hindsight, I believe that being truly independent of Garmin gives me a long-term advantage.

Some Garmin products are great, and they dominate some sectors of the market. If I think they are great, I will say so.

Opinions and Unreleased products

You seem quite opinionated

Thank you for the compliment 🙂

I do give opinions on where I think some product areas are heading. Generally, the approximate direction is guessable, BUT THE TIMING IS NOT – although several other people occasionally prod me in the right direction. This is the fun bit for me on the blog.

You seem a bit too like DCR’s blog.

Sometimes, I’m criticised for saying the same things, and other times, I am personally criticised for not going along with the hegemonistic view of endurance tech. You can’t win!! It’s a harsh world sometimes.

I’d probably agree with 70% of what bloggers say in this part of the market. I’d probably agree 80-90% with what DCR says – or, put the other way, he would probably agree with 80-90% of what I say.

But there is ABSOLUTELY ZERO POINT in me becoming an echo chamber for anyone’s views (see mainstream media who copy his reviews, my reviews and others) #OriginalThought. If I see an unusual angle or opinion, I will make it. That just makes life more enjoyable for everyone.

So, hopefully, I am NOT like DCR’s blog. Hopefully, you will read his, my, and a few others and decide. I tend to find my readership comprises clever people. Welcome!

What about new products

I VERY RARELY NEED TO agree to NDAs with manufacturers, although I have no problems doing that if asked. Press releases mostly come up to 2 weeks before the formal announcement and usually come with an embargo date. If I didn’t stick to the embargo date, I probably wouldn’t get the following press release so I will stick to it. Simple really.

If some company releases information into the public domain before they intend to, people will often comment on it on forums and blogs. I never ‘break’  leaked information, despite what you might think. But once it’s public domain, it’s fair game. Sorry, that’s the internet; you can’t stop it except by controlling your staff and processes correctly.

Sometimes, I am lucky enough to have access to products before announcement days when the company would like a review to coincide with the launch. That is precisely the thing I am most interested in doing.

What about beta products

It depends.

I don’t see myself as being a tester. Although I am happy to give my thoughts, ideally, you would be looking for some public coverage about an exciting product. Please be crystal clear about the market readiness of your product and what you want from me.

What about that review you said you would do 3 months ago?

Too busy, sorry! I tried. I might even have it on my to-do list. It might even be half-finished (likely).

Do you host adverts?

I do now (Oct 2020). After realising that some other sport endurance blogs have multi-million dollar annual turnovers, I decided that even a minuscule amount compared to such advertising from all the companies whose products I help sell (or not sell) would be very welcome.

Apologies if the ads slow things down a little. If they’re too bad, let me know, I don’t want them to be intrusive. I have looked into introducing a mechanism to allow ad-free viewing for supporters of this blog. Still, it is not a trivial thing to implement and would probably cost me more than any money it would generate.