HillRunner.com Admin

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I wanted to give a quick update on HillRunner.com as 2015 starts.

I wanted to do a recap of 2014 but that didn’t get done. Here’s a quick one in its place. 2014 was an amazing year. I never could have imagined where the year would take HillRunner.com a year ago at this time. The biggest headline would have to be the partnership with the Seattle Marathon. It’s been an incredible opportunity on many fronts and I’ll be eternally grateful to the people in Seattle for placing their trust in myself and HillRunner.com. I hope 2014 was just the beginning of a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

In addition to the Seattle Marathon partnership, many other things happened at HillRunner.com in 2014. Most visibly, the new format. While small changes are always happening, this was the first ground-up redesign of the site in its 15 year history. Gone is the left sidebar and here is the more efficient and modern top menu. More importantly, here is a mobile-friendly design that makes HillRunner.com as easy to read on your phone as it is on your desktop computer.

So what will 2015 bring? Well, as the Seattle Marathon partnership proved in 2014, it’s hard to say for sure what is coming. What I can tell you are my priorities for 2015 and here they are:

1) Keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities. I always want to be ready for the next opportunity. Whether it’s a race partnership, another kind of partnership or something completely different, I will do my best to be ready to capitalize on whatever opportunity may present itself.

2) Keep building out the blogs. They will be undergoing constant evolution for years I’m sure.

3) Bring back the podcast. Time permitting, this is something I definitely would like to work on.

4) Videos. The runners I coach already have access to one video. I will be shooting more videos and sharing them with the runners I coach and, with their approval, with a more broad audience. I am still working through the details myself but there may be a nominal fee that will allow access to the videos as well as potentially other resources.

5) Other changes. HillRunner.com is always evolving. I have a task list with changes primarily for the blogs and training log but also for almost anything you could imagine.

In closing, let me ask you. What would you most like to see at HillRunner.com in 2015? Did I mention something above that especially excites you? Is there something you would love to see here that I didn’t mention? I want to make your wishes my priorities but I can only do so if you share your wishes. Feel free to do so with a comment here or by using the contact form.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

About 6 months ago, I posted an "Ask me anything" topic and said I would do so on occasion. So here it is again, an open invitation to you to ask me anything.

If you want to ask publicly, you can do so in the comments*, on Facebook or you can tweet at HillRunner.com (or tweet at my personal account). If you want to ask more privately, you can use the contact form or, if you’re friends with me on Facebook or you know my email address, you can reach me through those options.

Within reason, nothing is off limits. Ask about training, racing, my thoughts on any news in the sport. Ask about the site, the coaching service or anything else that’s going on.

So, please let me know, what have you been thinking about and wanting to ask?

Let me start, though, with a question to you. What would you most be interested in seeing in 2015 at HillRunner.com? There are several initiatives I have in mind but I’d be curious if there’s something I may not be thinking of or that I should prioritize.

* Note: Guests can now post comments! So, if you really don’t want to register but you do want to ask a question, you can do so.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Ads have been on HillRunner.com for a long time. Most of us have probably just grown used to them and don’t even notice them. I had them around just to help cover costs and they served that purpose for a long time.

However, now with the coaching service offered, costs are covered. I think the ads take away from the site and the financial benefit just doesn’t seem significant enough to make them worthwhile anymore. So I decided it’s time to do away with them and save everyone’s eyes from that annoying clutter.

It’s possible that an ad or two will remain on select parts of the site but most of the site, if not all, will soon be ad free. I already took away the most frequently seen ads. It’s possible that some of the ads will be replaced by promotions for the coaching service but, for the most part, they will simply be replaced by content that will be more meaningful to all of us.

I hope you appreciate this change and it helps make HillRunner.com a more friendly site to visit.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

I’ve decided to open the discussion up a little every once in a while. I’d like to do this at least twice a year, possibly more frequently if it becomes popular. So here it is, your chance to ask me anything.

If you have a simple, quick question, I can answer in the comments. If you have a question that needs a more comprehensive answer, I’ll probably spin it off into a separate blog post for the near future.

Currently, only registered members can post comments*. I’d encourage registered members to post questions in the comments. However, if you’d prefer to ask anonymously or you’re not registered and you don’t want to, you can use the contact form to ask your questions.

Within reason, nothing is off limits. Ask about training, racing, my thoughts on any news in the sport. Ask about the site, the coaching service, the new podcast.

So, please let me know, what have you been thinking about and wanting to ask?

* To answer one question before it’s asked, I do plan to allow guests to post comments. It’s one of my top priorities now that I’ve gotten a few other things finished.

This article was originally posted by Ryan at the original HillRunner.com Blogs.

Yes, I’m podcasting now. The HillRunner.com Training Podcast is now up and running!

In the first episode, I talk with Renatta of the Seattle Marathon about goal setting.

If you use a podcast app, the RSS feed is ready to go for you. If you subscribe to podcasts through iTunes or Stitcher, it’s been submitted and I’m waiting on approval. I’ll let you know when it’s available. If you subscribe to podcasts through any other service, just let me know and I’ll get it submitted.

My goal is for this to be a monthly podcast. Keep an eye out in early July for a new episode to be added.

In the meantime, if you have any ideas for topics, don’t hesitate to let me know.