Runner’s Life Submission Requirements
Runner’s Life is a publication that is part of Medium’s Boost program, and has been since February 2023. However, this does not mean your story will automatically be recommended for boosting — it still must meet the guidelines for boost. Learn more below:
Updated February 2024.
Runner’s Life is a publication for those who love all things running. It is about sharing advice and stories from the intersection of running and life.
Whether you have tips to share, stories to tell, or want to talk about how running has impacted your life, we want to hear from you. We are looking for strong writers who want to publish meaningful stories regularly.
However, we may reject writers based on the quality of previous work, or if your reasons for wanting to write for the publication do not align with our goals. We may ask for a writing sample if you do not have any articles published. This is due to the rise of plagiarism on Medium and the number of writers who have applied for the publication and were caught plagiarizing. It’s also to determine the quality of writing. If your writing requires extensive editing, you may not be accepted.
We do not accept everyone who applies and we reject a lot of stories. Our goal is quality over quantity. We are proud to be a publication that maintains standards. Runner’s Life is looking for writers, not content creators. If you don’t know the difference, we are not a good fit.
We are also not interested in articles written or assisted by AI, ChatGPT, or any other similar software or program.
Do you want to write for Runner’s Life? Read below to find out how.
Submission Guidelines
By submitting work to Runner’s Life, you agree to all the following conditions: Please read carefully!
- We highly prefer unpublished drafts.
- We may accept previously published pieces according to the date published and content, however, they will show up in the timeline based on the original publish date, not the date it was added to Runner’s Life publication. If it is from a different site, you must import the story from that site or wherever it was written by following these instructions.
- Submissions must be properly tagged with Running being at least one of the tags. Other tags can be added at your discretion. If Running is not included, editors will change the tags so it is included.
- Submissions will be edited for spelling, grammar, and format. If you do not agree to have the article edited, your submission may not be accepted. We do edit pieces regularly to align with the “style” of Medium as well as make them easier to read by removing filler and unnecessary words. However, we will never change the message of your content and most stories, if written well, are left alone other than for basic grammar and spelling mistakes. If we have comments, we will send you a private note. But, your story should be thoroughly edited before submission. If too much editing is required, the story will be rejected.
- Submissions must be made through Medium, and you must have a Medium account. For more information on the process, please read here.
- All submissions must include a featured image with proper attribution. The easiest site to use is Unsplash. Other sites include Pixabay and Pexels.
- We reserve the right to add imagery within the story or other information including links and ads to the submission. If what we add is removed after publication, we reserve the right to remove the story.
- Once a story has been published in Runner’s Life, we expect it to remain there. A lot of time and effort goes into reading and reviewing articles for the publication and maintaining a social media presence. If you want to remove the piece, please ask first. It’s your work so we don’t want to hold it hostage, but we would want to know the reason behind removing it. If you remove articles regularly, you will be removed as a writer.
- We will publish only one piece per writer per day.
- We will accept only one submission per writer per day.
- We review submissions promptly, but there are no guarantees when your work will be published. Please allow up to 48 hours. If you have an intended publication date and time, please let me know via email and I will schedule at the time requested if enough notice is given. You can also schedule it prior to submitting to Runner’s Life.
- Not all submissions will be accepted. If a submission is rejected, Medium will notify you, and a private note will be added to the story. Extensive feedback will not be provided as the section below lists why we reject stories.
- Links to other stories are allowed at the bottom of a published article, and we encourage self-promotion. However, having multiple links to stories, newsletters, social media channels, and websites feels spammy and not something we want for the publication. If your article is full of ads for your brand that detract from the story, we will not publish it. Per Medium’s best practices, do not ask for claps or similar calls to action.
- Please take the time to read Medium’s curation guidelines here. For headlines, Runner’s Life uses title case for the headline and sentence case for the subtitle. We follow AP style for title and header capitalization. Here is a free tool to use for both title and sentence case.
- We do not want articles that contain emojis. This is not social media or a text between friends.
- We believe in paragraphs. If each sentence is separated into its own paragraph, the related sentences should be combined. We realize lack of paragraphs is a popular “style” on Medium, however, it’s one we don’t follow. We are not interested in stories full of one-sentence paragraphs.
- The random bolding of words and phrases is unnecessary — the reader will find what resonates with them on their own. If a piece is submitted with random bolding of words and phrases, the bolding should be removed.
- The number of photos should be limited. For example, having 10+ photos in a 5-minute read distracts from the writing and takes away from the flow of the article. When submitting, please limit the number of photos to a reasonable amount based on the length of the piece.
- We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. Your story will be checked to ensure it is plagiarism-free. If you are caught plagiarizing, you will be removed as a writer and reported to Medium. No exceptions.
As I mentioned above, we reject a lot of stories. There are many reasons we reject a story, but it is usually because of one of the following:
- The article required too much editing. This includes grammar, tense, and overall clarity. If you submit a story that has multiple words misspelled, it tells me you did not take the time to edit and don’t respect the editor’s or the reader’s time.
- The story is too basic or lacks depth, and/or does not provide the reader with anything new or something to “take away.” We are looking for stories that provide the reader with substance, not just general information that has been covered in numerous other articles. We don’t want journal entries.
- The article is full of cliche advice and offers nothing practical.
- The article is too short. We are not interested in one- and two-minute reads unless they are impactful or can create a dialogue and/or discussion around the topic. Many three-minute reads fall into this category also.
- We have covered the topic in-depth in previous articles.
- The article makes claims and/or gives advice, and the author is not qualified to do so or does not back up the claims with solid and verifiable research.
- The article does not follow the submission guidelines. A lot of time has been spent creating these guidelines, and they are based on years of reading and publishing articles on Medium. While exceptions are made, the guidelines are there for a reason.
- It is not about running or something very similarly related.
- It is poorly written.
One of the most important ideas to remember when submitting a story is from Medium’s Quality Guidelines: “The story shows genuine regard for the reader.” This is what Runner’s Life is about.
We want quality over quantity. Well-researched and well-written stories will almost always get published. I’d rather have one well-written article over the course of a week than 20 articles that no one wants to read. I want readers of Runner’s Life to know they can count on quality writing and interesting stories.
When applying to be a writer, please keep the above in mind, and if added, please ensure you thoroughly edit your article and meet the enacted standards prior to submission. As editors who have full-time jobs outside of Medium, we cannot spend an inordinate amount of time giving detailed feedback. There are many tools online, like Grammarly and ProWritingAid that can help with editing. Another tip is to read your story out loud and hear what the reader is “hearing.”
Request to Write for Runner’s Life
We are an open community looking for writers who want to publish strong, meaningful work regularly. If your reason for wanting to write for the publication aligns with our goals, you agree to all of the requirements, and the quality of your writing is acceptable, you may be added as a writer.
If you want to write for Runner’s Life, click here or fill out the form below:
Questions?
Email Jeff Barton with questions.
No, I don’t give you permission to add my email to your list.
