In a competition based world I think people, namely men tbh, forget that 95%+ of runners will never reach elite status, nor is that the goal. Everything that I do outside, you can also do. I’ll be the first to tell you I’m average as f*ck. And that gives people HOPE, and is empowering. I find it pretty obvious when someone is a running influencer and not a sponsored athlete (again, *not* a bad thing to be a running influencer). Social media takes a lot of time and a majority of elite runners are busy… running. It’s quite the powerful package when you can do both, and uncommon. This being said, when I see running influencers, I don’t assume they are elite status, and I’m not sure why people even do make that assumption, or attach a negative connotation that running influencers are trying to “fake” being elite. They’re two totally different things in my head.