|
Issue, with dual covers, is the magazine's biggest in its history
NEW YORK - (August 3, 2006) - Runner's World, the worldwide authority on running information, begins a commemoration of its 40th year in publishing with its September 2006 issue, reuniting longtime contributors, former and current editors and even former cover models for what currently ranks as the biggest issue (at 73 ad pages) in the magazine's history.
For the September issue, on newsstands everywhere this week, longtime contributors and running legends including Joan Benoit Samuelson, Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter, as well as former longtime editors and contributors including Joe Henderson (RW's editor-in-chief from 1970-77 a columnist for more than 20 years) return to the pages of Runner's World to provide, along with the magazine's current editors and columnists, the 40 best tips they've learned over the past four decades.
Runner's World also brought back two former cover models - both, like RW, now "masters" (40 or older, in running parlance) - to grace the September cover. Ceci St. Geme, a cover model in 1992 and now a 43-year-old mother of six who runs a blistering 16:20 time in the 5K, adorns the newsstand version of September's Runner's World, while 1988 U.S. Olympian Jeff Atkinson (also 43), a cover subject in 1989 and now a champion masters runner, fronts the subscriber version.
"So much has changed about the magazine, and about running, since Runner's World debuted in 1967," said RW's VP / Editor-in-Chief David Willey. "Yet at the same time, so many of the important things we've learned about training correctly and enjoying the sport remain as true today as they did then. Our goal with this issue is to acknowledge the changes, as well as the constants, as we turn slightly - but only slightly - introspective."
Also included in the September issue is an emotional feature story by Steve Friedman on avid runner and 14-time marathoner John Moylan, who five years ago escaped the north tower of the World Trade Center. The piece, published in recognition of the upcoming fifth anniversary of the events of 9/11, examines how running can both heal and require healing.
The issue also includes the popular quarterly Runner's World Shoe Guide, with reviews and recommendations on 20 of the best new running shoes for fall. The Runner's World Shoe Guides were nominated for a National Magazine Award, the highest editorial honor in the magazine industry, in 2005.
And, in a nod to its new "masters" status, Runner's World looks at 10 very special masters runners - ranging in age from 41 to 88 - for whom running remains a very special, and often record-setting, experience (in fact, more than 3.3 million runners aged 40 and over took part in U.S. road races last year, an increase of more than 32 percent over the past decade).
In each issue through the end of 2006, Runner's World will continue to look back at the people, stories and innovations that have helped shape the sport of running over the last 40 years. In October, the magazine will look back at "Four Decades of Gear," examining the technical innovations that have changed the sport over the years, with other upcoming features including the 40 most influential people in running, the 40 most memorable RW covers and "the greatest running story ever told."
Willey and Runner's World VP / Publisher Andrew Hersam, who both joined the magazine in the summer of 2003, have together helped make RW more successful than ever in its 40th year. The magazine, a finalist in the General Excellence category at this year's National Magazine Awards, is in the midst of its eleventh straight year of circulation growth, and its single-copy sales in the first quarter of 2006 (275,000) are the best in its history.
Runner's World's ad pages which stood at 458 at year-end 2002, are projected to close 2006 up an amazing 75% since that time to approximately 800, as advertisers seek to tap into an audience that, according to the 2006 Spring MRI, remains the youngest, most affluent audience of any magazine measured.
About Rodale's Runner's World
Recognized as the worldwide authority on running information, the mission of Rodale's Runner's World is to inform, advise and motivate runners of all ages and abilities. Runner's World aims to help runners achieve their personal health, fitness and performance goals and to inspire them with vivid, memorable storytelling. Currently, Runner's World publishes nine international editions in 11 countries, plus a special bi-annual teen running publication, High School Runner. Runner's World's companion website, RunnersWorld.com, is the largest running community on the Internet, featuring interactive, searchable and targeted content for runners of all ages and abilities.
|
Know someone else who's interested in running and triathlon?
