Runner's World Reviews

by Trvlr88

I have subscribed continuously to RW since 2007 and hav enjoyed improvements in the publication (links within the articles, neat page transitions, the ability to ‘star’ my fav articles, and of course, fabulous running support). I used to look FORWARD to each new issue. In the past 3-4 years I hav been unable to read the mag but didn’t cancel my script until today. I was holding out hope that they would fix RunnersWorld problems, but I’m done!

I’ve deleted and reloaded RunnersWorld more than thrice, thinking that doing them at different times I might catch an ‘update’ that fixes RunnersWorld problems. No go, my zines show they are in the cloud but the cover images never populate and calling in did not work. I got the runaround on more than 3 occasions.

I am sorry to say goodbye but I am done wasting my money on something I can’t even enjoy. I have 3 years worth of zines that I haven’t been able to even see the covers let alone READ. Goodbye RW.

by Lamilla22

RunnersWorld used to work great and I liked the articles—super motivating!

However, now there is no article feed on my app and it just gives me the option to download the latest magazine for $5.99. There’s no place where I can log in to my Runner’s world+ subscription. So now I just use the website on my internet app to read the articles and have to log in each time. There’s no point in having RunnersWorld at all :(

by Customer 10001

I have had constant issues with RunnersWorld crashing while trying to read the magazine. Has been an ongoing problem through multiple updates. I find the only way I can get it to not crash is by switching to the pdf version of the magazine.

by Jamye M

I have been a subscriber to Runner’s World on and off for many, many years. The past few years, I have subscribed and enjoyed the magazine through iTunes. Since Hearst purchased the magazine, RunnersWorld has been glitchy. It now freezes and will not open. I uninstalled and reinstalled RunnersWorld to no avail. I phoned RW and they referred me first to a website, then to Apple. Their support phone line didn’t even try to help.

Apple support said that all they could do was confirm my subscription. You can’t really expect Apple support to know the ins and outs of each of millions of apps, so that makes sense. When I told Apple that RW had not helped but had referred me to them, Apple support offered me a refund. So, I received great support from Apple. Kudos to Apple! But, Runner’s World, or more rightly, Hearst, doesn’t seem to give a hoot.

by Carolina Brit

RunnersWorld for both Runners World and Bicycling Magazine used to be good. But for the last six plus months I’ve had issues with pages freezing, magazines not downloading fully. Have written to their app support almost monthly with no response. Not a thing. Apple, are you paying attention, hold these app developers to task regarding quality of apps. Do not subscribe to magazines using RunnersWorld. Beware!

by Hou1997

I wish I could give RunnersWorld zero stars.

RunnersWorld doesn't remember my subscription information and locks me out.

I have been locked out of my subscription twice this year. Technical support has been slow to respond and their suggestions the second time did not solve the problem. I am still locked out. So I can’t read anything.

by Miche_xoxo

Not sure what happened but my app will no longer pull up issues or download for offline reading. RunnersWorld dies before any download progress is made. I am paying for a subscription I cannot actually use.

Please let me know where I can get a refund.

My iPad software is up to date and I’ve deleted+reinstalled RunnersWorld twice. I would not recommend RunnersWorld or subscription.

by BethFave

Same issues as everyone on here. App freezes every time I try to download an issue. Haven't been able to download anything in 6+ months, so not sure where my $20/year is going. If you call iTunes directly, they will refund you. Don't bother calling Rodale or anyone at Runner's World. They are completely worthless and not helpful and don't seem to care at all about keeping subscribers.

by Hicks822

I have been a long time subscriber but suddenly all my issues stopped. App says I have an active subscription but can’t find me email, etc. Tried to reset my account but never received the email to do so. Emailed customer service and never got a response. Seriously this is the worst service experience I have encountered.

by SeaWarriorSlug

Why has RunnersWorld not been fixed? Nearly every comment in the last 6 months says the same thing—buggy, slow to respond, and now can’t get RunnersWorld to work without freezing or even download a copy of the magazine. I wrote the developer a week ago to avoid this public berating, but no response. I really enjoy the magazine and prefer digital content, but if RunnersWorld doesn’t get fixed, I might revert back to print or just forgo my subscription all together. And yes, this also happens with the Bicycling App. FIX IT!! After all, isn’t that what part of my subscription goes to?!?

by Tennisck

I have had RunnersWorld for a long time and it was fine especially after they fixed the offline issue. However, this past month RunnersWorld stopped working. I just repaid the $20 subscription but now when I try and open the most recent issue RunnersWorld always crashes. I have tried restarting my iPad, checking for updates, deleting and redownloading RunnersWorld but it keeps crashing. That was a waste of $20....

by Crafty919

RunnersWorld is powered by a third party company ‘MAZ’. It won’t allow logins 98% of the time. When it does, it kicks out a server error. In looking at the other Hearst magazines that use the MAZ platform, this is a common issue and has been for some time. There doesn’t appear to be an easy way to contact support to resolve this issue. I fear canceling will be my path forward, which is a shame since I love Runner’s World and don’t want a print subscription.

by Chris & Al

This is one of the worst apps. Each time there is a new issue some type of glitch happens. This time we could not advance pages. The cover came up but can’t turn a page. Something different every time there is a new issue. The only way we have found to fix these issues is to delete RunnersWorld , download it again from RunnersWorld Store and hope that fixes the problem.

I guess Hearst is fine with a lousy app so long as the political agenda gets published.

by ElleAgnes

I am so sick of RunnersWorld. No matter how I change the settings, on both RunnersWorld and my iPad, RunnersWorld continuously un-downloads the magazines I want stored on my tablet. My iPad can only access the internet via WiFi, so it’s incredibly important to have these downloaded.

Moreover, yesterday when I went to use some of the strength-training exercises at the gym, I could not open RunnersWorld at ALL because it wasn’t connected to WiFi.

I could understand this if anyone ever read a magazine on their phone for fun, but no one does that, so it doesn’t make sense that this isn’t optimized for tablet users.

The “new” reading format is a serious downgrade from the simple PDF format of before.

When it comes to turning something analog into digital, it truly is best to keep it as simple as possible. Take a look at how books are digitalized. Copy that. Keep it simple. Please.

by Zy1282

The updated app instructions indicate that there should be a star that you select to download an entire issue to read offline. The stars only appear for individual articles inside of an issue. I shouldn't have to download each article individually.

*Update* as of July 14, they've fixed the offline magazine glitch

by Runnerbab

Every month the login doesn’t work. Customer service takes weeks to sort it and it’s incredibly hard to cancel subscription. The BBB should investigate this company.

by Imahikr

RunnersWorld has improved since its previous version that was so bad I cancelled my subscription. But it seems like it would be a simple thing to open back up to the page I left off reading. Instead mag is closed and then you have to find your place again.

by HelloitsDerek

Not sure why there are negative reviews. You can read any Runners World issue you want (I think). I scrolled back a many years and stopped cause it just kept going and going and going. Plenty of running articles... I doubt I’d ever get thru that many, but good to know I have the option.

Note: 4 stars instead of 5 cause when in PDF view the bottom is cut off slightly. You can still read it all (especially if you use text view) but it’s just slightly annoying to me it gets cut off in that view.

by KodieKress

I love being able to buy certain magazines without subscription but I wish the older issues were less expensive than brand new issues.

by AngelDN

Great information but bad digital subscription deployment.

by Subvener

I paid a 1 year subscription for RunnersWorld and it will not let me download or read anything. Crashes when I try to submit an email from settings. This is almost like a theft. I have tried removing RunnersWorld reinstalling. I have the latest iPad OS. When will you fix this?

by 15 Years Old Subscriber

I have an Ipad existing subscription but everything disappeared and I also lost all my downloaded previous issues. I tried to upload all again to no avail. Runner’s should have honored the subscriptions that have not expired yet, and THEN change its rules. Unfair and unprofessional.

by 262 Runner

App continues to freeze. This has been going on for a while. Please fix so I can read an article all the way through with out having to restart RunnersWorld after reading every paragraph.

by Mike Hallman

Not being a print subscriber I don't have any of the issues that others have regarding pricing and such. I'm only evaluating the digital version itself. With that, it's a really well designed app, easy to use table of contents, and otherwise basically just like reading the magazine on the iPad. If anyone subscribes to GQ on the iPad, it's an identical setup. The downside is that, unlike GQ, it does not allow for landscape reading, which would be nice when I'm using my smart cover and reading as I eat breakfast, which I like to do. The second downside, like GQ, is that it doesn't allow for background downloading. The issues aren't that big so this second one isn't a huge deal, but it would be nice to begin a download and then switch to another app in the meantime. But all-in-all a very good app, four stars.