• On the trail and online •
[1½ MIN READ]
Shawmont Running Club has been a thing on Forbidden Drive since the late 80’s … yes, of the twentieth century (Google Maps). SRC’s Facebook group page went live in 2012 and it was hopping back then (Facebook). All kinds of coordinating, reporting, and socializing took place through it. Even after the FB group became less active — by the early 20’s — people have continued to check the club out that way.
Most people learn about SRC either by word of mouth or maybe, maybe, an online search. If you’re a Philadelphia runner looking to do workouts on Forbidden Drive, you’d at least hope to find the club on Facebook. A search using ‘Forbidden Drive running club’ (no punctuation) confirms it works. Using my browser (Safari), RT Philadelphia (Rebuilding Together) is the first result (Facebook). (It’s not even a running group!) Shawmont Running Club is the second. That’s if you’re researching using Facebook.
Using the online web, we’re a little less visible. I had to go to the 3rd page of results to find the SRC’s Facebook link. Who’s looking that far anymore?! I gave up hunting for ShawmontRunningClub.com after 10 pages. That’s 100 search results. So many.
Wissahickon Wanderers and Philly Runners both appear as search results by the 2nd page (respective websites). Weirdly, the former never mention us, even though we pass them at Valley Green every week. Weirdly, the latter never mention us, either; even in their Philadelphia Area Running Clubs link (PhillyRunners.org). That latter fact, I’m acting on. So before long, generic Philly runners will be able to find us on that list.
Is that even necessary? Maybe not; after all, people can still find SRC at the trailhead by the ZY Memorial Bench every Saturday morning. On the other hand, a little more online attention is better than none. We really want people to check the club out, don’t we? One hundred search results is, like, 80 or 90 too many.
–CtCloser (Calvinthe) “Negative Split or Positive Splat” #dothedue (iCandybyWangC.com)
FINE PRINT ¶Text by Calvin Wang (Wäng), CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. ¶Cross-published: Facebook Shawmont Running Club (ZY Weekly Newsletter 3/14/26), Shawmont Running Club website, Ruminations by CtCloser. ¶This website posting: Rumination with added caption.
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