Editorial Policy

How we pick topics, verify sources and update content

Writing about running and health is a responsibility. What we publish can influence how people train, eat and recover — so we take the editorial process seriously. This page explains how we work, so you can judge the reliability of what you read here.

1. Who Writes

The editorial content at RunningWithAI is written and reviewed by Coach Carlos, founder of the site and amateur runner with several years of experience in 5K, 10K and half-marathon racing. His training is ongoing: reading reference books (Jack Daniels, Pete Pfitzinger, Steve Magness), peer-reviewed papers, and regular conversations with coaches and physiotherapists. All posts have public authorship on the /team page and a byline link at the foot of every post.

2. How We Choose Topics

We select topics on three criteria: (a) Relevance to amateur runners — questions that come up repeatedly in forums, WhatsApp groups, Strava comments and emails we receive. (b) Clarity potential — we prefer questions where we can give a concrete, evidence-based answer instead of speculative themes. (c) Safety — we prioritise topics where bad information can cause harm (pre-race nutrition, injury prevention, return-to-run after injury).

3. Sources and Verification

For each article, we seek primary sources first: studies in indexed journals (PubMed, Google Scholar, SportRxiv), peer-reviewed reference books, and official guidelines (NHS, ACSM, American College of Sports Medicine, IAAF/World Athletics). We resort to secondary sources (running magazine articles, posts by recognised coaches) only when they reinforce consensus already established by primaries. When the literature is disputed, we say so explicitly: "studies do not agree on X".

4. What We Do NOT Do

We do not publish "viral trends" without scientific evidence. We do not give personalised medical advice — for that we recommend consulting a health professional. We do not promote supplements, extreme diets or gear just because we earn a commission. When we write about a product with an affiliate link, we disclose it clearly at the top of the article and only recommend products we would use ourselves or that have solid evidence.

5. AI-Assisted Content

We use AI tools (including Anthropic's Claude) as research and editing assistants — but never as a sole author. Every article is planned, written, reviewed and edited by a human, even when AI contributes source summaries, information structuring or linguistic correction. We consider AI a useful tool to accelerate editorial work, not a substitute for critical thinking and practical experience.

6. Updates and Corrections

Training science evolves. When we find new information that contradicts or improves what we wrote, we update the article and keep the update date visible at the top. Factual errors are corrected as soon as they are spotted, with a correction note at the bottom of the post. We do not rewrite history — we keep transparency about what changed.

7. Medical Disclaimer on Health Content

Articles about nutrition, injuries, supplementation and recovery carry a medical disclaimer at the top, reminding readers that the content does not replace professional medical advice. We respect Google's "Your Money Your Life" (YMYL) guideline: when the topic can affect the reader's health, we prioritise safety over overconfident advice.

8. Reader-Requested Corrections

If you spot an error, contradiction or outdated information in any article, email coach@runningwithai.run with the article link and the suggested correction (with a source, if possible). We respond within 48 hours on business days. If the correction is accepted, we update the article and give public credit to the reader (if preferred).

9. Financial Transparency

To stay sustainable, RunningWithAI uses three revenue sources: (a) Contextual advertising via Google AdSense — ads relevant to runners. (b) Amazon affiliate links — when we recommend gear, we may earn a small commission if you buy through our links. (c) Future Premium plans — optional advanced features. We do not accept money in exchange for favourable editorial coverage. Every affiliate-bearing article carries a clear disclosure.

10. Editorial Contact

Topic suggestions, corrections, collaboration requests or general feedback: coach@runningwithai.run. For privacy questions: privacy@runningwithai.run. For legal questions: legal@runningwithai.run. Typical response time: 48 hours on business days.