Image created by and used with permission from Dumb Runner.

Jeff Cann: In today’s post, Mark Remy, the creator of the growing internet and print media sensation, Dumb Runner, answers my questions.

Mark, in your own words, which are likely to be more entertaining than mine, what is Dumb Runner?

Mark Remy: When I launched Dumb Runner in 2015, I described it as “an online destination for runners who enjoy laughter and pie.” I think that definition still holds up. I sometimes hear others describe it as “the Onion of running.” Their words—not mine!

JC: I first became aware of you when you were writing humor pieces for Runner’s World magazine in the early 2010s. As a writer/runner myself, I thought you had the best job in the world. How and why did that morph into Dumb Runner?

MR: That is a long story. Here’s the short version: In 2014, my family and I moved from eastern Pennsylvania (where Runner’s World was headquartered) to Portland, Oregon. I continued writing for RW for a year or two after that, but eventually decided I wanted to try doing my own thing. That thing was Dumb Runner.

JC: For me, the timeline is a bit shaky. I think I read your Dumb Runner blog from about 2015 until 2018. At the time it seemed like you were struggling to get off the ground. I lost track of you after that. Eight months ago, I “rediscovered” Dumb Runner on Facebook and became a regular and somewhat obsessed follower. What happened during those five lost years? Do you believe Dumb Runner has finally caught on. Are you satisfied with its growth? Does it earn a living?

MR: As I said, yeah, the site launched in 2015. I’ve been publishing stuff there, and sharing via social media, three times a week ever since, like clockwork. Apart from a few short breaks for vacations and stuff, it’s continued all that time without interruption. So I’m not sure where the perception of “lost years” comes from.

Growth has been slow and steady. Probably it would’ve happened faster, leading to a larger audience today, if I had a team of people who knew how to do that sort of stuff. But Dumb Runner is just me, one person, and I’m a writer. Not a marketer or a publicist or, God help me, an expert on “engagement.” But that’s OK. I’m happy enough with the site’s growth. I would rather have a relatively small audience that really gets and appreciates what I do, than a huge audience full of dullards and dips.

Oh, and: Does it earn a living? No. It might, if I accepted ads, ran sponsored posts, sold my readers’ data, and all that other crap. Instead Dumb Runner is 100% reader-supported. It’s less lucrative that way, but I’m proud of being independent. The experience is better all around, for me and for readers.

JC: To clarify, the lost years are mine, not yours.

I love pie. Pie for breakfast, pie for dinner, pie for dessert. It’s wholesome, healthy and delicious. You seem to love pie too. My wife gifted me some merch from your website years ago: She bought a WILL RUN FOR PIE bumper sticker for the back of my pickup and a POWERED BY PIE mug for my morning coffee. Now my monthly Dumb Runner Patreon contribution is pie pi ($3.14). I understand my obsession with pie. What’s the story with yours?

MR: Partly it’s arbitrary and silly. (I could just as easily have chosen cookies or doughnuts—or beer, for that matter.) I do genuinely love pie, though. If you want to get philosophical about it, I guess I could say that I love not just pie itself but what pie represents: For one thing, it is pure joy and pleasure. Nobody needs pie. But, man, a good slice of pie can really make your day, you know? For another thing, creating a pie—a good pie, the only kind worth eating, in my opinion—requires a lot of time and effort. Love, even. Yet it’s so ephemeral. You eat it, experience momentary bliss, and it’s gone.

One secret to a meaningful life, I think, is to learn to recognize and appreciate things like that. This never occurred to me before, but I see a parallel there with my work: I put a lot of time and effort (and love!) into my articles, posters, and comics, and then serve it to folks who, I’m sure, “consume” it in a few seconds or so before moving on.

I’ve made peace with that, by the way. It’s just how social media works.

JC: Your Onion-esque articles, satirical inspirational posters, and runner-bashing comic strips span the gamut of possible runner related humor. My all-time favorite is your motivational poster: THIS SHARK ISN’T HAVING ANY OF YOUR BULLSHIT EXCUSES. Where does this stuff come from? Does it pop into your head unbidden, or do you have a process to leach it out? What is your career-favorite gag?

MR: I’m afraid I don’t have a good answer for that. I don’t understand the creative process any better than the average person. If you’re talking about coming up with the ideas for my work, I do think a lot of it happens subconsciously or unconsciously. So by definition, I’m unaware of how it all works. I will say that I’m pretty much always “on,” when it comes to noticing things—stuff I see, hear, read, experience, etc.—that might be useful for an article or comic or whatever.

It does help that so much of running media, from individual bloggers or “influencers” to large media outlets, are SO. INCREDIBLY. EARNEST. That very much works to my advantage, because I see stuff all the time that is just crying out to be parodied or satirized.

As far as favorites go, it’s hard to pick just one. But I am particularly proud of this one: Insecure Bear Wants to Maul Runner But Worries He’ll Screw It Up. The photo is just perfect. (In fact, this article started with the photo, as opposed to most of my articles, which start with the headline.)

By the way, I disagree strongly that my work ever “bashes” runners. Some of my stuff has an edge, for sure, and I do spotlight some behavior that I find silly or absurd or otherwise ripe for mockery. But all of it comes from a place of affection. (Well, most of it does. Some of my work satirizing certain products or brands involves no affection whatsoever.)

JC: Like me, you’re unapologetic about your liberal-ass politics. Do you get pushback from readers about that? Does it ever get threatening and/or scary?

MR: I’ll just say two things to that:

1. The word “politics” has been diluted to an absurd degree. It’s become nearly meaningless. We’ve reached a point where I can’t, say, share a photo of the post-vaccination Band-Aids on my arm without immediately getting comments like, “WELL I GUESS THIS PAGE JUST GOT POLITICAL.” (Seriously?)
   
2. Related to the above: 20 or 30 years ago, avoiding politics was fairly easy. Back then, we worked from a common set of facts (more or less) in a shared reality. Decent people of all persuasions could agree to disagree on, say, the abortion issue or fiscal policy or gun rights.
   
   Today, broadly speaking, half of the voting public gleefully supports a man whose platform is nothing but overt racism, xenophobia, endless grievances, revenge and “retribution,” hate-mongering, contempt for the rule of law, his own megalomania, and various grifts. And here’s the critical part: All of it is built on a foundation of misinformation, disinformation, and lies—not differences of opinion; flat-out, easily disproven lies—and contrived outrage.
   
   As far as I’m concerned, then, the old unspoken rules about avoiding “politics” just do not apply. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either willfully blind to what’s been happening, or speaking from a place of unbelievable, insulating privilege. Or both.
   
   I try not to needlessly stir the pot. Really. But if I see something (e.g. in a reader comment) that reflects the awfulness I mentioned earlier, I will absolutely speak up and push back. Ignoring it, for the sake of keeping the peace or whatever, is not an option for me. I refuse to condone or accept that stuff, even tacitly.
   
   If a reader doesn’t like that, they are free to unfollow or block me.

JC: I’m familiar with your website, Facebook page, and your newly published book, Was It Fun? What am I missing? What’s next?

MR: I’ve published a few books over the years, the most popular being “C is for Chafing” and “The Runner’s Rule Book.” Next is a book called (tentatively) “The Running Dictionary,” from Workman Publishing. Last I heard, that’s set for an early 2026 release. I have ideas for several other books, but, you know… the ideas are the easy part.

JC: Readers, if you’re a runner or have a runner in your life, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Mark Remy’s book of comics, Was it Fun? Available on Amazon –> HERE. My wife, who isn’t a runner, enjoys the book as much as I do. She likes how every page pokes fun at me and my running brethren. And of course you can follow Dumb Runner online for free at the links below.

Mark, thanks for taking the time this morning to answer my questions. I hope this article helps to boost Dumb Runner’s readership a bit. I wish you all the success you so richly deserve.

MR: Thank you kindly, Jeff. I appreciate that.

Links:
Dumb Runner website: https://dumbrunner.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dumbrunning
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/markremy.bsky.social