Contribution Guidelines

Like the Wind is about why we run, not how to run. We publish stories that motivate, move and inspire readers from around the world, who love running for their own particular reasons.

We welcome contributions from every corner of running – about road, trails and track; from runners young and old; from elite competitors to those who run just for the love of it. If you’d like to pitch us your idea, click here and fill out the form.

What should you write about?

The full diversity of runners and running is reflected in the stories we publish, so there really are no restrictions. Whether you want to write a personal anecdote, a poem or a long-read feature on a topic that has running at its heart, we’d love to hear from you.

That said, there are certain aspects of running that we feel deserve more coverage, so if you have a story about any of the following, we are particularly keen to hear from you.

• Young people: We believe that running is a great way for young people to create social connections, improve their physical and mental health and learn about the world. Any stories that involve youth runners are very interesting.
• Under-represented groups: Since issue #1 of LtW we have tried to tell stories of people who aren’t usually visible in the mainstream press, whether that is because of gender, ethnicity or any other reason. We want to provide a platform to tell these stories.
• Social issues: Political, environmental, economic and health issues often manifest themselves in the world of running. We are always on the lookout for stories that tackle these sorts of issues through runners’ stories.

While we’re happy to consider articles of any length, we find roughly 1,000–2,000 words is a good sweet spot for most stories.

What should you NOT write about?

Please do not send us a race report. We love stories about races – geography, mental battles, how you felt etc. – but not a km-by-km breakdown of the route or leaderboard. Remember: why we run, not how to run. Please don’t write about session plans or training techniques. We’d much rather hear why you choose to lace up and get out the door.

Also, we do not want to read anything that sounds like Wikipedia. If you’d like to tell us the story of a historical figure whose role in running has been overlooked or an event that shaped running, that is great. Research is key, but we’re after a story, not a list of facts and figures.

Most importantly, we will not accept plagiarism in any form. It happened once, and we will NOT let it happen again.

Lastly, we do not want you to limit your imagination. LtW exists to tell stories, and that is a huge canvas. So please get creative!

Requirements

You don’t need to be a professional writer to be published in Like the Wind magazine. We’ll work with you to create the best article we can, making sure your story is told in your authentic voice. To get started, you can submit your idea here. We’ll get back to you as quickly as we can if we’d like to publish your story.

At the commissioning stage we’ll agree a word count with you. Please do stick to it. We are happy for contributions to take any form: poems, essays, journals, features, interviews, reportage …

If you are supplying photographs, you must have the rights for us to publish them (e.g. race photographs typically cannot be published in print). The images need to be a minimum 300dpi. Alternately, we may commission one of our talented creatives to illustrate your story.

New photographers and illustrators are also welcome to submit their work. Contact us for opportunities to contribute visuals or learn more about our LtW #runculture programme here.

What we can offer

We pay professional writers for their contributions. However, we also aim to provide a home for a wide variety of stories from runners who don’t have a writing background and are just looking to get their story in print.

If you are happy to continue on this basis, we would love to read or see the amazing tale you have to tell. Please feel free to share any ideas or submit a draft for us to read here, or get in touch with questions you may have.