I love this site and have benefitted greatly from your efforts and the people who post here.  I wish you only the best in whatever you decide to do with your marriage, your business, and this site.

The key with ads, it seems to me, is to remain unobtrusive (no sound, no video, no flashing graphics; keep the simple, clean design here). Some of us experienced the nightmare of Active.com (a company I despise to this day!) taking over and, in my opinion, ruining the Cool Running forums through its blaring ads and heavy-handed self-promotion.  That was “Exhibit A” in “How not to run a business.” 

In stark contrast, I’ve always been impressed by the thoughtfulness and transparency of your approach here.  Your announcement of the impending changes is no different and, again, you should be applauded for the relationship you’ve developed with the users of your site.

But, I’ll be honest: I hate ads.  It’s one key reason I hardly ever watch commercial television.  On the Internet, I use Adblock Plus to avoid most ads and speed up my download time.  I’ve made a few modest contributions here and if you offered a pay-for-no-ads option, I almost certainly would be on board.

This is really a fork in the road.  As many a hobbyist who has turned their passion into a business knows, money changes everything, whether we like it or not.  I hope for everyone’s sake that you’ll be able to find a way to meet your financial needs, while preserving the essence of the excellent site you’ve already created.  Best of luck to you.

Sorry, congrats and bring it on .. Thank you for yer clarity & honesty... & best wishes!

 Thanks for the note Eric. Do it. 

One suggestion I have is in the future, consider a subscriber service that allows for some modest annual fee allows a subscriber to disable those ads.

Love the site. I've been on it nearly two years now. Keep it up!

Whew!  Those first 7 sentences nearly gave me heart failure. 

Same thing happened to me.  I've calmed down now.  This running log is such an important part of my training and racing, which in turn is a very import part of my life.  Eric - you have my full support.  Congrats on taking the leap and best wishes to you and your fiance on the upcoming wedding.

Congrats and Best of Luck. I have no problem with ads. Thanks for all of your hardwork!

Best wishes from another self-employed web developer - maybe not the easiest option, but as long as you have some money coming in, well worth the jump. Do what you have to do - this is now your livelihood, not a community service!

I don't mind ads, and I would pay a yearly membership too. I don't post in the forums often, but I use the logs on a daily basis.

Exciting times for you :-)

Running Ahead is a wonderful site and not a problem if there are ads. I fully support the change.

Congratulations, Eric!  I don't know you (and thanks to Wills and Kate I can't stand the word "wedding" right now) but this news made me smile.