Changes Coming to Blue Water Running

Meran Miles
Jul 28
3 min read

Dear Blue Water Running Community:

I want to begin by thanking every one of you for your continued support, enthusiasm, and love for cross country and track and field. What started as a passion project in July of 2023 to promote local sports and bring recognition and publicity to runners and field event athletes has grown because of the incredible people who make up this community. 126 articles, 9170 photos, 102 video productions, and 51 podcasts later, that mission remains the same.

Since the beginning, I’ve primarily funded the site through my personal financial contributions, as well as some sponsor fees and donations to keep it free and accessible to all. But after much thought and reflection, I’ve made the difficult decision to begin charging a subscription fee to help cover the rising costs of running and maintaining the site.

This wasn’t an easy choice. I get it: we all like free stuff. But like me, I’m sure you’ve seen the vast uptick in costs everywhere, from the price of groceries to utilities, gas, restaurant food, etc. Up until now, I’ve shouldered those costs myself, but I’ve reached a point where that’s no longer sustainable. From server and platform fees to the time required to keep things running smoothly, the expenses have steadily grown. In the spirit of transparency, I’ve listed the costs below of what it takes to run the site; you’ll quickly see it’s a non-profit enterprise.

Website hosting/domain name through Wix: $459 annually.
Wix email essentials: $120 annually.
Photo gallery hosting through Zenfolio: $228 annually.
Podcast hosting through Buzzsprout: $18 a month/$216 annually.
Podcast recording through Zoom: $18 a month/$216 annually.

If you do the math, that’s $1239 simply to host content. I also spent $1900 on a camera, lens, and accessories to photograph athletes, and have never charged for the downloading or usage of my photos. That brings my costs to $2139 for one year, after you subtract the $1000 that our two sponsorship fees covered. To put the time investment into perspective, I spent 182 unpaid hours creating content for BWR from the six months spanning January to June of this year alone: if you spread that out by the two years the site has been up, that’s thousands of dollars I spent per year and 728 hours of work, not including drive time or gas to attend meets. While I love what I do and it’s my passion, here’s the reality: 728 working hours multiplied by the Michigan minimum wage of $12.50 an hour would be $9,100 at a paying job.

I’m not looking to turn this into a profit machine: that’s not the purpose of Blue Water Running. I’ve poured my heart and soul into building this site and hope you understand the motivation behind this necessary adjustment.

What’s Changing:

Access to article features of the site will require a subscription and login.
I’ll continue to offer free content/resources to keep the spirit of accessibility alive.
Subscribers will have the choice between a low monthly fee ($5) or a slightly discounted yearly fee ($50). This allows you to choose what best fits your preferences. For the price of a Starbucks drink each month, you can support local coverage.

Why This Matters:

This is simply about keeping the site going — not just surviving, but thriving. Your support will directly fund local journalism with a focus on the sport we love. If you’ve found value in what Blue Water Running offers, I hope you’ll consider subscribing and becoming a sustaining member of this community. Even a small contribution makes a big difference, and I plan to use this opportunity to continue to pour back into our local athletes, adding and upgrading the site and media coverage (such as more video production, a mobile app, etc.), as resources allow. Donations and new advertising sponsors are always welcome!

I’m incredibly grateful to share Blue Water Running with you and hope this change allows us to grow stronger, together. It’s a privilege I never take for granted.

With appreciation,

Meran

Blue Water Running