Running Supply #73
Rethinking what "cool" running stores look like, super trainers have seized the market, celebrities should stop trying to make running brands.
Rethinking what “cool” running stores look like, super trainers have seized the market, celebrity run clubs should stop trying to be a thing.
Welcome engaged readers of my niche newsletter. Quoting the WSJ here, which ran an article about the “alternatively influential,” i.e. someone that’s moving the needle and shaping a market without hocking GRWM1 videos online nor Instagram Reel ads for major brands.
Quick Hits
World Indoors was chock full. Bigger section below.
I’m homebound right now after a successful (hopefully?) meniscus repair. Knee stuff is always tricky. While I can’t get out much, I’m taking phone calls if you want to talk shop: brands, running, marketing, hot goss. Slot in a call for 30 min. I’d love to hear what you’re working on.
Not business casual, not cardigans, but a case for running button downs. All the cool trail and ultra runners are wearing button down shirts. Also all everyone hiking over the age of 40. Read my recent running shirt roundup.
The erudite elite are wearing collars and cardigans. Look smart when you run! Lee Glandorf wrote about how some running brands are trying to build cultural capital by leveraging Western intellectualism.
ICYMI: Last Weeks Roundup
Kaleg means “colleague”, Bandit Spring Drop 2, smells like Spring in Boston, celebrity running gear??, and why does every spring line have a shacket?
Running Supply Roundup #72
Kaleg means “colleague”, Bandit Spring Drop 2, smells like Spring in Boston, celebrity running gear??, and why does every spring line have a shacket?
World Indoors Highlights
This is far beyond quick his, but here are the highlights from Torun, Poland at the 2026 World Indoor Championships.
Cooper Lutkenhaus (Nike) is the youngest world champion ever from indoor 800m, winning in 1:44.24. This kid has had a crazy long season and managed to extend it even further. Now…outdoor season? I hope he gets some rest.
Nikki Hiltz grabbed 3rd in the 1500m (lululemon) with a blistering kick and a new indoor PB of 3:59.68.
Keely Hodgkinson (Nike) won the 800 handily, and came back with the fastest 4x400m split. She’s making it look like high school.
Former football player, Jordan Anthony won the 60m in the 4th fastest time ever. All that, and he was rushed to the hospital for a blood clot the day before the race from a drug testing mistake. His arm was taped up as it caused significant soreness. No excuses from him!
Warming Up “Cool” Stores
I think a lot of “cool” running stores fell into the trap of stark, cold minimalism. It’s easy to look cool when things are clean and restrained, metal, concrete and glass. The hypermodern museum-like interior has given way to warm, wood grain interiors again. Look at the trending brand stores: Bode, ALD, Ralph Lauren RRL—warm wood grain interiors tastefully decorated with tchotchkes and Americana memorabilia. Brands are creating stores you want to hang out in: listening rooms, cafes, parlors, without actually making . While these stores need to look cool, they want to be approachable, and arguably need to be.
Without risking looking like the inside of an Applebee’s, a few stores have updates their look as well: Bandit did their listening room in Brooklyn, and their new Chicago store has a cafe. Now Distance Store in Paris has redone their store front (with Looppp). S/O to homie Andrew Mcann for bringing it to my attention. Via Distance’s Instagram caption:
Some stores sell running shoes. We’ve always sold something else. Distance Paris reopens and this time, we didn’t just refresh the walls. We went further, warmer, more honest. A little worn-in, like your favorite pair after 500km….The kind of space where you walk in for a shoe fitting and stay for the conversation.
There you have it. They leaning back into the trad running store! It’s still cool, but it’s a little more functional. No longer edgy or aloof cool.
Contrast it with their store prior (below) or their space in Lyon (images 3 and 4). Cool, but feels like I’m in a museum. I’m comfortable in “luxury” brand style spaces like that, but not everyone is. Everyone is where the money is.
Plenty of stores already do a great job of this, while still being the “cool” stores: Running Wylder, The Exchange, Mill City. While it’s fun having the more designer-y / creative director-led stores that feel totally different, that doesn’t always sell. What works in LA for LSD Running probably wouldn’t work in Boston.
Running Brands are the New Celebrity Tequila
Remember when every celebrity seemed to have a tequila brand? Booze is out, run clubs are in. Cheaper to launch, healthy, and leverage an existing fan audience. So many have popped up in the last 2 years and its notably dude heavy. Celebrities in the running space that first came to mind:
Action Bronson - New Balance, also has the Baklava Performance “team” which I’ve heard nothing of since it’s launch.
Pharrell Williams’ Humanrace - adidas line of a zillion things, including now running stuff (see below)
Harry Styles - own brand, Pleasing. New gear on the way.
Diplo - massive run club, separate merch brand
Gunna - Wunna Run club
Travis Barker - Run Travis Run club
Lifestyle brands that recently hopped on:
On x Kith Run Club
Malbon Golf(??) Run Club
I get it. It’s a community and cash play. It hardly feels genuine when neither Kith nor Malbon have any tie into running, and very much do have a tie into trend hopping. No disrespect to the people joining them, nor the coaches and teams they’re hiring. These clubs aren’t made for people like me, it’s designed for newer runners already loyal to X brand. I would rather see those folks go to a running club made for and by the community: one designed to serve them rather than designed to be a marketing tool.
Super Trainers Are The New Hallmark Item
Seems like the way to grab market attention (hello, energy people @ brands), is less about cool collabs right now than finding the next do-it-all super trainer2. It seems like that is how brands are choosing to announce themselves now as well. The super trainer is the new brand benchmark: you don’t need a top end racer, you don’t need a middle-of-the-road daily trainer. R.A.D. went directly to $200 super critical foam shoe. It certainly limits reach, but when they inevitably release a regular shoe, folks will remember that bouncy intro shoe. These super trainers doesn’t need to lead with pure performance. They just need good “lot feel3” and to work for daily runs and the occasional 5k.
Now that challenger apparel is getting saturated, makes sense to see footwear get some new brands.
New to the block, ADUNE
Another challenger footwear brand is here! Adune Running had their site crash earlier in the week during launch due to so much interest. They’re releasing their debut shoe…the Arc of Speed Super Trainer. Adune is making a carbon-plated, supercritical foam shoe. That and they’re only making 390 pairs.
Seems like there were some hiccups with the initial launch based on IG comments, but pre-orders went out 3 weeks ago and some are already shipping based on more recent posts.
ACT Running’s First Act: C1
ACT is a sustainable running brand out of France aiming with the goal of having the lowest carbon footprint. They just released a summer line in pastels. Their new shoe coming some time in April is a “super trainer” using Suprafoam, a nitrogen-infused blend of EVA and PEBA. At 34mm/30mm its not a huge stack, which is probably better for more people. The upper is a knit-like BioFlite, made of bio-based material similar to their clothing line. Good price too, at 150€.
Unfortunately this shoe is coming out at nearly the same time as the Mount to Coast C1 (up next), which they did not know about. Sorry, folks! Hopefully that doesn’t affect them much.
Separately, I dig this retro-style quarterzip from their spring capsule.
Mount To Coast C1 Coming in April
The brand’s H1 was my Shoe Of The Year for 2025: light, good ride, durable closed cell “CircleCell” cushioning which is about 40% more durable than open celled super foams. The C1 ride is firmer and has higher stack than the H1, but does feel a lot comfier (for me) than their R1 shoe that I ran 100+ miles in crewing a solo runner during The Speed Project. Dual-density midsole with the supercritical CircleCell nearest the foot, and rubberized EVA for stability near the ground. I have a demo pair of the lilac version. Glad lilac is getting a moment this year. Greyish pastels are the new earth tones?
Shoe is coming some time in April for $180.
Running Supply Archive Has A New Look
For fun, I made a seamless canvas style browsing experience. Play around with it, and report back any bugs.
Also on site is the indie running store map that sells a lot of the brands I talk about. See if I missed any near you.
Upcoming Stuff and Other News
New Balance in Rome + More Marketing for the Ellipse
New balance popped up at the Rome Marathon. Surprising to me, but seems like any race now is a good opportunity for buzz. They invited much of the running IG accounts, including the OG and fellow newsletter writer Runners Highest to cover it. NB highlighted the Ellipse trainer in the beautiful Corsie Sistine, which was built in thr 15th century as a hospital. They had a similarly sick townhouse for London last year. A temple of health!
The wellness 🤝 running connection is alive and…well. I dug up an old London activation they did called The Runaway, which is equally my speed. There you could exchange (Strava) miles for beers. Bring this back, please?
Nike x Berlin Braves is Back
Berlin Braves founders are tight with Nike, and one of their European partner run clubs. Their striking black-white-and-red-all-over kit looks great on Instagram and is probably even better on race day trying to spot teammates. They even got a letterman jacket! Only available at Nike Berlin Store though.
Tracksmith Spring Kits and Color
New Tracksmith: new shorts material, more bra pockets. The shorts vaguely remind me of Hammies retro corduroys in a good way. Now with (standard, IMO) hip slots, but didn’t go overboard on pockets. I like the light rib texture on these and breaking out of their usual flat colors. I might opt for the women’s ones though, the yellow is nice!
Mizuno Trail Freaks It
Mizuno Neo Accera is the (normally road) brand’s latest trail offering with nitrogen infused supercritical EVA and a rugged Vibram outsole. The real story is the crazy upper pattern in black and silver topographic pattern. $200 for the shoe, note that it’s unisex sizing. Kudos to the Mizuno team for going wild on this. Harder to wear around, but fun to wear for a race or trail run.
New Norda 005 Colors
I love the all white / beige, especially for a trail racer: earn your dirt. It adds a bit of soul to a shoe, very few running shoes look best brand spanking new. People LOVE these ultra racers. At $325 I’d hope so! Not particularly inspired colorways compared to the recent leopard and tiger camo prints.
adidas x humanrace Put Out Something Affordable
Remember way back at last years NYC Marathon? Producer extraordinaire Pharrell Williams’ lifestyle sub brand, humanrace, made a collab adidas EVO PRO selling for $1000. Now there are some more accessibly priced, and extremely brown kit for sale: track jacket, split shorts, and EVO SL.
While that is an option…so are these beauties. After adi applied all the same colorways from their Originals (Samba, etc) line to the EVO SL, I got tired pretty quickly. HOWEVER, these are different. Crazy iridescent effect on these. These look fast and like they’re from the future. This Adizero EVO SL WOVEN also has TPU overlays on a new woven upper for better lock down and breathability.
For Later
Check out my bit on 3rd and 4th wave running stores, which features a list of the best running stores in the world. Indie Running Stores
If you’re looking to shop for any of this cool gear, check out my running store finder which let’s you filter by brand to see the nearest store.
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“Get Ready With Me” format videos are the bread and butter of stereotypical lifestyle influencers sharing their aspirational life. If I do one, I’m either joking or I have recently come into a windfall.
Funny enough there’s a similar situation in cycling. “All rounder” bikes were often light, but weren’t aero enough compares to true “aero” bikes. Now that they’ve caught up, they’re eating the aero bike market. The all-rounders are close enough aero wise, but significantly lighter and more comfortable to ride.
initial try-on at the store, or out of the box.
The rainbow fish adidas evo SL wovens are TOO GOOD
I've always wondered how tchotchkes is spelled