Running Supply #75: An Indie Brand Popup in Boston, Vintage Marathon tees, Nike Running Group Revitalized, and On's LN 1
An Indie Brand Popup in Boston, Vintage Marathon tees, Nike Running Group Revitalized, and On's Performance Play
An Indie Brand Popup in Boston, Vintage Marathon tees, Nike Running Group Revitalized, and On’s Performance Play.
Quick Hits
If you have seen Without Limits, consider watching Personal Best. It has all the raw emotion and sexual tension you’d expect from a sapphic sports film, plus some awesome running outfits. Rated R, not for you and the fam. I just rewatched it, and it is so much better than Heated Rivalry.
What happened to Maia Ramsden: Alison Wade of Fast Women had an interview that I found fascinating. I’m local to Boston so always follow the local teams closely.
Curious about collared running shirts? Read up on my full guide here.
There are 58 events in Boston during the week of the Boston Marathon, and I expect that to double by next Monday.
Get early dibs on events and vintage at my popup by subscribing to Rec Room updates
ICYMI
Gnew gnuhr, Melitta Baumeister is designer running made for the every woman, R.A.D. launches the Synth, Minted NY Chromed out a Saucony, Song for the Mute Running?
Boston Marathon Popup: Stop By The Rec Room For Vintage & More
Last year I had an awesome time on an online vintage capsule with the homies at Swiftwick. Shout out Mark Chou for putting me on and setting me up for success. This year, we have something even betting coming.
I don’t know who of you are going to the Boston Marathon, but I’m doing my very first popup with fellow ‘sletter sisters Lee Glandorf and Katherine Douglas. We’ll be at 334 Newbury St exhibiting a bunch of indie brands that otherwise would never be able to have their own popup at our Rec Room. I will also be stocking a boatload of vintage Boston Marathon tees and memorabilia available to buy there.
I’m local to Boston and a lifelong runner, so I’m very excited to be able to do something about it finally. We’ll have some free stuff, a few events, an N64 in the lounge area, and a few of us just hanging out all day. Stop by and say hello!
Swoosh Stampede: Nike’s Visible Reinvestment in Running (Specialty)
It’s no secret that Nike has been doubling down on their running vertical. Nike ACG is now just Nike trail (lowercase) running. They had a massive investment in the relaunch of the brand, activations at UTMB and their Milanese train activation. Their presence at TRE was half Nike Running and half ACG. While ACG is recently new, Nike has also been upping the investment in their event space and Run Specialty Group.
They recently had Nike After Dark, the Renegade Running store collab, the Project Stella Speed Project team (Nike’s first in many years), and most recently the Swoosh Stampede in Nashville with The Exchange Collective. I’m flagging this particular event because it’s signaling Nike’s investment in smaller city activations. Nashville is not a major marathon city. It’s not even that big. It’s known for it’s amazing music scene (for good reason).
I spoke to James Osbourne, co-founder of The Exchange Collective alongside his wife, Lauren, about the event a bit. What I gathered was that it matched the energy of many of Nike’s activations this year: muted marketing ahead of time, a buzzy event, and FOMO social media marketing afterwards. “Hey, we did this,” rather than “Make sure you’re here!!!” Sorry if you didn’t know about it ahead of time. The Swoosh Stampede was an event for the launch of the Pegasus 42 and took over Nashville for the first time in the city’s history. In most cities, this type of event sells out instantly, but it took a couple days to fill up. Expect that to change the next time they’re in town.
Kiprun Takes To The US
Decathlon’s performance running brand, Kiprun, officially enters the US market today. They’ve made their mark in Europe and the UK but have yet to claim the US market. Before Jimmy Gressier’s pro endorsement, I was skeptical. After his World Championship gold and subsequent records, and a number of positive reviews, I’m a lot more confident.
My skepticism was because Decathlon. Having never seen it before this winter, I rated as a sort of Dick’s Sporting Goods: sporting goods store lower tier sporting goods rather than specialty stuff. In reality, it’s more like an IKEA or REI. The store experience itself is no frills, but the gear is of solid quality for the price. It’s a value brand. That’s part of the issue with the running sub-brand: it’s not a value brand. Van Rysel, their cycling side, had to cross the same moat. While plenty of equipment is great performance at the value, they proved their mettle with Tour de France caliber racing bikes to the tune of $12,000.
While they’re new, they’re hardly at the same disadvantage as most new challenger brands; they have a huge scale that gives them a cost advantage. Their real problem now is bridging the performance gap and earning their brand some credibility in the US market.
They’ve launched with a full suite of footwear that so far has been well reviewed:
Kipstorm Elite — carbon plated racer, $250
Kipsummit Race – carbon plated trail racer, $250
Kipstorm Tempo – uptempo trainer, $170
Kipride Max — cushioned daily trainer, $160
Kipride – daily trainer, $140
Kipsummit Max — max cushion trail runner, $160
It will be available at Decathlon online, and select run specialty store.
Can They Bridge The Gap?
That will depend on how they’re marketed by these specialty retailers. While online reviews have been good, those only reach the eyes of enthusiasts rather than the average runner. These early adopters might influence the market, but hardly support it. Mount To Coast had a great reception but a much smaller quiver of shoes. Meanwhile Anta has not had the same market penetration. Without activations in major markets and a push from local run specialty or deals with big box stores like DSG and REI, I don’t know how they’ll make the bulk value play.
Lane 1 Softly Announces Their Arrival
I am expecting a much larger announcement than this blog post that was not publicized beyond their website. On’s Lane 1 is their answer to Nike’s recent collaborations and the Nike Running Specialty Group that I mentioned in Issue #71.
It’s about energy, hype, targeting the retail movers and shakers in the biz.
So far, it features many of the same 3rd and 4th wave running stores: Goodrunner in Seoul, Up There Athletics in Melbourne, Metta Running House in Mexico City, The Exchange Running Collective in Nashville, The Loop in Austin, Mill City Running in Minneapolis, Renegade Running in Oakland, Run As You Are (RAYA) in Vancouver, Runlimited in London, Achilles Heel in Glasgow, and Distance in Paris and Lyon.
They noted many of the same influences too:
Drawing from skate and surf culture, Brown and Bryan at Runlimited view the shop as a hub of inspiration. “Culture is defined by what you reward,” he explains. “We celebrate first steps as loudly as ultramarathons. Belonging and inspiration matter more.”
Lane 1 is the polar opposite of the brand’s Soft Wins marketing efforts. Lane 1 is for the fastest runners. It’s about living and breathing running.
Matt Trappe got a very early scoop on this that has a bit more, albeit some things may have changed at this point.
On Cloudmonster 3 LN1
On partnered with for-hire, all-the-vibes creative agency Mental Athletic which you’ve seen from their more recent work launching the Nike Vomero Premium, the Nike ACG indoor ultra, and collaborating with Salomon. The shoe is a light colorway, it seems, although the B&W photo is blown out enough that it could be almost anything.
I’m excited to see the widespread release of this and the ensuing designs.
New and Upcoming
Ciele Icon Collection
Ciele Athletics’ most technically advanced apparel line came out last week. Ciele continues to punch above their weight from Montreal. They added two proprietary fabric systems built around heat management:
RAYaway™ ceramic ripstop — Ceramic-printed fabric reflecting solar radiation, reducing surface heat used in their headwear
COOLmatic | EXP™ — Carbon/graphene-infused yarns in knits, wovens, and meshes. Dissipates body heat from exertion + sun
Western Hydrodynamic Research x Max Joliffe
I’m quite familar with WHR from the menswear x streetwear scene, but it’s interesting to see them bust into the running x fashion scene (dare I say running manosphere?). This brand is common amongst the Silverlake or Bushwick fitpic type guy. It was founded by former Hurley (owned by Nike) employee Pat Towersey as a surf adjacent lifestyle brand and quickly made its way onto dudes flicking up1 at LES2 natural wine bars.
They recently did a collaborative “Western Ultrarunning Research” hat with SATISFY sponsored ultra trail runner and Instagram crowned run fashion icon Max Joliffe. The hat was released online only last week Friday and sold out within a minute. That’s the power of brand, hype, and limited SKUs. I know it says “Notify Me,” but that is a trap and it is not coming back. Sorry.
On Cloudsoma Trail
On’s newest trail shoe features a notable departure from their signature CloudTec pods. This one uses CloudTec Connect: large, flexible foam squares for a more natural, ground-connected feel. Interesting gradient colorway hinting at the dust and dirt on what would have been a pure pink colorway. The cutouts remind me a lot of the old Nike Free 5.0s for flexibility, and the newer Brooks Glycerin Flex, albeit trail.
Gnuhr — New Drop Today
No idea what’s coming, but it seems like it’s some more bubblegum pink Polartec Alpha. If it is any of their Wool Shag Sweater in pink I will fight you too and nail. That version uses a wool-poly blend from Pontetorto which has a similar woolly look to the Polartec Alpha but warmer and less translucent. Whatever it is, it’s coming at 2PM PST today.
Klättermusen Adds Trail Running Collection
Swedish outdoor brand, Klättermusen, just added a trail running capsule. Their regular gear is great and I expect no less from this foray into running. I love the cut and look of their Diser Shorts, which has a belted cinch and a nice slanted cut on the leg. Their Vidre Hood jacket is also unique: a waterproof shell short sleeve with soft shell long sleeve liner. No idea how well this will work, but it looks unique and the green-brown colorway is sharp.
SOAR DNF Anonymous
SOAR released a short film, DNF Anonymous, as well as these crazy cargo marathon tights that specifically slot plastic 350ml flasks. Not much to add about the film, but love seeing them experiment with cargo for runners. Many brands are aiming to replace running belts and vests with integrated solutions. These are decidedly less useful when not carrying any cargo, but mean you don’t need to bring a separate belt with you…or mean you can carry significantly more if you add a vest.
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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Taking staged photos
Lower East Side, a neighborhood in New York where influencers, socialites, and the aspiring hang out. The scene isn’t what it was 5 years ago, RIP Dimes Square.
wish i was going to be in boston to check out the Rec Room pop-up. anything going to drop online? i signed up for the newsletter.
Max is cool and the new BPN film from Mammoth is quite good even though I don’t vibe with BPN at all, but those hats from WHR are mid at best.