Running Supply Roundup #25
Tale of 2 Jac(k)obs, new Nnormal, On Sesame Street, SO MANY NEW SHOES
Quick Hits
Jacob Kiplimo sets the half marathon WR in 56:41. He broke Yomif Kejelcha’s world record by 49 seconds. 4:19.5 per mile
Jakob Ingebrigtsen re-set the mile world indoor record that Yared Nuguse just set last week. Now it’s 3:45.14.
On is “on” Sesame Street, hyping up “Soft Wins” with Elmo. This was not on my 2025 bingo card for collabs!
I stopped by Renegade and bought one of their Trash Zip Up Hoodies and its my new favorite. Great boxy cut.
Recent Releases
Act Running
Act Running just dropped their first collection. The brand is a French apparel company and seems to be focused on sustainability, which with synthetics is pretty tricky. They use all plant based materials and label each of their products with the carbon footprint. Their big thing is their "Bio Rip" and "Bio Perf" which is made of castor bean.
Style: Minimal. Limited branding, earthy tones
Price: Price point wise they're at a pretty affordable mid-tier price point, coming in well under Tracksmith, more along the likes of Janji.
Quality: TBD, but some good looking details on the shorts. Hard to go wrong on shorts and tees.
On x Sesame Street
Not on my bingo board for 2025 was a collab between On and Sesame Street’s fuzzy red muppet, Elmo. On first previewed this collab in a Super Bowl ad to clear up some confusion around their logo, then most recently their “Soft Wins” campaign. Alongside it they released the Cloudsurfer 2.0, which is apparently their softest trainer.
I was theorizing that this would be accompanied by a push into run clubs and community building, and I was right. On is setting up scheduled community runs: “Soft Run Saturdays” in a bunch of major cities like New York, Paris, Milan, and Tokyo.
New Shoe Releases and Previews
Nnormal Tomir 02 in New Colors
Nnormal made some softer spring colorways for their Tomir 02 trail shoe. The Tomir 02 is the upgraded version of Tomir 01, lighter and more durably. They’ve also added a supercritical foam which makes the shoe a bit bouncier with no added weight.
Diadora releases the Frequenza 2
Now available online and any stores carrying Diadora. The Frequenza 2 is the newest iteration of Diadora’s uptempo trainer. They’ve modified the midsole tech and updated their ANIMA N2—increasing energy return and cutting weight by 40%. It runs at just over 8 oz for a men’s US 10.
HOKA Mafate Speed 4 Lite coming soon.
Initially released only in collab with SATISFY, HOKA launched a Mafate Speed 4 Lite. In the sneaker business they’d call this a “general release,” meaning it will be widely available. These will release in-store (including This Thing of Ours) and online this Friday.
New Norda colorways
Norda dropped a slew of new colorways for the 001 and 002, including some beautiful yellows and oranges, for spring. They’re available now online and from stores like Renegade (photo below from them).
Asics flashes some new spike tech
This looks like its either an iteration of, or replacing its, FF Turbo technology. The cutout here to show the technology seems pretty wide, but is a common marketing tactic to make the shoe “look” fast. It seems like this is a suspension bridge of foam supporting the carbon plate to get a spring effect, similar to what the Nike Air Zoom Victory does using Zoom Air units.
Tracksmith’s Eliot Racer update
Looks like a closer-to-production (v6) version of Tracksmith’s Eliot Racer which was updated last week on the World Athletics approval list. It’s releasing this spring, so stay tuned!
Other New Releases
Portal is launching their apparel on Feb 26. Check their site and IG for updates! From what I hear, the stuff looks and feels great.
SOAR released their RHEON™ reinforced half-tights. Seemingly steep price at 255, but they’re using the most cutting edge fabric tech available.
ICYMI, Last Week
Heartbreak also put together some fun, heritage designs for the Boston Marathon. Throw some bike shorts on under the rugby sweatshirt and you’re Princess Di.
The Heartbreak piece looks dope!
Also, the material in the suspension bridge of the new Asics spike looks gel-like, potentially a push from Asics to revive GEL technology.
I've tried the Eliot Racer and I really like it. Still embargoed but I'll have a review up in early March.