Supply Run with Lee Glandorf
Lee is a good friend, runner, marketer, writer, and lifelong Bostonian who worked at Tracksmith and now leads marketing at Omius and writes The Sweat Lookbook.
Supply Run is a casual interview series with fellow runners.
My first guest is
of Sweat Lookbook. Lee pitches herself as a writer, marketer, runner, lifelong Bostonian and a mom. I agree. She’s certainly all of those things. I first saw Lee in a Tracksmith shoot and then around the Trackhouse and was so intimidated (Lee is quite tall). She’s that and so much more! Enjoy.
How would you describe yourself?
I spent 7 years at Tracksmith (2016-2023) and now work with Omius cooling tech alongside a few other running brands (I love a copywriting project!). In summer 2024, I launched The Sweat Lookbook, which examines the intersection of sports and fashion with an emphasis on exploring how women dress for performance. It's informed by my background working in sports and fashion, my experience as an athlete, and my love for cultural history!
What got you into running originally? What are some of your earliest running memories?
I started running in elementary school. There was a field day where I accidentally won all the running events (it's unclear if anyone else tried?). My high school school was 7th-12th so you could join the track team as a 7th grader. I ran indoor and outdoor until junior year of high school when I switched to rowing. Strangely, I was a "sprinter/jumper" on the team - hurdles, high jump, and long jump. Switching to rowing revealed I should have been running at least the 800, if not something much longer.
One of my strongest early running memories was my first track practice in 7th grade. We were doing drills and I messed up and collided with a very attractive senior. It was supremely embarassing and honestly, I'm shocked I went back the next day!
Who or what has influenced your running philosophy the most?
Can I say myself? I've always been a very consistent person. In college, I wasn't the fastest or the best rower, but I showed up in the fall in shape and it gave me a small advantage until the better girls caught back up. I hate getting in shape so I am always running, even if it's just 3 miles a couple days a week. The flip side of this is, I don't train nearly as hard as I could but I also don't get injured. When I lived in New York my litmus test for fitness was being able to do the whole Central Park loop on a whim, Ten years later that's what I still try to do – always be ready for a random, hilly 10k.
How has the running scene changed since you first started running? What surprised you the most about that?
There are a lot of cliche things I could say here, but I'll tell a story instead. In 2009, I finished my collegiate rowing career at Henley in England and then traveled a bit before starting my first job. I was running a lot because I was used to 2-hour rowing workouts and I remember running in Paris in the morning and getting so many strange looks. Women were not jogging in Paris in 2009. I went back for the first time in 2021 and it was a totally different scene. I saw so many runners – men and women alike – along the Seine. It really felt like a runner's city, not unlike Boston or New York. Running has become a default workout for a lot of folks and more importantly, its culture has become aspirational rather than niche or nerdy.
Where do you see running culture heading in the next five years?
I'm excited to see what happens as GenZ women get older and start having kids. I've noticed how in your 30s it becomes a lot easier as a woman to do well in your age group, because it's when so many of us are out having babies. I'll get destroyed by a 44 year old, but won't see a ton of other 38 year olds in the results. GenZ women are powering this latest running boom and I'm interested in how they will adapt and help push the sport forward if and when they choose to have kids. There's SO much lacking in terms of research, good maternity wear, and just support for moms in the sport. I'm hoping this rise in GenZ women runners helps drive change for mothers in the sport.
What would you change about how running is marketed to new people?
I love competition and I think being competitive adds a lot of value to your life. I think there's sometimes an emphasis on making running accessible by making it non-competitive. I'd love to see brands and clubs figure out how to be welcoming of newer runners, while also encouraging them to be competitive. Competition doesn't have to be ruthless. It doesn't even have to be about beating someone else. But there is something wonderful about what you discover when you put yourself out there and there are stakes. The Faith Kipyegon Breaking4 is such a good example of this – humans are innately motivated by chasing something. This shouldn't be limited to the elites.
What running brand do you think is most overrated? Most underrated?
Despite my previous answer, I'm a well-documented Nike skeptic because of their track record with women.
As for underrated, I think Oiselle doesn't get enough credit for starting this whole boutique running trend and I think PYNRS is doing some really important work that also gets ignored in the hype cycle a lot.
What are 5 things you couldn't live without?
- Podcasts - Pretty much the only thing that gets me out the door in the morning is the promise of a silly podcast
- Tracksmith Allston Sports Bra – the pocket holds my old iPhone + wired headphones (for listening to said podcasts) and keys. It's the only bra I wear.
- Jamaica Plain – my neighborhood has truly incredible running routes. Covid really transformed how I run in Boston, because it taught me to avoid the usual spots. JP is amazing for being able to get into nature and explore. Plus it's hilly, which is good for you.
- Jogging Stroller – I run a lot with my husband and now we take our 1 year old, too. It's a huge unlock to be able to spend time together running and the baby enjoys it and also sometimes falls asleep! My husband is nice and mostly is the one doing the pushing, but I do it sometimes too.
- Garmin – IDK what version I have and I don't connect it to Strava but I like seeing my weekly mileage add up. My husband calls it my beep-boop and thinks it's lame.
What piece of running tech from the last 10 years you miss most?
The iPod Shuffle remains the best running accessory and I would use one again in a heartbeat. Especially if it was loaded with all my college training favorites.
If you could fix one thing about the running industry, what would it be?
I have been vocal about my dislike of the "sea of bros" powering a lot of brands and events in the sport. There's a specific vibe that has come to represent everything that is "cool" in running, which to me feels very male and very narrow. Maybe it's because I am a 38-year-old mom, but it's quite divorced from my experience with the sport and it annoys me that it's become so ubiquitous at least on social media and in the way brands market themselves.
Saaaaaame.
What are you working on right now? What's something you'd like to be working on in the future?
I've got a lot of irons in the fire! As regards The Sweat Lookbook, I'm trying to keep building that audience and pushing the conversation on women's sports forward. There's so much money being poured into the space, but not a ton of nuance coming from brands. Nor are there a lot of women athletes represented when it comes to writing and reporting. My biggest goal for The Sweat Lookbook (and my life in general) is to write a book someday. I'd love to explore the history of women's sporting fashion and I have a sports romance idea percolating too.
For more from Lee, check out leeglandorf.com for her brand work and subscribe to her substack below.
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Absolutely love the sentiment about welcoming new runners to the sport, but also encouraging competition. Finishing a race completely on empty in pursuit of a big goal is such an incredibly important and enlightening human experience!
Loved this. Go, Lee!
Also, the note about the stroller prompted some thoughts for me. It’s such a huge tool for new running parents. (I think I would have run 15-20% fewer miles last year in the absence of a stroller.) How improvements in stroller tech have enabled more access to the sport for new parents feels under-discussed.