If you’ve decided to start running in the new year, the most difficult part of getting started may be deciding what to wear.
The options for running apparel are so plentiful that a cottage industry of online directories, Instagram mood boards, and subreddits has sprung up to help joggers and marathoners navigate it all. Boasting carbon plates and lightweight materials, the performance sneaker is now available in sneakerhead collaborations and color variations, and is selling out online. Boutiques like Distance in Paris and Renegade in Oakland, Calif., target fashion-conscious runners. Even Brooks, a traditionally performance-oriented brand, recently announced that it will be collaborating with streetwear and sneaker collaboration pioneer Jeff Staple to launch its first lifestyle sneaker in March.
Fashion’s entry into the world of running comes as the sport’s popularity soars. A record number of people participated in the marathon last year. According to fitness app Strava, participation in running clubs jumped 59% globally in 2024. The rapid rise of these organizations, which exist for casual and elite runners alike, has helped turn running into a social activity where personal style is a bigger factor.
“Running is about more than just running a race, it’s about how you live your life every day,” says Richard, creative director and founder of Mental Athletic, a new biennial print magazine focused on modern running culture. says Gabriele Casaccia, It’s more like Dazed than Runner’s World.
Competition continues among sportswear brands to capture these new customers who haven’t yet logged hundreds of miles on their Brooks or Nike sneakers (although these brands are seeing strong demand for running shoes and gear) are also expected). Performance-meets-fashion labels like Satisfy, District Vision, and Soar were all founded in the early 2010s, while others have been around for decades, like Asics and Saucony, both of which are in StockX’s Top 5 Fastest-Growing Sneakers Ranked in. Brand of 2024.
As running wear becomes a hyped fashion subcategory akin to streetwear, running brands old and new are realizing a new customer at the intersection of lifestyle and sport, engaging with a community-centric audience while creating a crowded We must differentiate ourselves in the market. Being authentic to their unique perspective and the customers they serve.
“As the hype grows, new players quickly emerge,” says Christian Weigand, founder of Substack and the Instagram page Runner’s Heist. “Running and running culture is now in a place where anyone can earn their spot if they want to.”
new running customer
Cole Townsend, founder of Running Supply (a Substack newsletter and online directory that guides visitors to a selection of fashionable running products), credits the casualization of running and his influence on the sector’s lifestyle. We believe the rise of marketing is leading running brands to target specific people within their companies. Rather than competing to be a broadly focused sports brand like Nike, in a vast space.
“We need to find a new piece, a new persona, to attract people,” Townsend said.
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025, Satisfy blazes its own trail by offering something different to trail runners through unique color palettes and products with personality not found in regular spaces.
Antoine Auvinet, CEO of Satisfy, said: “In some circles, our brand has become synonymous with a particular approach to running, especially trail running. Although the field of running wear is changing, he believes this. Although saturated, the trail running field is still ripe for innovation.
Bandit Running has found its own niche by creating products focused on New York City’s growing running club community. We sell versatile clothing that can be worn for both sports and social outings.
Ardis Singh, co-founder and chief design officer of Bandit Running, says, “Race crops not only give runners something to wear while running, but they love to wear them on a Saturday afternoon with baggy denim. I know I own it.”
The approach of distinguishing between “performance” customers, who want products that produce faster times and comfort, and “lifestyle” customers, who are concerned with overall appearance, is becoming increasingly outdated.
“It’s not going to be as interesting now to see the same running shots that we’ve had in the past,” said Jordan Job, Saucony’s director of marketing. “We need to tap into the community to be artistic and creative to look at their other interests as well.”
Run with the community
A scroll through the main page of Saucony’s Instagram makes Job’s point clear. Its feed includes a variety of posts highlighting Saucony-sponsored elite runners, as well as local running clubs, lifestyle collaboration partners like Jae Tips, and running influencers. One post is a gallery showing how Saucony professional athlete Vanessa Fraser styles both Saucony’s performance running sneakers and lifestyle silhouettes.
The explosion of running clubs has made community engagement a key focus for brands like Saucony and young labels like Bandit Running. Indeed, running is generally thought of as a solitary sport, but today running is becoming more interconnected and encouraging running brands to walk alongside their customers.
Bandit Running CEO Nick West credits the brand’s community with informing nearly every aspect of the business. Its products are created through a “community-centered design process” informed by conversations with runners at pop-ups, in-store chats at its brick-and-mortar store in New York, Instagram messages, and surveys. West added that Bandit Running plans to open a second flagship store in Manhattan’s West Village in 2024 to create a home for the vast number of running clubs in the neighborhood. The store sometimes opens at 7 a.m. for early morning runners.
“You need to get involved in the running community to understand what the needs are and where the gaps are,” West says. “And to bring your own sensibilities and bring what excites you to tell a really authentic story through your own perspective.”
Authentic, not a product
Even though running brands from large to small are focusing on customers who increasingly value lifestyle offerings, runners still struggle to complete the first five miles even when achieving a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon. No matter what, you’re looking for gear that will help you perform and reach your goals. run.
Modern running tastemakers like Weigand and Townsend are quick to tell you which brands are seriously investing in running, and which are cashing in on the running wear trend. He says he can sniff it out.
“There are a lot of brands on Instagram that don’t make particularly technical apparel, they just try to make (running) items that look cool. It won’t last,” Townsend said. Weigand agrees, noting that emerging running brands feel more credible when they can release fashionable products that “solve problems” for runners, not just T-shirts.
For Bandit Running’s Singh, consumer product design like Weigand’s is key. Singh notes how the size and placement of pockets on apparel such as lace crops is influenced by authentic customer experience rather than fashion trends.
“If you think about Bandit on the spectrum from fashion to function, we’re definitely more focused on the functional side in terms of how we focus our design process,” says West. .
That authenticity also extends to the unique perspective and commitment that running brands offer. When Saucony collaborated with hybrid menswear running brand Mint New York, Job said the brand’s co-founders actually trained in the running sneakers and inspired the brand to reimagine the Endorphin Speed 4 performance running sneaker. This is because he was a running influencer. Running Supply’s Townsend says that even though older running wear brands like Soar, Tracksmith and Satisfy have expanded their customer base since their inception, he believes they have stayed true to their original vision. .
“At the end of the day, people see Satisfy as a brand that tells a consistent story and incorporates different types of products and uses,” said Auvinet, CEO of Satisfy. “Be satisfied with its DNA, creative expression, and functionality, rather than its cobblestone fragments that feel contradictory.”
As running continues to inspire everything from the upcoming lifestyle sneaker launches from brands like ASICS to the activation of running clubs during Paris Fashion Week, true participants in modern running culture are also becoming true partners. You will probably be looking for other collaborators.
“A lot of brands now want to play into this phenomenon… We’re not interested in working with brands that just want to create something related to running,” said Casaccia of Mental Athletic. Ta. way of life. ”
