Have we hit peak run?

Is bigger really better — thoughts on running culture and the marathon boom, via the all-new Nike concept store in London.

It’s a major week for running. Course records were broken in Boston; the London marathon is happening. Both are the biggest ever, with participant numbers at an all-time high (30,000 for Boston; 57,000 for London).

Last year, I wrote a story for the Financial Times about how marathons were fashion week for the running community. It went viral.

12 months on, the trend shows no signs of abating. Brands are going all-in on activations and running culture is edging towards crescendo.

Proof?

The new Nike RunTown, a concept boutique on Regent Street opened to coincide with the London marathon. By all intents and purposes, it’s a Nike pop-up so the brand can have a physical presence while NikeTown, its flagship London store, is under renovation.

But it’s more than that. Nike RunTown is a physical manifestation of all the touch points that have been bubbling in the non-mainstream sector for quite some time.

A few weeks ago, I wrote another story, also for the Financial Times, about the independent running concept store. How design-led stores (Knees Up in Hackney; Metta Running House in Mexico; Run Wylder in San Francisco; Voodoo in Manchester, to name but a few), were selling design-led kit from brands like Satisfy, District Vision and Bandit. This store format has been birthed by these brands; their refined lens on distance wear has created an entirely new retail model and aesthetic. Spaces need to visually align with the product and the person wearing it, et cetera.

RunTown is an equivalent of the above — but with a big, Nike budget. It's the marathon as fashion week + running concept store, realised in real time.

How, exactly?

Upstairs, there’s reclining lounge chairs with Normatec recovery boots stationed facing a DJ booth – it leans into this notion of recovery as a drug, which is a pivot from the general wellness slant most brands within this space are touting. It screams — compression is the new cocaine — an idea that riffs on visuals of heavily-tattooed runners doing hectic relay runs like The Speed Project.

These runners are shot in the back of vans at 4am, or at the roadside, wearing recovery boots, chugging cans of Cadence electrolytes as if it’s beer. It’s healthy hedonism, and then some. At RunTown, there’s a fridge full of shiny silver cans filled with water decorated with a tick — a Liquid Death equivalent. It’s all very well executed.

There’s also a cafe, serving Kipchoge’s own coffee brand, Morning Miles. It emulates the run club format that blends aesthetically-driven coffees with community — crews like Your Friendly Runners in London as being among the first in London to own this niche. (They have since opened Knees Up as their own space.)

The fact Nike uses Kipchoge’s coffee makes it feel thoughtful rather than tokenistic. Too often, big brands try to recreate what smaller brands or communities do and it can end up feeling shallow; too contrived. Too many random businesses are launching run clubs — enough already.

That the coffee is topped with a signature Nike tick only adds to the Nike-fication and visualisation of the space. In the marathon as a fashion week story, I reported on the allure of the IYKYK merchandise — the souvenirs that showed you were in the right place at the right time. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. But could a branded coffee be the ultimate souvenir merch? It’s totally ephemeral. It has no resale value. You literally have to be in the store to get it. In the Depop era, it’s potently must-have.

Downstairs in RunTown, there’s a leather pillowy shoe wall, which is conceptually designed to mimic the squashy, cushioned sole of the new Vomero 18, which is for sale. The store offers a curated selection of specific race kit and souvenir “London” T-shirts that are displayed on chrome fixtures, much like those found in Hermanos Koumori, in Mexico. Unlike NikeTown — but like the concept run boutiques — it’s not hyper-filled with product.

What does it mean?

Something that I think is worth pausing on when it comes to RunTown is the speed at which independent-led trends are filtering up into the big brands in sport. It’s common in fashion, with product dupes now a flourishing trend of their own, and it’s not exactly new elsewhere. Nike has been accused of borrowing Satisfy’s mothtech aesthetic; Lululemon’s latest tennis collection feels quite Sporty & Rich. Even Zara, purveyor of flash-in-the-pan products, is selling carbon-plated running shoes…

But it usually takes longer for the actual cultural fringes to infiltrate. What happens to running culture when its edginess hits mainstream adoption?

A few weeks ago, I had a lengthy yap with Max Vallot and Tom Daly of District Vision. We chatted about running’s future and took its pulse in the current moment. I asked: How can edgy brands continue to be edgy? (The Nike store included a broad selection of its race eyewear for the first time — a product that District Vision has built its name in.) The conversation took us down a rabbit hole, discussing how the stack height of shoes affects the silhouettes of garments and what that shift might look like (with lower profile shoes, like those DV just released with New Balance, comes the need for floatier short silhouettes to give a flattering look, according to Daly) to fabrics (a move back towards natural fibres as the tech™ aesthetic of running becomes so overdone).

So is this actually peak run?

Not quite. But we are in a RunCore era.

The “race look” has also become mainstream. Last year, wearing expressive marathon garb was a signal of one’s in the know; now, it’s not surprising to see a 5k runner on a Saturday jog out there in race sleeves and Alphaflys. Versions of tie-dye tanks and shorts, the race signifier of London brand Soar, can, this season, be found at Nike RunTown, Zara and Adidas by Y3.

Nike’s race outfits were displayed in a cabinet, sort of like a Barbie box, offering the full RACE LEWK: matching set plus cap and sports sunglasses. Add in brightly-coloured shoes, tonal socks and sleeves. It’s the edgy, elite-esque garb I wrote about in the marathons as fashion week's story last year. Except now, it’s normalised.

RunCore is happening elsewhere. People are sporting £200+ super shoes to go to the shops. Adidas’ Pro 4 and Pro SL seem to be leading here, but I’ve seen £290 Alphaflys worn with work wear. The race shoe silhouette is different to those offered by other sneakers, and the futuristic look (designed for propulsion) offers the eye a palate cleanser from clompy dad shoes we’re used to seeing. People are also wearing sports sunglasses and performance caps as a combination — an evolution of gorpcore. Running fashion has infiltrated actual fashion.

What happens from here?

We’re at an inflection point. On Saturday, a day after RunTown opened, there was an enormous queue outside filled with Gen Zers and hypebeasts, not runners.

From here, the current format will start to feel samey. Run culture will become predictable; brands will need to work harder to cut through the noise and create something new.

My bet is the pendulum will swing back. Harry Styles’ nonchalant Tokyo Marathon outfit will become more appealing among the edgier circles of runners who ordinarily would wear slick performance wear; it will say, ‘we don’t need to look the part to be the part’. Satisfy’s tech shorts, digitally-printed to look like denim, might also offer a solution.

Cutting edge brands will need to double down on their niche. What’s a designer to do if their aesthetic is so copied it becomes common? Vallot and Daly of District Vision will, they say, focus on their Japanese-made sports eyewear, which is sold in opticians as well as in running and fashion retailers that buys them credibility and a bigger customer base. A just-dropped, limited-edition collaboration with PAF adds to the cult product appeal. Soar, once focused solely on hardcore racing, is slowly expanding its offering into trail.

What about races?

The hype shows no signs of slowing. But what’s actually worth getting hyped about next is tbc. I’m betting on cotton tees — even Soar released one recently! —and a shift towards the niche. It’s less major marathons, more smaller races. Nike sponsoring the Copenhagen Half and On backing Barcelona marathon, and Saucony’s new Hackney 10k are examples of a trend emerging. Ditto, Nike‘s women’s-only after-dark race series. More of that, please.

It’s also about the IYKYK events. Indie brands are hosting their own races that lack the corporate sheen. Bandit’s 5k day in Brooklyn in July looks set to be scrappy and immersive; Tracksmith’s polished roll-out of the Twilight series feels more like a community event. Less participants equals more hype. As a five-time major marathoner, I can confirm that this fast-moving trend for bigger field size is (personally) off-putting and makes a race stressful. Around 11,000 more people ran Berlin marathon in 2024 compared to 2023; 22,000 more than in 2022. In my opinion, that’s not a good thing.

A small race or guerrilla event is more like seeing your favourite band in an intimate, secret gig. Who wants to go to the O2 arena when you can appreciate an acoustic set in a small, back room bar?

What do you think? Email me — saltysubstack@gmail.com