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September 14, 2024 at 9:24 AM·7 min read

Running culture is the new streetwear. That’s the word, isn’t it?

You’ve obviously been reading about the great run clubs around the world here on Running Sucks for the past year and a bit, but the boom in social run clubs has become the kind of hot topic that gets into the mainstream press seemingly every day now. One that piqued my interest earlier this year is Progress Running Club.

I couldn’t put my finger on it, but it just felt incredibly cool. It turned out it wasn’t just a run crew - it was a real-life running store. They had the American collegiate-style logo that I love, as well as these wicked t-shirts that said ‘Eat Pasta, Run Fasta.’ I once won a round in a pub quiz by naming 12 different types of pasta correctly.

Then I saw PRC on Hypebeast, with their 10.8 million Instagram followers. Progress Running Club was doing a limited collaboration with streetwear staple, Carharrt - another of my favored clothing brands. Sadly, I did not manage to wake up at 2am to nab a t-shirt, but I did get in touch with Progress store manager Jimi Harrison to get the lowdown.

The lure of running couture

Jimi had been running 5k and 10k races from the age of 18, but that ramped up in intensity during the pandemic.

“My mental health… I had bad anxiety, particularly in the second lockdown. My mate told me to go out running, and it made me feel loads better.”

One thing led to another, and what started with 30-kilometer (20-mile) weeks turned into buying all the coolest running gear he could find, which led to joining a local run club, which exposed him to an event partnered with The North Face. That jived strongly with his job as a fashion buyer in the outdoor industry. It “ignited [his] passion for running.”

The logical next step was starting his own run club in Manchester called Keep On Keeping in July 2022, “just before run clubs in the UK had a bit of an explosion.” The club grew to 50-70 people every Tuesday evening, and he was “constantly thinking of ways to monetize it, but when it's such a community-led thing, it's hard.” He even considered opening a running store in Manchester, with plans fully drawn up, but his business partner moved away.

Luckily, something else came along…

How cool can a running store really be?

Progress Running Club is the brainchild of fashion industry oracle, Mark Batista. Jimi had already worked with Mark’s wholesale agency on occasion through his job, but by building events together for the run club, Jimi and Mark started to cross paths more and more frequently.

When Batista decided to open a storefront in hyper-fashionable Shoreditch in east London, he asked Jimi if he would move down from Manchester to run the joint. The idea of moving his career closer to running was very appealing to Jimi. He could build something in his vision.

“Essentially, it's a running and lifestyle shop. We’re trying to break the mold of that traditional running shop. Someone like me, I wouldn't go into a shop like that. I feel like it's very dated.”

“Mark wanted to open the store to try and branch out and include people like me who want to shop in there. Every brand that we've selected has a nod to getting people outside and active.”

Jimi goes on to list brands like Japanese outdoor brand Manastash, surf brand Portuguese Flannel, and luxury apparel from their neighbors, SOAR Running. They stock shoe brands that span utility and lifestyle, including Saucony, Mizuno, Karhu, and Merrell. It’s a 360-degree approach to kitting out their customers. Come in for some split shorts to race a community 5k in, leave with some ‘90s-inspired sneakers, and a cosy shirt to wear in the mountains as well.

Streetwear, though?

I’m afraid that running is the new streetwear, and getting featured by Hypebeast is unimpeachable evidence of that. And it’s not that our culture is their prom dress, it’s that runners themselves want to look good. New runners joining the running community are elevating our average levels of fashion. It’s pretty neat.

We have a new luxury running store in Los Angeles. LSD in Echo Park has a slightly more singular running focus, but enjoys the same idea of only stocking high-end goods, with a focus on providing a pleasant in-store experience. There’s a new running boutique opening in Edinburgh in August as well. There’s a demand for these things.

That each of these stores hosts weekly runs, and is actively building community, is a positive. Yes, there’s merchandise to be sold, but having a central physical space to convene is essential to building real-world community. We’ve seen it with streetwear brands like Stussy and Supreme in the past where actually turning up is paramount to how cool the activity is perceived.

Most importantly for me, however, being well-dressed while we run is just a really nice thing. It might even help us run faster. It’s the idea of looking good in order to feel good, and then if you feel good you might run a little more freely. It’s just another way of making running suck less, you might say.

Who will win the first trail running Olympic gold?

Jimi and I spoke not long after he returned to the UK following a jaunt to Paris. That’s under-selling the 455 km (280 miles) relay race that he ran, but I’m easing you into the fact that this guy is leading on the both the hot fronts in the running world.

This ultra relay, however, had a real purpose, beyond a medal or belt buckle. Four leaders from four completely separate UK run crews took off from Crystal Palace, London running to the Eiffel Tower in Paris over four days to help campaign for the inclusion of trail running in the Olympic Games. There was meant to be a fifth, but an unfortunate bout of food poisoning gave the gang a few extra miles each.

“I'd never met the others before. I was just thrown into a van for 12 hours a day with these random people, but the beautiful thing about the running community is everyone's like-minded and have got similar passions. We were all getting on really well, which is probably a good thing because that van was pretty stinky by the end.”

It’s been exactly 100 years since the last cross-country Olympic event (also in Paris), and this year’s games are about to begin in Paris at the end of July, of course, so this narrative gets tied together wonderfully.

“We were super conscious about getting trail running back into the Olympics. You think about how much of a feat it is and how much endurance these athletes have compared to some Olympic sports, for me it’s a no-brainer. If you're running 200 km, there’s so much to think about and consider. It’s also interesting to watch as well.”

“It’s only going to get bigger as well. I think people are just seeing it this summer. There's been some really cool events. Yeah. And then it will become more commercial next year.”

The goal is to gain inclusion for Brisbane 2032. Luckily, the campaign began a couple of years ago, but little stunts like this (facilitated by Merrell) help to no end. We’ll find out in 2027 if this has all been a success.

With its 231% growth over the past decade, trail running is having its own moment within the broader running boom, of course. There’s Jasmin Paris completing the Barkley Marathons, the Lululemon Further event, and Russ Cook running the length of Africa - all getting big headlines - but just in general, as people start running marathons earlier and earlier in their running career, they’re always looking for the next step. They’re looking for progress. Trail running feels like a normal part of a runner’s vernacular now. It makes sense that if skateboarding and breakdancing are included in the Olympics, trail running can be as well.

If trail running was removed from the Olympics a century ago due to health and safety issues, the steep increase in understanding within the industry of how to plan events - just by sheer practice - should stop that being a problem.

I wonder what the Olympic trail runners will be wearing in 2032.