How Tracksmith changed the (running) world

Matt Taylor always wanted higher quality storytelling in running and Tracksmith was how he finally did it

Tracksmith is 11 years old now, but creating the brand that pushed the storytelling envelope and became a trailblazer for the modern running scene wasn’t a flash in the pan decision. Founder Matt Taylor tells me how the kernel of the idea started way back in the mid-1990s, before he even went to college.

The kernel in question was a Runner’s World feature on Marc Davis, who Matt describes as “the bad boy in running - as much as you could be in ‘90s distance running.” He tells me how “it was photographed and written in a way that had never been done in a running magazine.”

It was actually only this year that he discovered that article was originally meant for publication in GQ in the lead-up to the 1996 Olympic Games, but GQ eventually passed on it, so it was ultimately sold to Runner’s World. It’s been difficult for journalists and storytellers for some …