There's a running event and they've called it... The Running Event
This industry-only preview is for retail buyers and media alike to see what the brands are offering in 2026, and I'm going.
Whenever there’s a big race, there’s always talk about the place of brands in running. The largest running industry trade show in the world, The Running Event is taking place in San Antonio on Dec 2-4. That’s where we get to see which brands are best positioned to do what over the next 12 months.
At its core, The Running Event (TRE) is an annual conference and trade show where running stores connect with brands. The brands are showing their future product.
Aside from 2020 and 2021, when the pandemic put a notch in the growth, every year from 2022 has been the biggest ever by all factors: more square footage required, more brands, more attendees. 2025 is the same, despite moving southwest from boujee, bustling Austin to plucky underdog town San Antonio. Don’t let anyone tell you that the running boom’s bubble is about to burst.
When I attended TRE in Austin, Texas a year ago. I didn’t really know what to expect at the time. As someone who hadn’t even been writing about running for two full years at that point, that’s understandable. I knew as much as 99.99% of runners. I knew it was a trade show and that a lot of the runners from around the country/world who I’d been talking to for the previous 18 months were going to be there. I thought, ‘Why not?’
However, I don’t write about new products in the same way as
supply or do, so when I was among the first people in the world to have seen Satisfy’s shoe, The Rocker, I probably should’ve made a bigger deal about it. Mainly to look cool and in the know, right? Lesson learned.
Christina Henderson has been Director of The Running Event for the past five years, so while I have my perspectives on how running has grown, and the culture has changed, I knew that Christina’s insights would be magical.
She tells me how she’s “seen the evolution of the event,” over the 11 years she’s been in attendance, and it’s not just my curiosity that’s been piqued – “everyone wants to understand what’s happening in the running industry.”
Media interest in TRE has exploded commensurate with the now-well-documented increase in popularity of running. It’s not just the likes of Runner’s World and people like me who write newsletters that are searching for the answers to the future of the sport. Christina tells me how the New York Times will be in attendance this year. No doubt they’ll be sharing running innovation with the world in far more thorough and better-accepted ways than I will be.
That increase in attention and desire to see the latest movements in running tech extends to the general public. While attendance of TRE is strictly reserved for the running industry, whether that be brands, stores or media, there is a livestream of TRE LIVE, hosted by Tommie Runz that you can watch from home should you be so inclined.
Bringing everyone together to ensure the platform of TRE can grow the sport is a facet of the event that Christina is passionate about.
“We take on the responsibility of having the whole industry together to say, ‘How can we make the running industry as well as the sport and community stronger and more inclusive and bring in more people?’”
“We understand the life-changing ability of movement, and I think it’s so cool that we have the ability to bring in new people into this community that we’ve been lucky enough to be a part of for a long time.”
Those new people are crucial to the question of whether there are now too many brands in the running world? I personally don’t think so. I think there’s an increasing wealth of variety in apparel, shoes, and technology available for the 50% increase in runners that we’ve seen since the pandemic. I think that if there are more people, then more brands can eke out a decent profit margin.
The last time I was in Austin before TRE 2024 was for the music festival, South by Southwest in 2013. I remember seeing some artists playing inside a giant vending machine sponsored by Dorito’s and having a couple of disastrously inauthentic tacos for breakfast at a Hype Machine x Taco Bell activation. Those brands have nothing to do with music, and yes, it felt much more natural watching bands at the Thrasher Death Match stage due to the deep cultural overlap of music and skateboarding.
My feeling is if you’re sick of brand activity at races now, I think we’ve got a way to go before it truly reaches saturation point, and I’m going to look out for the next movements when I’m in San Antonio.
My agenda:
The new thing that everyone is talking about. Last year it was Raide and Tantrums. Both have gone on to be small indie leaders in the hydration vest/belt market.
Who is trying to be more sustainable? I love what Hylo and Nnormal are doing by marrying performance and the planet. We need more of that.
The mighty
is chairing a panel on the women reshaping running style, and it might be the only part of TRE’s education that I attend. It’s a conversation that I haven’t pursued because of Lee’s work with The Sweat Lookbook and the panel lineup is a 10/10 as well.Which apparel brand is releasing a shoe? And why. You don’t have to do everything. I don’t have a podcast. I don’t really want an Instagram, but I accept that into my life. It’s ok to be great at one thing and stop there.
What is Nike doing this year? Are they leading or following?
I’ll keep an eye on the people using AI in running. AI glasses? Glasses with camera? Creepy. It’s overall a no from me, boss, and I’m very tech-forward.
Better tacos than what I ate in 2013, but much more about Taco Bell next Thursday.
Is there anything you want me to keep an eye out for or go and see? Tell me, and I’ll do my best!
Podcasts
I said that I don’t have a podcast, and that’s true, but I do love talking about running, so when someone invites me onto their podcast, it’s an immediate yes.
The unimpeachable Zoë Rom and Brendan Leonard invited me onto The Trailhead, their podcast under the UltraSignup umbrella, and they asked the kind of thoughtful, incisive questions you’d expect from two people at the top of this particular game. It was a real treat. Take a listen.
I’ve also made a whole page to save the podcasts for posterity. Take a look if you want to hear more from me on a variety of topics.
Book update
Being the focus of a marketing campaign is definitely a first for me, but I’m looking forward to being able to announce the things we’re putting together for the release of This is Running. Go read more about why I’ve written a book, and then please pre-order it! Early orders really help.
This is Running - purchase links
USA - Bookshop US | Barnes & Noble | Amazon US
UK - Bookshop UK | Waterstones | Amazon UK
Canada - Amazon CA | Indigo
Australia - Booktopia
Germany - Genialokal | Amazon DE
France - Amazon FR
Italy - Amazon IT
Spain - Amazon ES