For runners, marathons have become the new ‘fashion weeks’

The streets are alive with the sound of cheer — and the sight of neon. This Sunday, as the UK capital holds the 44th London Marathon, spectators will find themselves watching a 26.2 mile feat of fitness that looks a lot like a fashion show. Rainbow race singlets will be teamed with matching micro shorts; hazard yellow socks will be tucked into a tonal pair of shoes; others will be colour-blocking caps with compression sleeves. For runners, the road has become the runway. And a race is the perfect opportunity to peacock.

A marathon today is like fashion week for the running community. All the celebs (elites) are in town; entourages are everywhere; and amateurs now carefully craft their race look, in the same way showgoers might agonise over street style, in the hope to be immortalised by the photographers dotted around the marathon course.

Distance running is trending, period. Instagram is an inescapable feed of people embarking upon the 26.2. There’s also been a boom in design-led performance brands like District Vision, Soar and Satisfy — each launched by founders who formerly worked in fashion — offering kits that are edgier and more elevated than those sold by big-name brands. District Vision’s monogram, for example, is designed by Filip Pagowski, the Polish artist behind the Comme des Garçons heart logo. From film to photography and design, running as an industry is undergoing a creative, visual shift, as more creative people take up the sport and infiltrate the space.

As someone who started running in late 2021, and ran my first half marathon in a cotton T-shirt from Uniqlo, I’ve had a swift ascent into both distance running and dressing the part. (This will be my fourth full marathon.) My London look has been planned for weeks: black 6” shorts and a black vest emblazoned with “Boys”, which is the spring uniform of my all-women’s training club, Hot Boys Athletics. (The name is a pointed play on the maleness of the sport.) I’ll mix it with bright accessories that make me spottable in the crowd. Last year, my colour was orange; this year, I’m going for hot pink. I’ve got fuchsia socks, a new cerise cap and even pink kinesiology tape for my knee injury. My Hot Boys friends style their uniform differently: Kimiko opts for colourful sunglasses, Kristine does interesting, plaity things with her hair, and Savannah ties a bandanna around her head.

Each marathon is also now bookmarked by a jam-packed roster of on and off-schedule events. From breakfast runs to panel talks, pizza parties and boozy DJ nights, it’s no longer “race day” but “race week”. At the Paris marathon this April, French brand Satisfy held T-shirt customisation workshops, while Asics staged a 5k and 10k races on the Friday night; in Tokyo in March, Tracksmith partnered with fashion brand Noah to host an event. This week, New Balance is holding a secret, invite-only boat party on the Thames; last year, it hosted a gig with rapper Loyle Carner — the cosmopolitans in NB-stamped cocktail glasses were free, and free-flowing.

Alexis Copithorne, the co-founder of London brand Pruzan, held an after-party in an East Village bar after the New York marathon in November; special tequila cocktails called “The Finisher” were served free for medal wearers. The idea, according to Pruzan co-founder Jessie Hyman, was to “share a bit of what a night out in NYC might look like with racers and their supporters.” Marathon vacations are also on the up, and for visitors, race week is a fun way to experience a city and engage with the locals.

It’s also a good time for business. Max Vallot, co-founder of District Vision, calls race week a “hyper potent environment for inspiration . . . you have the highest concentration of people that are obsessed with running, generally in one place at the same time.” For anyone even mildly interested in a jog, a race-week schedule offers unparalleled access to cool labels and the chance to discover and experience something new; for brands, it’s a great way to foster tangible connections with customers that would otherwise shop online.

From breakfast runs to panel talks, pizza parties and boozy DJ nights, it’s no longer ‘race day’ but ‘race week’

Tim Soar, founder of Shoreditch label Soar, calls it “the festivalisation of running . . . it’s a good excuse to get people in to see the product, have a chat and hang out.” This week, Soar is holding an unsanctioned street race and party, a photography exhibition and offered free physio appointments and free coffee. Knees Up — a recently opened running clubhouse, co-working space and café in Hackney — is partnering with On Running for a five-day London Marathon bonanza that includes complimentary nail painting, sign making and mobility classes, and an after-party with plenty of booze. And you don’t have to be running the race to attend. “With events, we can reach a broader running and lifestyle customer,” says Tracksmith’s founder Matt Taylor.

A marathon is, ultimately, a celebration. And savvy brands can capitalise on the endorphins. “Mixing congratulations and high vibes with drink and music with shopping always gives a bump in sales,” says Pruzan’s Copithorne. The brand sold its collection alongside a limited-edition Greats T-shirt at its cocktail party. Designed like a band T-shirt, it listed all 31 female winners of the New York marathon in its history — a race souvenir that’s “more acceptable to wear in public afterwards” than a medal, says co-founder Hyman.

Pruzan’s £90 Greats tee aligns with the growing trend for guerrilla marathon merch: they’re a fresh, niche take on the official finisher’s tees that every single marathoner, in their tens of thousands, is given along with their medal at the end of every race. Tracksmith sells city-specific race kits, while Satisfy designed exclusive tops for the Paris and LA marathons this spring. Sold for €120, just 150 of each were available: they sold out within the day. “Fashion is full of homogenous products; cities internationally now have the same stores,” says District Vision’s Vallot. “What people value is a purchase specific to one place, one activity, one experience.”

Limited kit and events are also a way for smaller, independent brands to make noise — especially among the corporate sports sponsors, which back the major races. (Berlin is Adidas, Tokyo is Asics, and Chicago is Nike.) “Big brands put their money into sponsoring the elite runners, which we can’t do,” says Soar, who says the brand’s race kit category is the biggest driver of revenue. “What we can do, though, is make a stand by offering something distinctive, whether that’s a free massage in our studio, or a rainbow-coloured set made from special fabrics we’ve engineered.”

Men form the front row in every marathon. The gender gap exists in running, too: less than 30 per cent of runners in the Paris marathon were women. So, I’ll don my Boys vest and take position among the line-up of blokes — all while wearing the Barbie pink shade I ordinarily, categorically, avoid. Best foot forward, I’ll stride towards the Mall and smile for the cameras, naturally.

Find out about our latest stories first — follow @financialtimesfashion on Instagram — and subscribe to our podcast Life and Art wherever you listen