Champion for
the Running Class
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It may be too soon to say out loud, but I’m seeing signs of Spring in Boston. The snow is slowly but surely shifting to sludge, the air is climbing to slightly above freezing in the afternoon, and runners are returning in droves to the Charles River, taking the melting ice on the sidewalk as a sign to get back up to speed.
It’s one of the things I love about Boston – you can’t escape the spirit of our sport once Spring comes. Don’t get me wrong, you still see runners out and about in New England no matter how cold or nasty it gets, but it’s when the days get longer that the miles start to stack up. Every weekend, from now through April, hundreds of runners will take to the Boston course in preparation for Marathon Monday. This is when the city really runs. That’s what makes Boston special – it’s a champion for the running class.
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ELIOT RUNNER
No matter the season, no matter the session, the Eliot Runner remains an everyday staple. Available in four fresh colorways for Spring, it's my tried and true when it comes to training – a reliable, responsive runner thats ready for anything. |
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PURPLE RUNNER COLLECTION
Certain running books just stick – there’s something about entwining storylines and starting lines that can motivate me for miles. This year, we curated a collection inspired by one of my favorite running reads, The Purple Runner by Paul Christman, featuring classics like Van Cortlandt and Brighton in limited-edition colorways, as well as a commemorative republishing of the cult running novel. It’s a testament to our appreciation of the meaning behind the miles.
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100 DAYS TO BOSTON & LONDON
We’ve got some major races on the way, with the Spring marathons quickly approaching. The build toward 26.2 miles can get tricky on your own, so we created the 100 Days training program as a resource for runners to share in the work and celebrate the journey. So far this year, we’ve kicked off our programs in Boston and London, and the long runs have offered miles and miles of memories and motivation – that pack mentality truly makes a difference. We’ve still got plenty of weeks to go for both programs, so join us on our next long run if you’re local.
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MARATHON ACTIVATIONS
There’s nothing quite like a marathon weekend with Tracksmith. From the coveted, customizable Heirloom Hoodies to the commemorative posters that we hand stamp with your finish time – we know how special the achievement is, and we can’t help but celebrate it with you. While our festivities in Tokyo wrap up shortly, we have a host of events in the works for the big weekends in both Boston and London, so stay tuned.
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ELIOT RACER
This month, we’ll release our first ever race day shoe, the Eliot Racer. After two years of innovating and iterating, putting hundreds of miles behind perfecting performance, I can’t wait to hear about personal bests and podium finishes powered by the Racer. I could tell you all about the distinct drop-in construction and molded carbon plate, or that the shoe is testing off the charts in terms of energy return, but I ultimately want you to feel the ride for yourself. And, in Tracksmith fashion, we’ve brought a simpler aesthetic to the super shoe category: all the speed without the spectacle. We will have pairs available in our 3 stores starting March 14th with a global online release on March 18th. If you’d like to be notified first of the online release, you can enter your email at this link.
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FROM THE RUNNING WORLD
Quick Splits
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Broken Records
If you’ve been following the indoor track season, you’re probably dazed and confused. It seems every weekend a new world record is broken, not to mention a slew of national, collegiate and high school records. Is it the shoes? Sure, they’re making a significant impact on performance. But talked about less are nutrition and training. Endurance athletes, led by cyclists and triathletes (and their doctors and nutritionists), have made huge gains in terms of fueling, not only for performance, but for recovery as well. If you haven’t heard of bicarb, you might be shocked to learn that over 80% of elite track athletes are using it. Athletes and coaches have also made significant improvements in their training, finding new ways to build huge aerobic engines on top of which highly specific training blocks are added. Shoes + Nutrition + Training = Broken Records.
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Optimizing Endurance
I’m a lifelong, curious student of exercise physiology and its application to endurance training. I’ve been experimenting on myself since high school, trying different training methods to see how my body (and performances) respond. From my own experience, I’ve learned that there are fundamental principles that should be followed for years: consistency over long periods of time will yield the best and most sustainable results. But it’s fun to tinker on the edges. If you’re interested in going deep into these topics, I found Peter Attia’s podcast with Olav Aleksander Bu fascinating. And if you’re an aging athlete like myself, I would highly recommend Peter’s book Outlive.
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