Is Running the Latest Counterculture?

MILAN — “I wasn’t really thinking about running so much. It was just like, getting out and about and having a bit of time to myself — to think, to reflect — and I just kind of fell in love with the idea that it was keeping me fit and healthy. But it was almost more of a mental thing.”

That’s how Matt Horrocks describes his first steps into running, an experience that should sound relatable to many.

The cofounder of East London-based “Your Friendly Runners” running community and the “Knees Up” multifunctional space, together with photographer and content creator Oliver Hooson, began lacing up his sneakers after moving to Melbourne, Australia, around 2016. That was “pre-running hype,” he said.

Now leading menswear trade fair Pitti Uomo conscripted Horrocks and Hooson to develop a new section called “Knees Up Running Space” to spotlight a highly curated range of indie running brands hailing from different corners of the globe.

In recent years, running has evolved into much more than simply a fitness activity to become a cultural phenomenon, a full-fledged lifestyle with vibrant and highly engaged communities with their own rituals, lexicon and aesthetics.

And fashion — whose fixation for sports in general has also reached a fever pitch post-pandemic — wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to tap into that demographic.

Established sportswear giants, from Adidas and Nike to New Balance, as well as runner-ups such as Hoka and On Running, the latter among the most successful business case studies in the sportswear space in recent years, have tried to mingle with those communities to turn them into recurring customers. Ditto for fashion brands. For one thing, the Loewe x On Cloudtilt 2.0 sneakers ranked as the most in-demand product for the second quarter of 2024, according to Lyst.  

So what is it about running that makes it such a global phenomenon?

A movement toward well-being and self care has been bubbling up for the past 10 years at least, Horrocks opined, leading to many “microtrends” — from intermittent fasting and cold plunges to sleep-tracking, among others.

“I think it’s been happening slowly over time, but it’s increasing every year… and running plays a part in that,” Horrocks said.

The pandemic certainly contributed to running’s rise in popularity, as the only sport activity that, practiced in solitude, was billed as safe.

“I think people realized how much they just needed a physical outlet. And actually, running was, for, a little while, the only thing you could do. Really [it was] either go and work out in your park or go and run around your park. And I think a lot of people probably grabbed some running shoes and went out to give it a go, because they probably never really tried. And most of them realized actually how great it is. There are no barriers to entry,” Horrocks said.

Media — and fashion and sportswear brands — played a crucial role, too. The 2024 editions of the London and New York City marathons turned out to be marketing bonanzas with fashion activations, branded run clubs and product drops.

“I mean millions and millions of people tune in and watch the London Marathon every year,” Horrocks said. “It creates this idea of fear of missing out — where people just feel like, [even if] they don’t run [regularly], that they’ve got to take part in this marathon or that race,” he said.

However, brands are increasingly realizing that running enthusiasts are seeking more than just performance product. Long gone are the days of athletic gear seen as just a commodity: Performance components are a given, but appealing designs are too, more often than not.

“It’s important to have that credibility [in performance wear] in the mix, but I think for fashion brands, the more fashion-forward brands that are entering the space [are offering more] creativity and innovation and pushing the running space and the idea of what people also might feel comfortable wearing when they’re out and about,” Horrocks offered.

Every purchase ultimately signals a shopper’s desire to belong to this community, and bonding with them is paramount.

To be sure, the baseline of running’s appeal is its role in fostering connections and relationships.

“When we started [our community], the secret ingredient was sort of that idea of making people leave a meet-up feeling better than when they arrived,” Horrocks said. “It’s that human connection that’s at the heart of everything we do,” he said.

He and Hooson met by chance after Horrocks bought a pair of second-hand running shoes from him, which led to a friendship and the creation of “Your Friendly Runners,” an East London run club started back in 2018.

“We had both started running and we said, ‘why don’t we meet here every week, at this coffee shop, and just open it up to whoever might be in the area who might kind of fancy tagging along and getting involved?’ That’s kind of how it all started, we didn’t really have a plan,” he said.

Since 2018, the “Your Friendly Runners” community has grown tremendously, triggering the idea that the run club could have its own space. In March 2024 the two business partners opened “Knees Up,” the physical, multifunctional space on London’s Hackney Road that serves as headquarters, coffee shop, bakery and gathering point for the community. It’s also become home to several brand partnerships and activations with a range of players including Adidas, On Running and Hoka, among others, in addition to a window for indie sportswear brands.

In Horrocks’ view, indie brands have helped ignite phase two of the running craze, one that’s poised to become dominated not just by mass, pop culture and brands, but subcultures, too.

“I think lots of amazing brands have kind of pioneered this idea that you don’t have to look a certain way [to be part of the running community]. There’s an alternative kind of scene that bubbled away. Creatives are using running to share ideas and organize their thoughts. And I think that that has created this beautiful movement of nonconformists, and this amazing kind of undercurrent in running, where you’ve got lots of tribes, and they’re all a little different,” he said.

Hence bigger players have more pressure to shoulder when it comes to recruiting communities and doing it right.

“As far as I’m concerned, there are two things that they really need to push for: how can we make this original and how can this feel authentic,” he said. “That can obviously take shape in a variety of ways, depending on the project, the brand, the idea and what it is that they’re trying to bring to life,” he said.

A third ingredient is intimacy.

“Over the years running [was] getting bigger and bigger and [running] groups were getting bigger. And I think there’s a vanity to that. Brands want to see hundreds and hundreds of people turn out for their events — the photos that they share online might look good. But is anyone really connecting,” Horrocks questioned.

This approach has informed many of the partnerships Knees Up has set up with brands, even pushing the envelope further by recently organizing an intimate supper club for running enthusiasts with a partner brand, for example.

In Horrocks’ view running has the ability to connect beyond borders.

“This way of thinking and this kind of approach to running and lifestyle and sport and design, it’s kind of global. We’re all connected through these same ideas,” he said.