Tracksmith to open first London store – Runner’s World

Tracksmith, the premium running brand that draws inspiration from the style and heritage of the sport, and has gained a cult following in the UK, is to launch its first London store next week. The design of the clothes combines the sort of detail to warm the heart of the running history nerd – the brand recently released a shawl-collared jumper inspired by Emil Zátopek – with a preppy, New England aesthetic.

The Marylebone store will be the first shop outside the US, indeed only the second store anywhere for the brand, whose classic designs often pay homage to key moments or figures in the history of running.

Tracksmith, which has grown quickly since its launch in Boston in 2014, will initially open as a pop-up at 23-25 Chiltern Street in Marylebone during the London Marathon period, from September 30 – October 7^th. It will then launch as a permanent fixture after a full refurbishment in late November.

Like the brand’s Boston store, the London space will operate not just as a retail space but also as a runners community hub, with a patio garden and a coffee bar.

Tracksmith has long celebrated the wider culture of running, from its editorial Meter magazine to hosting evening events and talks, as well as producing films and podcasts. At a time when mass interest in elite running has taken something of a hit, this has helped Tracksmith to gain a strong reputation among keen runners for its authenticity. As, equally, does it policy of using only ‘real’ runners for its shoots, often photographed during real training sessions. The company also boasts some seriously impressive runners amongst its staff, not least double Olympic medallist Nick Willis, who works for Tracksmith as the Athlete Experience Manager.

Though the brand still prides itself on its amateur ethos, they have also moved into supporting the faster end of the market. At the US Olympic trials marathon in 2020, 565 runners took to the streets of Atlanta, of whom 138 were wearing Tracksmith ki, provided as part of the company’s OTQ programme for those runners fast enough to be in the trials, but without an official sponsor.

And while Tracksmith’s distinctive vests now also appear in Diamond League races and field events, its core market remains the dedicated enthusiast. Indeed, one of the perennials of the Tracksmith collection is a T-shirt emblazoned with “AMATEUR” – harking back to an idealised era when even the fastest athletes in the world were amateurs – perhaps rather ironically, given most of them would probably rather have been paid. Today their market is what Tracksmith refers to as the “running class” – the “non-professional yet competitive runners dedicated to the pursuit of personal excellence”.

At a time when athleisure wear continues to boom, Tracksmith have also won fans by creating running clothes that are both technically superior for running, but also fashionable enough to be worn casually, whether to the pub or to a meeting. And while there are plenty of runners who will protest that a £10 vest does them nicely for their races, thank you, there are also those who now see running gear as an extension of their wardrobe.

In the build up to the launch, Tracksmith has been working hard to deepen its roots in the capital by launching the successful Amateur Mile race at London’s Community Track and, more recently, with its “100 Days out” marathon programming, with Sunday long runs focussing on building the distance for marathon runners tackling London on Sunday 2 October.

The net result, at least in the UK, is a noticeable increase in the distinctively styled Tracksmith vests in the starting pens of races and on the streets, at least in London.

“We’ve seen incredible interest in the community events we’ve held in London over the past several years, alongside strong sales from the UK market since our earliest days,” explains Tracksmith founder and CEO Matt Taylor, who himself competed at Yale on the cross-country and track and field teams and has a mile PB of 4:10. “So when we decided to expand our retail footprint beyond Boston, London was an obvious and exciting choice. Tracksmith has long been inspired by the style and heritage of British athletics, but London also represents one of the most modern, diverse, vibrant, and competitive running communities in the world. We’re tremendously excited to join that community with a permanent presence in Marylebone and hope to support and add to it in a meaningful way”.