ADIDAS TREADS LIGHTLY, MIZUNO MAKES MOVES
Adidas has released what they are calling the first running shoe designed specifically for treadmill running. The new Treadflow is designed specifically for indoor running, with a Climacool upper that “acts like built-in air conditioning” and large cut-outs in the outsole that maximize air flow to help keep the foot cool. The outsole also offers less traction than outdoor shoes, cutting down on weight and the midsole is designed to offer a balance of ideal energy return and foot transition.
Even though Nike fell to the number five slot in Running USA’s “Global Running Survey Running Footwear Brand Perceptions” behind Brooks, Asics, Hoka and Saucony, RBC Capital Markets raised its Nike rating to “Outperform,” citing improvements in their running category and favorable survey findings, among other reasons. At the company’s annual meeting, held virtually on September 12, Nike CEO and president Elliott Hill pointed out that one of their top methods to regain their relevance in the marketplace is to prioritize performance running. As reported last month in this column, their new Volermo and Pegasus models have shown strong sales, along with their Structure offerings. Said Hill at the meeting “Nike Brand running is accelerating, and we’re well on our way to meeting our high standards of end-to-end execution in running.”
Mizuno, who garnered a disappointing 2% of respondent’s favorite running shoe brand in the aforementioned Running USA survey despite continually producing finely crafted running shoes, has added five new members to their field team in an effort to strengthen its “ability to serve retailers, support runners and continue building toward its vision of becoming a top tier brand in the run specialty space,” as stated in a media release on the new hires.
Despite race and marathon registrations at an all-time high, the Running Industry Association reports sales at run specialty stores were flat during the first half of 2025 and the association projects low-to-mid single digit growth for all of 2025. The RIA cites tariff concerns and “continuing macroeconomics issues” as two of the main reasons for the depressed sales levels. Contrary to the low numbers, most of the main contenders in the running footwear field reported double digit growth during this year’s second quarter, plus RIA’s Executive Director Terry Schalow points out that even with the modest gains, the run channel’s take this year will total about $1.6 billion.
On the heels of impressive sales gains in 2024 and the first two quarters of 2025, Topo Athletic, manufacturer of Topo running shoes, has expanded their headquarters in Framingham, Mass. Said Tony Post, founder and CEO of Topo “….our new space will allow us to keep pace with our momentum and growth. Most importantly, it provides our team the resources and environment needed to serve our customers and grow the brand.”
Running coaching app Runna is expanding internationally, offering its training plans, coaching videos and other content in eight new languages. French, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, Italian and Japanese make up the new line-up of language offerings, with every element of the app designed to make training feel tailored to each region.
California-based running apparel brand rabbit has launched The Chase, their new Olympic Trials Qualifier program. 10 chosen athletes will receive travel stipends for their OTQ attempts, nutritional support, performance gear and product testing opportunities. Athletes who qualify for the Trials will receive full support for travel and hotel accommodations for themselves and their families. Athlete criteria for the program can be found at www.runinrabbit.com/pages/2028-otq-chasing-program.
Tayla Minsberg of the New York Times detailed the increasing difficulty of getting into World Marathon Majors races and the high cost of doing so. An almost guaranteed way of getting a coveted spot is signing up with a marathon tour operator who can charge over $4000 for a race bib and accommodations, along with group runs, shuttles to the pre-race expo and start line and course tours. Marathon Tours & Travel, the official tour operator of the World Marathon Majors and the largest of the tour groups, has seen demand increase significantly in recent years. In 2019, they brought 798 runners to the Berlin Marathon and that number almost tripled to 2159 in 2024. Organizers of the TCS New York City Marathon say about 14,000 runners use a tour operator to get into the race and TCS London Marathon officials hope to expand “all categories of entrants to the event” in the coming years. Meanwhile, Justin Chan of Seattle didn’t want to wait and spent $7,549 on a MT&T package plus flight costs to travel to London in 2022 with his wife and two children to take part in the race. “It’s not cheap,” he said, “But it was a great experience.” Marathon Tours also looked after nearly 11,000 athletes and their families at this year’s TCS Sydney Marathon, hosting chartered cruises around Sydney harbor and organizing some 6,000 breakfast boxes for runners, along with other perks to make the race experience more enjoyable for their clients.
Looking at the endless choices of energy bars at a grocery store, shoppers might think the category is nearing saturation. But from the humble beginnings when Canadian marathoner Brian Maxwell and his wife stirred up a batch of PowerBars in their kitchen the market continues to expand. Buyers are now spending 33% more on bars than they did in 2018 and gels are predicted to increase in sales from $635 million in 2024 to $1.3 billion in 2034. Rice Krispie Treats are also having their moment, with numerous professional and everyday runners gobbling down the sweet cubes that are infused with sugar, corn syrup, fructose and corn syrup solids before a competition. A new entrant in the field is the high protein David bar. Founded by RxBar co-founder Peter Rahal and keto cookie entrepreneur Zach Ranen, the bars pack 28 grams of protein with zero sugar, outpacing former protein king Quest whose bars contain 21 grams of protein. The New York Times, in a long article about the new king of protein bars, calls the David bars a “protein Scud missile wrapped in gold foil.” On the first official day of sales last September, there were 40,000 customers on their waiting list, more than $1 million worth of bars were sold the first week and sales are projected at $180 million this year, largely through the company website. Meanwhile, RxBar, which Rahal and his partner sold to Kellogg’s five years after its founding for $600 million, is said to be one of the fastest growing bars in the healthy snack bar category, according to Kellanova, as Kellogg’s is now known. Perhaps in response, David is working on a “candy-bar like product” that has a soft, springy texture of a marshmallow for their less-discerning customers who still like to think they are eating healthy foods.