Heya and welcome back to Five Things Running!
The last week was pretty busy, as always during the last work before Christmas. Instead of going running every morning, I slept longer and basically enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to get up early in the morning to make breakfast for my kids. I guess my body was telling me to take things easy before the Christmas crazyness begins. I did make my Oura ring happy on Sunday by doing a nice long walk with our dog.
Enjoy the holidays and get some runs in! 🎅🏻
A Look at Strava’s 2025 Year in Sport
There’s a real difference between being motivated by races and sunk costs and developing an intrinsic love for running itself. I’m never in better shape than when I’m training for a race, mostly because I’m too competitive to treat “finishing” as the goal. But I don’t race very often, and I love nothing more than a long run through the mountains or countryside with no time limits, no pace, and no one watching. A race is just a measurement of something I already enjoy, not the reason I do it.
Looked at cynically, the surge in race participation can feel more transactional: sign up, document the training, post the finish line photo, collect the medal, the Hinge photo, and the validation.
Maybe it’s an age thing, but I am much more interested in just running these days, but it’s good to see that people are getting motivated to run.
A Winter Running Field Guide
I look forward to winter jogs. They’re somehow quieter and more alive at the same time. Stillness draws me in to my center, to the essential. Then, just as I’m about to Zen out, a stiff wind will blow a sharp ice crystal into my eyeball and remind me that the Universe is big and running is small.
I hope it gets colder soon. Not just because of White Christmas, but also because I like it a lot to run outside in gnarly conditions and then get back inside and enjoy a hot shower. Awesome feeling.
Also, make sure to subscribe to Mike’s new newsletter called WIRE - Work in Running Email - and yes, it is about working in the running industry.
SATISFY: A Blueprint for Footwear Releases
Footwear launches have become tediously predictable. A familiar choreography of seeded pairs, embargo-lifted first looks, creator content, athlete moments, and a drop date marketed with the same tired cadence. Most brands, even those with rich histories, now draw from a shallow pool of mechanics pioneered by Nike two decades ago, rearranging the same parts while hoping for a different emotional outcome. The result is an industry that feels industrial: hurried, interchangeable, and strangely hollow (okay not all the time, but you know).
In that context, SATISFY’S debut footwear release, TheROCKER, did not behave like a first attempt but rather a much needed marketing correction and the results speak for themselves.
I am not very interested about the shoe and I also think Satisfy is brutally overrated. But I do like their marketing, which is so wonderfully unique.
Running on Clouds: The Story of On
On’s premium brand comes with a premium brand strategy running across its entire operations. The company has maintained minimal discounting from the start, using that pricing power to fuel its brand equity and signal scarcity. Distribution follows the same logic, where wholesale partners are selected carefully, with strict expectations for presentation, pricing, and environment. In an industry where many brands lean on discounts to chase volume, On’s approach has set it apart.
While many historic luxury brands became premium through decades of accumulated heritage, On attempted the reverse by establishing a premium positioning instantly. Its ambition “to be the most premium global sportswear brand” is clearly more than just a branding message, but an operating principle shaping everything from product development to pricing to distribution.
On is a company that I have much respect for, because they have achieved a really nice market share. I still don’t get the brand’s appeal, though.
Putting the Pieces Together
It’s easy to get excited when we see good performances by runners we aren’t familiar with, or runners we are familiar with racing distances we don’t normally see them do. When someone puts down a good performance that we aren’t expecting, it can feel like it came out of nowhere. We become surprised and impressed all at once, and perhaps we sensationalize things.
It’s all hard work and we enjoy doing it, because we like running.
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If you missed last week’s edition, you can read it here:
Now, go running!
— Nico
🏃🏻♂️