Built for One, Not for All: How Tracksmith Built a Cult Running Brand

I have been wearing Tracksmith products for over six years now and can confidently say they are my favourite pieces of running apparel that I own. Six years, countless miles, and many washes later, the half tights and split shorts I own still feel and look amazing. After listening to an episode of the Backcountry Marketing podcast with Tracksmith’s Director of PR and Global Comms, Massimo Alpian, I can see why.

This episode took a deep dive into how Tracksmith was born to fill a gap in the running community, how they define their customer persona, and the levers they pull to serve their audience. Here are my key takeaways from the episode.

Background

Founded in 2014, Tracksmith is a New England-based running apparel brand. The brand takes pride in creating high quality, functional products for training, racing, and rest days and celebrating running’s distinct culture (Tracksmith). The brand was founded out of recognizing a distinct gap in the running apparel market: there was no apparel that was timeless and high quality, built to suit the requirements of serious runners; the clothing cuts were off, the colours weren’t right, and the materials felt synthetic. In founder Matt Taylor’s words:

“The seeds for Tracksmith came from a frustration with the way established running brands ignored the core runner, watering down their messaging to appeal to a broader fitness/athleisure base. So in establishing the framework for Tracksmith, it was important to speak to that runner who’d been left behind” - Founder, Matt Taylor (Tracksmith)

Audience

Tracksmith calls itself “The Champion of the Running Class”, which the brand defines the non-professional yet competitive runners dedicated to the pursuit of personal excellence. Massimo Alpian complemented this statement by describing their customer persona as “the dedicated runner”: someone who gets up and gets out the door several times per week to train for something.

“And for us, that is very clear to us what our mission is, which is serving the dedicated and committed runner that can mean anything, right? When I say that phrase, it can actually sound quite polarizing. I think automatically a lot of people's minds go to times and performances and what journey they should be on as a runner, but to us what that literally means is that you wake up at least several days a week and say, I'm going to get out the door, get dressed, and go for a run because I love this sport. I'm training towards something and I'm committed to whatever journey I'm on as a runner” - Massimo Alpian (Backcountry Marketing Podcast)

By narrowing down its niche, Tracksmith is able to approach its marketing strategy with 100% clarity. Massimo shared that Tracksmith doesn’t aim to cast its net any wider to serve other markets like general athletic apparel. Instead, it exists to serve this audience as holistically as it can through product and community.

“Not every runner can hit the paces that [the athletes in our photoshoots ran], but they can connect with the idea of waking up at 6am to squeeze in a run before work or changing in the bathroom at the office to workout before heading home. These are universal experiences that transcend pace and PRs, and really speak to a committed lifestyle”. - Founder, Matt Taylor (Tracksmith)

Strategy

Tracksmith has built its brand around serving the needs of this persona. There are three key levers Tracksmith pulls to serve their audience: product, community, and content.

Product

Tracksmith takes a jobs-to-be done approach to product design; designing products that meet what runners want. Whether it’s the quality or fabrics and materials or pockets and cuts that make sense, every product is created to serve a need that the dedicated runner would face.

“The design process at Tracksmith begins by identifying a product need that is unique to devoted runners. We craft each garment from the ground up based on its specific training use case: selecting the best material, silhouette and details to make that run more comfortable and more productive” - Founder, Matt Taylor (Tracksmith)

Tracksmith doesn’t make athletic apparel, it makes running apparel.

Community

While running is an inherently individual sport, Tracksmith has recognized that runners find a deep connection to the community surrounding it. By having community and culture building baked into their brand strategy, Tracksmith creates an emotional connection to their brand.

“We're a brand that serves the dedicated runner in both product and community” - Director of PR and Global Comms, Massimo Alpian (Backcountry Marketing Podcast)

While every brand under the sun is claiming to foster community in one way or another, Tracksmith was a disruptor in this area within the running space. On the Backcountry Marketing podcast, Massimo Alpian shared how Tracksmith used community building to make a splash in the apparel space in its early days at the Paris Marathon.

The team working at Tracksmith at the time had noticed that race expos generally offered the same experience: runners would go around to see which brands were activating, spend some money on apparel they probably won’t wear again, and then forget about it. There was nothing memorable or impactful about the overall experience.

To counter this, Tracksmith intentionally activated offsite from the expo, letting runners know there was more going on outside of the venue. They hosted a community shakeout, athlete panels, stamped posters, and created unique merch for the event that runners would want to keep wearing. Tracksmith was able to stand out among its more established competitors by creating a human experience around its brand.

“It’s important to remind people about those shared experiences that make the sport so much richer. We do that through our community, Hare A.C., but also with the workouts and events we offer at the Trackhouse in Boston. It’s also something we bring to our pop-ups at the major marathons – whether that’s hosting a group shakeout run or hand-stamping finisher’s posters after the race. There’s an incredible sense of camaraderie that comes from having a shared goal of running faster. As a brand, we understand that these human connections are what keep people coming back”. - Founder, Matt Taylor (Tracksmith)

Content

Tracksmith’s content is beautiful; every shot feels cinematic, authentic, and curated. Tracksmith invests in creating content that will resonate with the dedicated runner.

Authenticity

All of Tracksmith’s content is authentic. All of the people in their shoots are real runners, not models. If the subject is being filmed working out, they are actually working out and would be doing the same session whether Tracksmith was there filming them or not.

Tracksmith also captures the moments before, during, and after the workout. This ensures that they pick up the nuanced moments that only a dedicated runner would relate to, like waiting for your GPS watch to connect at the start of a run or ditching your shirt on the side of the road on a hot day. It’s these tiny details that the untrained eye would easily miss that make the content relatable as these are universally shared experiences for their audience.

Long Form

In a world where everything seems to be gravitating to short form content, Tracksmith continues to invest in long form. The brand releases two impactful pieces of long form content per year: one to set the tone for the year and another to close it out. Throughout the year they will also release short form content to support this tone, keep their followers engaged, and align with various product drops. 

Massimo Alpian candidly shared that when someone came to him with the idea for one of Tracksmith’s most successful content pieces to date, Church of the Long Run, he was initially apprehensive. The piece is an 83-minute video of a runner going for their long run in the middle of the winter in Colorado paired with a beautiful cinematic soundtrack. After giving it more thought, he came around to realize that it was true to what Tracksmith wanted to convey with their content: it was real, and the athlete would be going for this run regardless. 

At the time of this writing, the video has early 2k likes, over 86k views, and over 100 comments. Here were some comments that stood out to me:

“Not sure what the intention of the video was, but after watching the entire run on Saturday and observing the runner's form, cadence, and steady pace in addition to the effort she showed,  the next day I went out for my "long run" and found my self visualizing and "in my mind" duplicating the runner in the video. I had one of my best long steady efforts in a long time!  Thank you for posting this video Tracksmith!  It might benefit runners in ways you did not think of” (@danieldiehr926)

“Thank you Tracksmith! Only distance runners will truly appreciate this: peace. I can feel everything that's happening to Sam. Beautiful, lonely miles. Perfect” (@classicalwit)

“At some point, like a bit more of the halfway, my heart starts to feel very emotional. Wow! I don’t know if I’m the only one. That feeling is unique and only runners know” (@ricardojoseriverajustinian741)

It sounds like the piece accomplished what it intended to.

Why This Works

For many runners, running is an escape – a mindful, meditative act where nothing is commanding your attention except for the act itself. There are no “quick wins” in running, success in the sport takes years of consistent, often monotonous training. Long form content reflects the focused, intentional nature of the sport. 

To my knowledge, nobody from Tracksmith has explicitly commented on this and I have no science to back it up, this is just my own opinion as a runner.

Key Takeaways

For brands paying attention, here is what can be learned from Tracksmith’s success:

• Focus on a clearly defined audience: Tracksmith serves the “dedicated runner”, not professionals or casual joggers, but those consistently training with purpose. This clarity sharpens every brand decision. 

• Solve specific problems with thoughtful design: Every product detail aligns with the dedicated runner's needs.

• Create content that resonates: Tracksmith’s content is relatable to its audience and conveyed in a format that makes sense to them. Tracksmith isn’t documenting anything that’s not there, they are simply showcasing the moments only its audience would understand.

• Make brand experiences memorable: Create moments that evoke emotion, foster connection, or offer a break from the expected. Impactful brand experiences transform customers into advocates

• Embrace emotional resonance over metrics: It is hard to measure the impact of connecting with and inspiring a community, but that doesn’t negate its impact.