38,500 runners taught me this.

RUNLY NEWSLETTER #145
April 23rd 2026
 
Robbie here, Runly founder.

This week I am doing something a little different. Later this year will mark 5 years since we launched Runly.

In that time, we’ve sold tens of thousands of products, stood at 40+ races around the country, spoken to thousands of runners face to face, and built this brand alongside a community I genuinely care about.

A lot has changed over that time. But a few things have stayed exactly the same.

I've spent a bit of time reflecting and I put together 6 lessons that I have learned from this crazy journey so far:

1. The problem we set out to solve hasn’t changed, we’ve just gotten better at solving it.

When we started Runly, the idea was super simple.
Running with your phone, keys, gels, water. It all kind of sucked. Things bounced. Things rubbed. Things got in the way and it was hella' annoying.

That problem hasn’t gone anywhere. What has changed is how we solve it, amongst some other things like hydration.

The products we’re making now are miles ahead of what we started with 5 years ago. Better materials, better fit, better function, and a much deeper understanding of how to make the best products for our community.

For me, it's a timely reminder to keep things simple, but never stop innovating and getting better.

2. Races look very different from the other side..

When you’re turning up to run, race weekends feel electric.

When you’re there as a brand, you start to see a different side of it. It wasn't until I started activating at events with Runly that I saw this otherside.

Running brands are incredibly good at activating now. So good that it’s almost expected. It’s only really news when a brand does something poorly - as we saw from Nike's recent campaign in Boston.

There’s always another shakeout run, another pop-up, another activation trying to outdo the last one.

How many branded shakeout runs do we actually need before a marathon? (lol)

From the outside it looks so exciting. From the inside, it can sometimes feel a bit forced.

What I’ve learnt from all this, is not to get caught up in trying to do the most. We don’t need to be the loudest or the flashiest.

We just need to keep showing up, be ourselves, and connect with runners properly.
That’s what really sticks and aligns most with my values for the brand.

3. Events can be brutal, but never a waste.

Guysssssss, I won’t sugarcoat it. Events can be hard. 

Bad weather, slow sales, quiet foot traffic, and a huge amount of work in the weeks leading up just to get everything ready.

Then you’ve got the long days, the pack down, the travel, and the mental toll if things don’t go how you hoped.

It can feel pretty rough at times.

But despite all of that, there hasn’t been a single event I’ve done that I’ve regretted.
Every time, there’s something you take away.

A conversation that changes how you think about a product.
A piece of feedback you wouldn’t get online.
Or just a reminder that this brand exists in the real world, not just on a screen.

I wrote recently in this newsletter about how activating at events is a learned skill. You don't just rock up one day and be exceptional at it. There's a method to the madness.

Last year at Sydney Marathon Expo, I watched a reputable brand who have been around a long time, bring in the most compact pallet of equipment and stock I've seen, and unbox it into an exceptional activation. 

Meanwhile there I was, with 2 massive pallets, nothing compact and tedious setups. The first one in there, and the last to finish setting up.
 
4. People love our socks more than I knew, or ever expected.

We launched Runly as a vest brand, and that’s still a massive part of who we are.

But over time, we’ve become something a bit broader than that. We’re a running brand. 
 
You probably just read that line and were like, um yeah we know you're a running brand.
 
But internally we've often thought of ourselves as a 'running vest brand', which is quite a limiting thought.

One thing that’s been very clear this year is how much people love our socks.
We’ve already sold more pairs of socks this year than we did in the entire 2025 year. WILD!

We’re almost sold out again, and it’s been a constant push just to keep up. That growth is exciting, but it also puts pressure on us to keep improving.

We’re working on better materials, better performance, better packaging, and reducing single-use plastic across the range.

If everything goes to plan, our new high-performance collection will be dropping next month... Stay tuned!

5. Building a running brand without being able to run has been confronting.

This one’s been a bit personal.
Over the last three years, I haven’t really been able to run the way I used to. I've got an awful cartilage issue in my knee. My surgeon described it as 'something you would see in a horrific high-impact crash'.

There’s something strange about building a running brand when you can’t fully participate in the thing it’s built around.

There’s definitely an identity shift in that.

But I’m determined to run again. I probably won’t ever hit a PB again, but I don’t really care about that anymore. I just want to be part of it.

I remember sitting in the MCG at the Melbourne Marathon last year, watching people come through the finish line. The marathon, the half, the 10k. It hit me harder than I expected.

There was a lot of emotion there, and if I’m honest, a bit of envy too. Because I want to feel that again. The goal hasn’t changed.
 
6. I wouldn’t change any of it.

If I had to start Runly again from scratch, I wouldn’t do anything differently.

Not because we’ve nailed everything. We haven’t. Far from it.

We’ve made mistakes, we’ve been disorganised at times, and we’ve learnt plenty of things the hard way.

But this is our journey. And every part of it has shaped what Runly is today.

The wins, the tough events, the sellouts, the mistakes. All of it.
The best part, by far, has been the people.
This community.

Getting to build something for runners, and being surrounded by people who are out there doing hard things every day.

That’s what makes it worth it.

And after 5 years, I can assure you we are still only just getting started.
 
Run well,
Robbie