Races this year + product update

RUNLY NEWSLETTER #139
Thurs Jan 15th 2025
 
2026 is off to a flyer already - with a number of events already done and dusted around the country.
 
One of those is the iconic Two Bays Trail Run. Almost 2,000 runners hit the gnarly trails, and by all reports a lot of Runly vests on course.
 
In fact, my phone blew up after the race. I had heaps of Runly people messaging me to let me know how many Runly vests they saw out on course - which never gets old.
 
Someone even mentioned to me that the race director was wearing a Hybrid Pro vest at the finish line (g'day if you're reading this).
 
It's that time of the year where as a runner you start planning your race calendar for 2026.
 
Obviously, those big races with ballots require you to lock in a lot earlier than this. But many medium-sized and local races will be taking on entrants up until a few weeks before the race.
 
If you're looking for new races this year, at the start of every month we have been sending out a monthly race overview with what's coming up.
 
The local races don't have the shine and glamour of the big races, but they offer a great opportunity to get involved in your community, put your race-day preparation to the test and give yourself a challenge.
 
A big part of the Runly ethos is getting involved in community events - we love it, and for us it is important to connect at the grassroots level.
 
Like you, as an athlete, in the process of locking in your race calendar, as a brand so are we.
 
We took a lot of learnings from last year.
 
It was the first year that we really launched into the big events - completing a trio of Gold Coast, Sydney & Melbourne.
 
One thing that I really learnt was how much effort & energy you need for each. It's around 5 days for each to be on the ground, setting up, activating and packing down.
 
But it's also the time at HQ, arranging logistics, flights, accom, people, product, and how it can all come together.
 
By the time we are confirmed to be activating in these big events, we've got about 8 weeks to get everything ready. 
 
That is, we know the size of our activation, and what we need to do to fill it.
 
As much as I'd love to be able to lock down our next 12 months of events, it's constantly changing.
 
Like runners, we don't know if we'll get in to some events yet, but also will it clash with others that we have committed to?
 
Then there's the very un-fun stuff, like do we have enough resources to pull it off? Enough staff?
 
In a perfect world, I'd like for Runly to be involved in all of the big events in APAC.
 
I am really trying to get to an event in Perth and we haven't done any events in SA yet.
 
Don't even get me started on NZ, it's very much on the agenda - but it's incredibly costly for us to lug all of our stuff over there and back.
 
Not to mention the other big marathons in the region - Tokyo, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong which is taking place as we speak.
 
And while a kid can dream, our first events of the year will be pulling up at some local events that offer an unrivalled sense of community that I always look forward to.
 
I hope that gives you a little bit of an insight into our plans & thoughts this year for events! We'll be creating a more detailed events calendar as soon as we can!

On the product side, it is in full-swing already.
I have been doing some serious planning and sampling over the last few weeks. 
 
Our product development is always in progress.
 
Every month we are making small changes in the background that you may never know about.
 
But we're also working on new products and exciting changes. Some of which I hope to be able to share with you soon!
 
For now, I am happy to share that we have just completed a massive restock of our popular running socks!
 
These have gone crazy over the last few months and we have struggled to keep them in stock.