What a crazy week 🤯

RUNLY NEWSLETTER #134
Thurs Nov 20th 2025

Before I launch into this week's founder newsletter, we have a lot of new faces around here at the moment.
 
I'm Robbie, the founder of Runly, and every week I send this quick newsletter to give you a first-hand look into what's happening in the brand, the highs, lows, funny, weird & wonderful.
 
This has been a big week, no, a big month.
 
Sure, big marathons like Melbourne, Sydney & Gold Coast are huge weeks, but they're a bit different.
 
You're often on the road, living out of a duffel bag, working big days, lifting heavy things, eating terribly (and only when you can) + on your feet for 13-15 hours every day.
 
But this week has not been physically demanding like that.
 
We launched our Black Friday Sale.
 
And call me crazy, for someone who literally runs a retail business, but November and December are my favourite months of the year.
 
November, because it's all happening. Black Friday, new events, you can taste Summer coming and the vibe is starting to climb.
 
December, for the most part, feels quite uplifting. Not just because of Christmas (even though I love Xmas), the weather is nicer, people generally feel a little more relaxed, and it's a great time of the year.
 
Of course, it's busy for everyone.
 
But that's the way I like it.
 
And this week between having our 4th bday celebrations, launching our Black Friday sale, shooting a new brand video, organising new photoshoots, and even a new product launch (👀), it has been quite intense.
 
Throw in a couple of other things, too.

We've had another brand copy the design of our Hybrid Pro vest, which I cannot comment further on at the moment, as I consider legal options.
 
Plus, not to mention the looming new year, which as you can imagine for a brand, takes a lot of preparation and planning to figure what exactly that looks like for us.
 
So yeah, there's a lot going on.
 
On the topic of planning for 2026, one thing that I do think about a lot is events.
 
This year we expanded out our activations at events to include two pretty massive events - the Gold Coast Marathon and the Sydney Marathon.
 
To say I learnt a lot from these events is a wild understatement.
 
Here are three lessons that I have learnt;
 
1) I need more help & I can't do everything on my own (lol).
2) Pay attention to your activation location in an expo - makes a big difference
3) I need to look after myself better during events - take breaks, eat normal food, hydrate well (see point 1).
 
So when planning 2026, I am certainly contemplating what our spread of events looks like.
 
Do we focus only on major events across the country? Do we keep doing the small local events, or be more selective? What about international events?
 
All of these questions swirl around in my head.
 
But one thing is for sure.
 
I'm bloody excited.
 
Going to these events & being part of it all has been some of the best times of my life. Incredible experiences, wonderful people and moments shared that I'll cherish.
 
Let's have more of those in 2026.
 
Now to finish.
 
Many of you will know that I have been struggling with a chronic knee injury. I sustained it while training for the 100k Surf Coast Century two years ago, and I haven't been able to run more than a few km since.
 
Despite surgeries, consultations with more than 10 different specialists, I have not been able to find a solution.
 
And, now that I'm reading that back it sounds like I'm about to drop some micracle news, but I'm not.
 
The other day I was walking my little girl in the pram, and I just had this urge to start running.
 
Open path. No one around. No bikes, no people, no dogs on leads.
 
My head was saying, 'take it easy mate, this won't end well'.
 
But every fibre in my body was telling me just to take off. 
 
So I did.
 
I ran about 100m. Stopped. And I did it again. And again. And again.
Although it's not much, I probably ran 2km.
 
It's as much as I've run in two years.
 
In the scheme of things, it's incredibly insignificant. But for me, it was amazing.
 
And this little moment certainly reminded me that for what seems like an insignifcant moment, milestone or achievement to others, is everything to that person.
 
So continue to champion other runners, at every stage of their journey, because that's what the running community is built on.
 
Run well,
Robbie