Running brands spend real money on Instagram ads, but how do you know which content is worth promoting? Organic performance can tell you a lot before you spend a dollar. Josh breaks down why brands keep paying to push content that isn't working, what to look for before buying attention, and why being willing to look stupid is part of figuring out what actually resonates.

Plus, one number from Mike Hahn's Work in Running: $120,000, the top of TYR's advertised salary range for an in-house photographer-videographer. And something worth noticing: Cole Townsend's Running Supply residency at Heartbreak's Cambridge store, where an independent running newsletter is becoming a physical retail experience. A few thoughts on HOKA's new subelite program and Nike's renewed attention to specialty retail round out the week.

• Work in Running Email (WIRE)
• Running Supply
• Running Sucks

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Run Intel is a weekly podcast about the business and marketing of running, from the Borderlands Podcast Network. Hosted by Josh Rosenthal, it explores the brands, people, ideas, and decisions shaping the running industry. Made for the marketers, founders, retailers, and industry insiders building the future of the sport.

Have something worth sharing? Send it to intel@borderlands.cc.

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• theoutrider.com
• borderlands.cc

Running brands want to get closer to runners. But what actually earns that relationship, and where does it create value? From running store economics to personalized marketing, the business of running is finding new ways to connect with the people who make the sport matter.

Katie Douglas of Running Wylder responds to last week's conversation with Vivek Gowri. DashLX shares newsletter results that should get marketers' attention. Freetrail and Rogue Expeditions are taking runners to Switzerland, while the Kansas City Marathon is giving a local running store a bigger role. Plus, a look at ANALOG, Borderlands' experiment in celebrating running culture beyond the finish line.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Katie Douglas Responds to the Run Store Economics Conversation
• 01:36 — One Number: DashLX's Newsletter Results
• 03:36 — Money in Running: Freetrail × Rogue Expeditions
• 05:13 — Kansas City Marathon × The Running Well Store
• 06:44 — ANALOG: A New Way to Celebrate Running
• 08:46 — Closing Thoughts

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Running is booming. So why are independent running stores struggling?

In Episode 2 of Run Intel, Josh Rosenthal sits down with Vivek Gowri, owner of San Francisco Running Company, to understand the economics of independent run specialty and what running brands are getting wrong.

Despite growing enthusiasm for running, local stores face rising costs, increasingly complicated inventory, and remarkably thin profit margins.

Vivek explains why a well-run store might only keep 7% of its revenue as profit, how brands can better support specialty retailers, and why direct-to-consumer sales aren't necessarily the threat many assume.

We also explore the relationship between run clubs, local running stores, and the communities that sustain them.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00 Why is run specialty struggling?
• 01:58 Rising costs and the 7% problem
• 04:27 What running brands misunderstand
• 06:57 Are DTC websites competing with local stores?
• 09:31 Run clubs and the future of specialty retail

ABOUT RUN INTEL

Run Intel is a podcast for running marketers, exploring the business, culture, and decisions shaping the running industry. Subscribe for new episodes and share this conversation with someone working in running.

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Outrider Office of Strategy | USA GTM for Global Running Brands

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