In Strava we trust: a look at the explosion of running culture

Sunday 10 June 2012. My first registered run on the Nike app. 6.4 kilometres in 31 minutes and 15 seconds, an average of five minutes per kilometre. No heart rate monitor, no fancy carbon shoes, no run clubs. Just shoes on, phone strapped to the arm, earbuds in, out the door and off. Nicely clearing my head by running. That's how running started for me. No finish line, no medal, no Strava kudos.

Fast forward to now: 2025. Running has exploded. Everyone runs. Marathons sell out in no time and run clubs pop up like mushrooms. Strava is no longer an app for nerds, but a social sports network full of PRs, kudos and aesthetic imagery. Running has become culture.

From function to lifestyle

What used to be functional, just a way to stay fit, has now become a lifestyle. And you see that reflected in the market. Nike, untouchable for years as the dominant running giant, is now being challenged by brands like HOKA, On Running and ASICS. Brands that don't just promise technical comfort, but seem more culturally relevant too. They all tap into the need for meaning, recovery, mental wellbeing — all themes that have been booming post-COVID.

COVID really does seem to have been a tipping point. The world stood still, but our legs didn't. When gyms closed and streets emptied, people laced up their fastest shoes in droves. Outdoor sport became the outlet, the pandemic turned running into a socially accepted form of mental wellbeing.

42 kilometres and change

The marathon has become the new status symbol. Where it used to be a sporting achievement for a small group of diehards, it's now a bucket list item, a personal brand statement, a way to show on socials that you're doing well. Entries for big marathons sell out in a few days, everyone is always training for something.

I couldn't dodge this new running hype either. First through Patta's Running Challenges, later more seriously: training with Keren for the Paris marathon. The goal: my first 42 kilometres, but of course wanting to set a top time. As it goes when you dive into something too enthusiastically, it turned out differently. A few weeks before the race I had to pull out due to overloading my calf — a typical injury for someone too eager. But the motivation stayed. This year we're going for another shot, in our own city: the Amsterdam marathon. Also a special edition, because of the city's 750th birthday.

Brands run along

What I find fascinating from a brand strategy perspective is how this cultural shift forces brands to reposition themselves. ASICS does it smartly: no focus on always having to win, but rather "Move your body, move your mind". A promise of comfort and mental balance. On Running goes all in on technology and community. HOKA focuses on extreme comfort in a distinctive visual language. Today, brands shouldn't just offer performance, but meaning. Not just fast, but smart. Not just winning, but connecting.

But in the niche too, a new kind of brand culture is growing. Labels like Satisfy and UVU embrace the raw edge of running and mix aesthetics, identity, minimalism, sometimes even spirituality. They turn running into a form of expression rather than a sport, aimed at a generation that's just as interested in trail runs as in aesthetics. These are brands that make community and content almost more important than product, and in doing so perfectly tap into the creative, conscious runner of today.

Running shows how quickly a functional market can shift culturally. As a brand, you have to stay alert to movements like this. It's not just about product key features, but about the role you play in someone's identity. Runners today aren't athletes, they're creators, dreamers, thinkers.

And somewhere in between, I run. Still someone who runs to clear the head. Fascinated by how this sport, and the culture around it, has got moving.

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