my favorite week of the year is upcoming and i can’t wait to share all the cool stuff that’s happening. Ok, no chance to talk about everything as it’s insanely much. Worked together with Marathon Weekend and Cole to create a UTMB WEEK rundown and it’s 150+ events this week. Everyone and his mother does a group run and some chill out and whatnot.

As always, i love to be able to decide for myself on what to do and where to run, so i’m taking it as a nice service to have a big list to choose from. BUT (inb4) i understand you if you’re saying “it’s too much”. Yeah, probably. But with what the major of Chamonix said publicly recently, this year could be absolute peak, regarding the happenings around race week. Find the full list here via Marathon Weekend!

I am pretty proud to tell you that i have a whole team around Chamonix for ACG and The North Face, while i’ll join the Hoka family for the fifth time for UTMB (i hope the Alpina has my name finally on the room :D).

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Pretty sure you’ll find me at Norda x Black Diamond, at the Satisfy Chalet ( i have a soft spot for their Chamonix merch), at the Arc’teryx x Distance Aid Station, at Rematch x Jolie Foulee (the not so secret secret recommendation!), the Maurten Chalet for the yard sale and at several of the Hoka activities. Will be part of a radio show at the HOKA booth on wednesday too.

Please don’t hate me, but this is not the place where we’re writing all too much about the races, but i can assure you i am crazy hyped about my race and all the others and may have shed a tear when i realized Jim AND Killian most likely are not racing this year. But there are so many better channels to talk about the races than this one.

And now, here’s some more hot stuff happening in running right now (in and outside the UTMB bubble):

1 ACG CHAMO CAMO DEEP DIVE:

We had the chance to produce our new “product deep dive” for ACG’s Chamo Camo collection and i think it has turned out amazing. SO please if you see this, click through to Instagram and support.

2 New Balance SC Elite V6 & SC Rebel v1

Heavy update for New Balance’ race shoe rotation. The 6th version of the Elite is out now and so is the Rebel v1 which is kind of the Rebel’s faster brother. First impression is “impressive daily speed trainer”. Will keep you updated! (pics via product index)

3 HOKA TECTON X4

Here it is: Hoka's new top-of-class Tecton X4 trail race shoe is out now and promises to be the best Tecton so far.
Upper comes with Matryx again for breathability in every condition, the sole features Hoka's new Pro Fly X technology, 2 layers of PEBA and a carbon plate - with a Vibram outsole. It's a little lighter than the X3 (roughly 280gr) and made to race.
Personal opinion after 100+ km:
The sole element is on a new level, the higher stack with the double layer of Peba serves with even better cushion on longer races - especially for a heavier runner like me. Made me feel way more comfortable in "longer" runs, even when it got a bit faster in the end. Definitely my OCC choice.

4 SATISFY X COROS

Cool move for Satisfy to get a broader portfolio, cool step for Coros to get into (maybe) another target group. I mean, tbf it’s a watch with some color adjustments and bands to switch - but it looks pretty cool, so i’m in.

5 ADIDAS AGRAVIC SPEED ULTRA EVO

Have i missed adidas Terrex leaving the room? I don’t know. BUT: here’s the AGRAVIC SPEED ULTRA EVO, the newest generation of adidas’ fast trail race shoes. Right in time with a tiny 500$ release to be able to give ‘em to the athletes for next week’s races. Let’s see!

6 LAST BUT NOT LEAST: SUPPORT THE CREATIVES!

Few days ago, it became public that H&M did some very, very cheap Unna “fakes” and i hate that. Unna don’t own stripes, but the similarities are just hilarious. ALSO: they shot the campaign right next to their Stockholm office. Embarrassing. Like all the “run culture” that happened at H&M’s Barcelona MOVE event few months ago…

Support small creatives, small & independent brands and shops. They are the ones that born from and living in run culture, not the big fast fashion giants. Check out some “proof” via Cole’s newsletter!

edit: minutes before sending this out, i saw the story of Unna founder John Ruben. It’s a start, ngl.

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I was on family vacation to Austria, Italy and Munich for more than 2 weeks and before we started, i thought it would be my perfect training weeks before OCC in August, as the mountains promised to be everywhere around us. Turns out, with a baby and a 4-year-old, there’s at least one more factor to get or not get trail running time on vacation. So in retrospective, i’m happy with the mileage and elevation i got over the last weeks, especially about the last longer one in the Alps, that brought me to Oberkaser Alm near the Meraner Höhenweg. It’s not reachable by car and situated at 2200m, with small lakes and all that, which makes it a pretty magical place, ngl.

OCC is going down in less than 3 weeks now and i’m genuinly feeling good about it. I’m generally counting the days to UTMB week and as we get closer, the news and talks and “hot takes” and opinions are getting louder. I’m looking forward to meeting all the friends and business friends, see as much from the races as possible and have a good 57km on Thursday. Drop an email if you want to meet or have something cool going on during the week.

But for a not-so-heavy start, let’s see what’s hot in running this week:

1 New Balance SC Rebel v1 is about to drop soon

What a banger! NB steps up their Rebel range with the SC Rebel 1, that’s supposed to be your everyday racer. ALL colorways look pretty fire so far and i cannot wait to have a test spin. The SC Elite 6 racer is already available, but tbh i’m a bit more curious on these, as i’m usually more in on everyday pairs. I mean i’m an everyday kinda runner, not always aiming for races. Chris took thos shots during CPHFW and damn, these are so good. Link here.

2 Hoka Speedgoat 7 GTX Colorways

These got game, damn! Not always the biggest fan of new Hoka colorways, but these are amazing. I usually do not buy GTX shoes for running but these will definitely make a good winter shoe for rainy Euro Winter.

3 Salomon S/LAB GENESIS 2 Product Index

The S/LAB GENESIS 2 is built for technical alpine terrain, mixed mountain routes, and ultra distances where foot placement and ground feedback take priority. A firm, natural platform with a high stability score reflecting the activeCHASSIS and guided geometry. The profeelFILM filters sharp rock and root without mechanically redirecting the stride, keeping the Transition score low and the feel connected to the ground. optiFOAM² on the top layer improves energy return and durability over the original compound. A precision tool for runners who want to feel the terrain.

4 Diadora High Mileage Summer

Diadora is back in Flagstaff for their “High Mileage Summer”, a promised service to all runners training out there. Hosted (long) runs, athletes, a pop up running house - all in place for Flagstaff summer!

5 66North opens Copenhagen Flagship

Thanks for having us! Hoka and 66North asked Runners Highest to host the social run to welcome their CPH store during Fashion Week and we had a blast. Why Hoka and 66North? Let’s see. O.O

6 ON Squadrace in London

On Squad Race landed in London:
We joined END. at Tobacco Dock to experience On’s new relay format firsthand, where 53 crews from across London battled it out on a unique spiral course. But beyond the racing, the day was all about the people: swipe through to check out how raceday unfolded.
Crew culture has become one of the driving forces behind modern running—and Squad Race felt like a celebration of exactly that.

Thanks for always supporting, fam! I really appreciate all the “long term” readers and feedback, emails, etc. - you know where to find me and i’m trying to block a weekly spot to get into regular writing again.

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Sooo, Satisfy x adidas happened last weekend and while the whole world is arguing about whether it was the biggest show of the strength of the both brands, a cringe festival and demonstration of elitism or just an insane few days for fans and friends of the brand & hardcore music, i don’t really wanna discuss that here (i must say THIS REEL explained it pretty good, but i have to admit, i giggled because of some of the memes), as Runners Highest had quite a big weekend, we’ve been busy travelling to Alsace (Obernai to be specific) to race a 20k UTMB category, to London for Hackney Half with the homies from the Hoka fam and to Zegama to cheer the athletes with ACG. This definitely is busy in a very good way, so enjoy:

ALSACE BY UTMB

First of all and “most privately” i went to Obenai, Alsace, France with my clostest trail running friends to run 29k at the Trail des Pelérines. 29,8k, 900hm, sounded nice to drive to France in the morning, race, eat & a beer and drive back. And it was. I honestly had a great race with ok weather and managed to finish in 2:56 which i didn’t expect - especially after my whiny post about being sick and injured and not able to properly train in ages in a note last week. Uphill was very solid, trail downhills were solid, only the last 7? km on asphalt and hard gravel really hurt and i lost 20 spots. But wtf am i to care. Would have finishes 180th instead of 200th and that’s still amazing. Ran in my Tecton X3s that already carried me through 40k at MCC, 58k in Madeira, 50k in Alsace last year, 33k twice for XMAS Trail, 29k this weekend and a lot of test kilometers on Taunus home turf. Love this one. And thanks to Hoka btw for sorting the crew few more bibs and some pairs of Speedgoat 7 - very much appreciated. In general, i’d say i love local trail races, as it’s only 2,5 hours door-to-door but you wouldn’t believe me as it’s a UTMB race, so i’ll keep that for another one. But still, it takes me 4,5+ hours to get to the Alps, so the Vosgues, Black Forrest, Alsace or the local uplands (Taunus) are what we get when we talk about running trails “near home” and that’s fine for me.

ZEGAMA

Meanwhile Nicolas travelled from Luxembourg to Zegama with ACG. Third ACG trip this year, Basque and an iconic race this time. Nike’s always busy and the schedule was tight but they deeeefinitely squeezed everything out of those 2,5 days. Cheering at the vertical K, trail run in the new Zegama, product talk & insights, hiking in the muddiest trails you can imagine. Check out the race day shots, it’s just insane and again show the mystical vibe around the iconic race. Rumor says he sat next to Killian on the way home and even got a little souvenir selfie. God i love trail running so much.

Meanwhile Josh was away in the UK, running Hackney Half with the Hoka fam. Unfortunately Hackney is “always” on the same weekend as my Alsace race is and i was registered for quite a long time. Also at the moment, i personally enjoy trail running a bit more than street racing. Will maybe change again sometime. Still, happy to have the chance to send friends to races and pass along amazing experiences and pretty cool weekends. Bro Lew Bloyce had his big weekend with a big-ass activation and even his face in a even bigger mural. Congrats my man! I only ran Hackney Half once but seeing all the pics from around the race, around Hackney and around Knees Up weirdly feels like “a place like home”. Only thing i wasn’t missing out on was the weather as it looked quite mediocre. O.O

Enjoy your week, fam! Will be in France again this weekend and hopefully get my brandnew RAIDE 5L vest onto the trails - and will review it afterwards. Next newsletter is coming, don’t worry!

In April i was able to travel to Portland and visit Nike Campus and the Gorge Waterfalls with ACG, that was insane. I also ran (30k of) London Marathon in end of April, while the team was present at a wholesome Arcteryx community trail event near Munich and at Innsbruck Alpine Festival, even with a bib, thanks to Terrex. This weekend Runners Highest will be in France for Alsace by UTMB (racing the 28k), Hackney Half with Hoka and Zegama with ACG. Wild times we live in. And in a not to distant future, it’s UTMB week already and as i already know i’ll be in Chamonix with team Hoka (which almost feels like tradition after 5 years), we’re planning to have the team in Chamonix as well. So if you have plans that should include RH, feel free to reach out. info@runnershighest.com is your go-to here.

Another thing that’s new here and will profit from the contributor’s is the “new gear” section. It’s just not possible for me alone to do tests and reviews and all that all the time. I’d need to double my weekly mileage and i couldn’t wear my favorites in between. So we’re starting the “New Gear by RH” section in this newsletter to do short reviews of shoes & products we tested (and liked?) recently. I’m also planning a feature about my “not so short(s) journey” to find the perfect running short for everyone that’s not have the perfect legs for running shirts & tights, as that struggle is for real.

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1 History rewritten at the Cocodona 250

Rachel Entrekin becomes the first woman ever to win the race overall - and does it in course record time. Faster than anyone before her. Period. I like that these news were quite big on the running news but also made it out of it and on TV. What an insane effort! Btw most pics of the finish and Rachel’s race you’ll find are from Somer Kreisman and i noticed that here pics were taken and posted and reposted all over the instagram running world and that’s shit, sometimes even without a tag or mentioning and that’s BIG SHIT.

2 OOO

I was on vacation for a week and really enjoyed being less online. Tbh 2 kids and no kindergarten can be “tough” sometimes but also insanely cool. So it was obviously fine to not be on the phone or laptop for like all day.

Had two funny “fails” i wanna tell you. First i decided to take my snobby coffee equipment with me as i usually hate on the hotel coffee. Turns out they didn’t have an electric kettle to boil the water. Duh. I then tried to use the hot water from the Nespresso machine, but i failed. Double duh.

Second fail was less concerning, i just brought my Hoka Mafate X because i completely planned on doing some nice and flat gravel runs. Well, turns out there was not one “trail” around and i ended up running the Mafate X on asphalt and the threadmill, which felt surprisingly ok. And in general i have to admit, that’s a good shoe. I didn’t feel it when i first wore it but it’s staying in the rotation for sure.

3 adidas x Satisfy is coming soon

Teased in January during PFW, Satisfy and adidas will have some event in Arizona later this week and we’ll probably know and see more about the collaboration very soon. Tbh i’m curious about the mothtech adi tee as i genuinly like the idea of that branding very much.

4 Thomas Cykana on the Human Art of Collaboration // APR MAG Interview

The homes from APR MAG did another pretty good interview, this time with Thomas Cykana, Senior Director Collaborations at Hoka. They sat down at PFW to talk collaborations in general, the “perfect” partner and how to find it, the human aspect and the benefits of collabs. Read the full interview here.

5 Innsbruck Alpine Trail Festival

Had the chance to get a bib and eqt by adidas Terrex on a short note (thx tem adi) and realized again that Innsbruck is clearly the capitol city of the German-speaking outdoors. What a beautiful city, surrounded by the mountains but with almost all pro’s of “bigger” cities. I feel studying in Innsbruck must be insane. Running and hiking and cycling all summer and getting 80+ ski days in winter kinda.

Well, Innsbruck Alpine Festival also felt pretty good, weather delivered, Terrex did some cool community activations around the Agravic (which is a nice trail shoe, but you know that already), and the DACH trail community was present very much. We’re definitely coming back!

6 Hoka XLIM Mafate Speed 2

Second drop of the collab between Hoka and Korean brand XLIM and i like the grey and orange a bit mire than the blue & black from the first one. Would be my choice for summer in this case.

7 SCANNED SOUVENIRS 3 // ACG at Gorge Waterfalls

[SCANNED SOUVENIRS] is a content series with a personal but archival approach to collect the „smaller stuff“ that we get our hands on, be it as give-aways, exclusive gifts, event merch or just small artifacts of outdoor culture. We collect and share via this series once in a while. It‘s a Runners Highest Original. [📂]

Here’s Issue 3 with stuff i got in the US in April. Check out all slides here.

8 WISE ULTRA RUNNING - NEW COLLECTION & CODE

Tis one is a bit of a longer shot but a pretty interesting concept by WISE!

In ultra-distance running, gear selection is an essential part of the success of any project. A top, a bottom, or a running pack is never just an accessory — it is a functional tool, integrated into a complete kit and designed to meet the specific demands of an adventure.

With the new WISE collection, a new product coding system has been introduced to make this selection process more intuitive and performance-oriented.

Developed around concrete functional benefits, the system is inspired by the key questions athletes ask themselves when choosing equipment: What conditions will I face? What level of protection, breathability, storage, or support do I need? How far and how intensely will I move?

Rather than focusing primarily on style or product categories, the WISE coding system is designed to help athletes quickly identify the products that best match the realities of their project and the demands of their environment.

The objective is simple: to create a clearer understanding of the collection and guide athletes toward equipment choices based on functional needs, performance expectations, and the nature of their adventure.

So WISE gives you 3 questions before choosing gear and the answers are given by the different products. What’s the occasion you want to choose your kit for? How long’s the race? How’s the weather gonna be? You’ll get a 3-digit product code and can choose from there on. Check it out here.

9 District Vision opens Flagship Store

… and it just doesn’t look like a flagship store. They created a beautiful space that invites you to stay and rest, not just a showcase for product. They showcase a “vision”. I really like that.

10 On Nike Gyakusou in 2026

So it seems Nike is going to bring back GYAKUSOU for Holiday 2026 season and ar first I was like “I AM ALL IN” as Gyakusou may be one of the most valuable partnerships for what we nowadays see in running apparel. They were miles ahead of the competition back then with the colors, the cuts, the designs and the overall ideas. Obviously with pricing as well and not few pieces ended up on sales racks (where I sometimes pulled the trigger). They definitely were a blueprint or a template for many brands that are successful nowadays.

Now we’re in a situation that’s kind of different, with Nike stock being lower than ever and many people feeling Nike has somehow lost the connect to parts of the community. A comeback of Gyakusou imho is very understandable but has more than just one risk. Here are some immediate thoughts about it.

1. Does it rely on “making big money”? I don’t think Gyakusou back in the days did – at least not from the go. And that made it a cool experiment. It was “limited”, not available everywhere. And to make big money, you’ll have to scale it. Not sure if that’s the way, at least not from the getgo. If they rely on big numbers early on in 2026, it might be a short adventure. :/

2. The state of innovation: Gyakusou 10 years was something completely new and unseen. Nike was setting the pace back then. That’s not entirely the situation anymore today, I think. Brands such as Bandit, Satisfy, SOAR, District Vision and others have taken the place of making “running fashionable” and so the running world doesn’t have the need for yet another brand tapping in that field again. Today, there seems to be a specialist brand for everything and there’s a nice recent article from Seb Beasant talking about how brands succeed when focussing on the one thing they are very good at instead of trying to do everything a little. (link: substack.com/home/post/…)

3. No clear need: Nike wants to re-connect with the running community (which they didn’t entirely succeed in Boston, right?). But I don’t know if the running scene is really waiting for a comeback of Gyakusou. What will it be? Retro releases? What will the new product be? I feel like recently ACG somehow took over the “playfield” spot that Gyakusou once had, the freedom to do stuff that’s outside of the box aka outside of the Swoosh. So I don’t fully see a space for Gyakusou.

4. It’s not repetitive: how can you repeat what Nike built back then? Can you successfully do? I unfortunately doubt it.

While Nike Gyakusou defined the look of and the vibe of “fashionable running” for almost a decade, the market has changed A LOT over the last 5,6 years. I still really look forward to 26/27 Gyakusou and I definitely want to believe in it – there are plenty of good people and creative minds at Nike. It’s just gonna be much harder. Let’s talk again later O.O

Leave your comments and thoughts please!

hope you enjoyed Boston Marathon. I gotta admit, i’m not too much invested into Boston Marathon. Big fan of the heritage and i also like how it was activated, especially Rec Room, looked pretty cool, but somehow it still is the major that’s furthest away from me, i don’t know…

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I’m running London Marathon this weekend and the list of activations, pop ups, shake outs etc. is like 15+ pages (coming to it later). That’s overwhelming and to be honest I’m almost a bit happy my family joins me and is not interested in running pop up hopping all weekend. I had 9 weeks of bad training after a mediocre half marathon training plan, i guess that must be the whole “getting older” thing now. Let’s see what Sunday brings and have a good day out there.

Two weeks ago, i was in Portland and Cascade Locks with ACG, which is (yeah, you already knew) Nike. It was definitely too short for the crazy long flight but i had an insanely good time, fell a bit in love with Portland and American public trails. So much fun to start downtown, run 2 miles to the trailhead and have 30+ miles of hilly trails ahead. That’s stuff i dream about at the moment, no joke. Pacific Crest Trail was a dream as well. And: i finally scored a radical airflow shirt and will annoy my fellow trail friends with it at the local races. Expect me going all out on rank 72, equipped like Caleb Olsen while winning a 100-miler.

Back to topic: a visit to Nike’s Campus in Portland has been a a long-time dream since starting my first sneaker blog in 2008, no joke. So this was a full circle moment for me. Next time i want to stay longer, do a track workout on Michael Johnson track and visit the archives.

I had the chance to talk to some of the people behind the relaunch of ACG and the first short interview is online already. I appreciate every click and support around that, really wanna get back to do more “editorial” content in the future. Check out the interview with ACG’s creative director Aaron Belchere here.

(it’s odd, i know, because i just have been invited to the US by Nike, but pls be assured, this is 100% my opinion): And a bit of a hot take to end this section: Are you walking or running this year? I’m a fan of inclusive language but i think too many people just jumped on that “nIkE iS mEaN” bandwagon this time. It’s ok to critizice, i don’t think we have to be over and over dramatic about that. Definitely don’t wanna be the middle-age white dude on this but “for the first time” i was eye-rolling a bit. If you wanna educate me, pls send an email to chris@runnershighest or link me to a good article about it. I mean it, happy to learn everyday.

What’s hot in Running this week!?

1 New Balance Run House & More for London Marathon

NB is going out big and i‘m there for it!
They‘re offering plenty of events throughout several locations over the weekend.
Come through to the New Balance Run House at Somerset House:
🗓️ Fri Apr 24 | 14:00–17:00
🗓️ Sat Apr 25 | 10:00–18:00
🗓️ Sun Apr 26 | 09:00–17:00
Additionally find NB at the ExCeL Running Show (Apr 22–25) and cheer zones on race day at Mile 8, 16.3 & 25. NB are the current kings of community activations around marathons, so my expectations are quite high, ngl!

Register here.

2 On LightSpray™ Tour around London Marathon Weekend

The future of running lands in London this week.
Experience LightSpray™ up close, try on the Cloudmonster 3 Hyper and Cloudboom Strike — and step into what's next.
Check out all events and sign up via the link.
On LightSpray™ Tour | 3 Hanover Square | April 24–26 | 11am–7pm.

3 Hoka Hub at London Marathon

Hoka already opened their Marathon hub and it’s “11 days of race-ready rituals”. That’s quite some time. From merch to testing to the Cielo flylab, much is going on! More info
4 Chance Street, London, E1 6JT

4 KNEES UP RACE MARKET!

One place i definitely want to visit over the weekend is Knees Up. Lovely place and space. They’ll have their race market again and a f&f tee for the weekend. Cute!

5 Rayon Vert Newness

Big fan of Rayon Vert right now, the Italian brand gives me huge (in the most positive sense) Braindead vibes for outdoors and running and that’s cool.

6 Portal Gore-Tex Shelter Jacket

Portal and GORE-TEX® Brand team up on the SPHERE GORE-TEX® JACKET, a waterproof run jacket, made to be your shelter in the outdoors. Comes with a 3L membrane, the lightest GTX offers.

7 Arcteryx & Vibram: Flow State Trails

Part of the team was on a mission in Bavaria with Acrteryx a week ago - trail running with the local community - testing the new Sylan 2 - and a cute creative workshop at Blecksteinhaus afterwards with Arcteryx & Vibram // well spent day in the Alps. 🫂

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Happy Running Season for all celebrating.

First big races of the year have already taken part, with Boston and Paris Marathon, we have the next ones around the corner. Berlin Half has looked a bit more chill than in the last years - still it had dozens of events - and i kinda liked that (without being there). Meanwhile New Balance had one of the best locations around Rome Marathon you could imagine, Hoka went a bit more chill in Chianti and we (my run crew in Frankfurt) went community-first for the local half. I think there’s still so many options to activate a marathon in a cool way, while adding value for the local community. On the other hand i think LAP Coffee x DRYLL might have been the one i was happy not to be part of during Berlin Half. O.o

In other news: Francesco Puppi just won the marathon in Chianti before breaking his arm just this week. Get well soon, champ! TSP is underway and Biel just won the Solo in a record-breaking 67:15. Chapeau. Speaking of racing: London Marathon thinks of letting 100.000 runners in and dividing the event into 2 days à 50k runners. I don’t know what to think about it. I’ve been privileged to get into some races via sponsors, so i don’t wanna speak up against it, but i have mixed feelings. Sounds a bit like a slow “hyrox-ization” of marathons. Let’s see. Oh, last but not least, there’s a new “European Marathon Classics” series that nobody was waiting for.

For some more reality “iN sOcIaL mEdIa”: since Semi de Paris i didn’t have a single good training week and by now i’m slightly sick for almost 2 weeks. I know, could be worse. But at this point i was hoping to already be in shape for London. Instead i have not had a single 25+ run in 4 months. Additionally work’s quite a lot and the baby has very mediocre sleep during the last weeks and so do we. I’m hoping for a longer run this weekend and maybe one more after next week. Because next week something big is happening which will have me pretty busy all week. More about that on Tuesday, fam!

And now back to what’s hot in running this week:

1 Klättermusen Go Feel Free

Swedish outdoor icon Klättermusen just released their first trail running collection and it’s like everything they do: well-thought, not too loud, clean colors and high quality. The brand digs deeper into trail running, with their latest apparel & gear collection for men and women, including the superlight Bygvir Pants, a selection of base layers, tee, shorts and - maybe the hidden champ - the hybrid Vidre Hood jacket, ideal for unpredictable weather.

I am a fan. And - they have a shacket!

2 Nike x Renegade Running

Is that the skateboarding era of running everyone’s talking about? Nike teams up with a independent running retailer, to release two pair of co-branded running shoes. Very good-looking shoes tbh! Congrats Renegade!

3 Only Good Compression with STOX Energy Socks

Compression socks have evolved from a niche recovery tool into a performance essential: supporting blood circulation, reducing muscle soreness and improving recovery between sessions. We’ve put together a guide to compression in the blog - check it out here!

4 Rome Marathon w/ New Balance

New Balance took over the Corsie Sistine for a 3-day Run House during the Rome Marathon and this must have been one of the sickest marathon locations i’ve seen so far. Thanks for having us, team!

5 adidas x Song For the Mute

SFTM has almost been a guarantee for adidas’ collab success over the last years. so far in the lifestyle sector, what changes now: they’re releasing a joint collection with two colorways of the Supernova silhouette and some apparel. Good one, pretty clean, but i guess y’all waitin’ for the one with the holes right now. O.O

6 Tiempos SS26

Maritime vibes in the shooting for Tiempos’ Summer 26 drop. Really love the icon washed out fabric of the Tiempos tees and that new polartec sweater. Available in April.

Thx for reading, hear y’all very soon.

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Now more talking for now, check out my "HIGHEST FIVE” for the week:

1 SIGNALS - Knees Up for Merrell 1TRL

SIGNALS is a study in awareness on and off the trail — a reminder that when we tune in, movement becomes instinctive.

Created by KNEES UP for Merrell 1TRL, the campaign is anchored by a short film and expanded through visual storytelling and an immersive in-store experience, exploring presence through performance.

Set in the Lake District, the story follows a runner flowing across technical terrain, guided by subtle external and internal cues: shifting slate, steady breath, sharpened focus. These are the signals that lead him forward.

At the heart of the project is the Agility Peak 6 1TRL, built to eliminate distraction and respond intuitively to changing ground — an uncompromising tool for technical trails, designed to keep the runner present and moving with confidence.

The all-new Merell 1TRL Agility Peak 6 will be pre-released exclusively at Knees up tomorrow - instore and online at kneesupspace.com

Pop by at Knees Up until sunday! 455 Hackney Road, Fri 20.02 - Sun 22.02.

Check out SIGNALS below:

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2 New Norda Footwear Just Dropped

One of the things i love about Norda is the patience they have when releasing new colors. They completely trust the process and only do few colorways per seasons. But usually only few of their colors miss. Everything they do seems so thought-through, that’s outstanding. I mean just look at the 005, still not a second colorway released and not sitting anywhere. Their SS26 Kaleidoscop footwear drop is live now via norda.com and as usual, not only the shoes but also the imagery is amazing.

3 ASICS SUPERBLAST 3

The third version of the SUPERBLAST is coming out in a minute. That’s gonna be a good one and i don’t have too much to say, honestly.

4 UYN SS26 // DOLOMYA

Italien brand UYN will finally release their long-teased SS26 trail collection in Spring. I think some similarities to old Gyakusou pieces are visible, some stuff also looks a bit “Gnuh”-ish, but overall i feel like their finding their own path and the fact they’re trying to use “sustainable” or bio-based materials is a big plus as well.

5 Pruzan Running SS26

Just recently stumbled upon Pruzan and kept looking at that cool mesh top. They definitely have an eye for details, cuts and the color palette! It’s a women-led brand creating running wear for women. Their SS26 collection is out now and available here.

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Then there’s my (for now) last post from Milan. For the second issue of SCANNED SOUVENIRS (it’s 100% my thing to collect stuff like that, so i’m totally into that new format, i hope you like it too as you’re gonna see it again very soon"!) Click here for the full post!

I’ll do a little write-up about ACG in the next 1-2 weeks but that’s it for now. I am desperately waiting for the new Speedgoat 7, that mf should be arriving at my door any minute. I miss trail running, while training for Semi de Paris and London Marathon. Enjoy what else was hot this week!

1 HOKA X TSP CIELO X1 3.0

Didn’t see this coming but ffs it’s a black/white colorway of Hoka’s new supershoe and it’s reworked by TSP and comes with a custommade Cimoro Dyneema (?) bag! Only 75 pairs available. Meanwhile, i’m doing fast runs with the neon volt colorway.

2 adidas SL72 SFTM

Song For The Mute haven’t missed in all of their adidas collabs so far and the SL72/Evo is no exception. Beautiful concept, very nice collab.

3 Satisfy TheRocker Jet Black

Here we go: Satisfy finally officially announced the release of the (almost) all-black colorway of TheRocker. Stay tuned, coming soon.

4 New Balance RC run jacket

Some time ago, New Balance released the RC short and now they’ve just released the RC jacket. Let me be honest, one of the writers of the newsletter is not the biggest fan of neon/volt, but there’s a very nice beige/off-white colorway of the jacket as well.

Also, they’ve just released the SC Trail v2 and i haven’t noticed until it was posted in the insta story of Tobi Energy this morning… Available here.

5 Saucony The Maze

Saucony’s community relay The Maze took place last weekend to celebrate the release of the new Endorphin Azura. Gotta say, car parks always kinda look nice as a race location! More here.

More soon aka hopefully next week. Feel free to subscribe to support - every sub & paid sub is appreciated!

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1 personal highlight on the trip btw: they brought famous trainspotter and future moderator of Grand Tour Francis Burgeois to the trip.

‘nuff for now, i guess your whole feed has been burning in ACG orange over the last week, so i’m gonna let it cool off for a moment, haha. Also, ACG wasn’t the only talk-worthy stuff hapenning over the last (2?) weeks. Btw i’ve dropped the PFW newsletter for this time as somehow Substack has eaten my whole ready text and i wasn’t able to recover it. Will save it better in the future. Promise.

1 New Balance 1080 v15

A banger! New Balance have released the 15th edition of the 1080! This one’s kinda personal to me: The New Balance 1080 was one of the first running shoes that i intentionally bought for running and since then, it’s become a staple for my running training. Comfortable, cushioned but stable for every run, no matter how long. With the v15, New Balance reworked the breathable mesh upper, resulting in a distinctive sleek and dynamic look. They also introduce Infinion, a midsole system for longer-lasting performance through enhanced cushioning and energy return. I got the shoes a little earlier, so i already had the chance to log in the first 60 kilometers. Not gonna lie, these will definitely be my companion for London Marathon training this year!

2 Hoka Cielo X1 3.0

The new Cielo is out. I'‘ve only tested them on the treadmill so far but will do more next week, i guess. Looks and feels incredible and is very, very light. The lightest Hoka racer so far. (leave some love and comments underneath my reel if you want to support, coo coo)

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3 Scanned Souvenirs

Cheers to a new format. I am a collector, have always been. And i have a heart for printed stuff - magazines, flyers, stickers, goodies, you name it. From now, i’ll scan a bunch of “the latest” stuff i got for “Scanned Souvenirs” and showcase it via IG. A second issue is in the making as well and i promise, i got loads of stuff to scan, especially older stuff!

4 Product Index: Salomon Phantasm

Salomon takes back on the streets and back on fast street running with the S/Lab Phantasm 3. The curious-looking and carbon-plated runner has been released over the last weeks and is made for fast & long races. Haven’t had the chance to try on yet but they’re sure looking promising!

6 SOAR at PFW FW26

A leather jacket? YES, why not - if people wear athleisure appare

I honestly think you should see more of SOAR‘s FW26 collection. Not only their ultralight performance fabrics are outstanding and their allover prints have gotten to a new level, they‘re now leaning into fashion more and more by the day, creating new and unique pieces for on and off track. Not sure if i‘d rock the leather combo to run but sure it‘s aesthetic af. Swipe through.

7 The North Face Advanced Mountain Kit Black Edition

The North Face Advanced Mountain Kit (AMK) is a modular alpine system engineered for the harshest conditions — designed to adapt as objectives shift. Each layer performs independently or integrates seamlessly into a complete kit, balancing weight, packability, and durability. All black and that bag pack, you got me!

8 Vibram Fivefingers “Chinese New Year”

You can hate me for it but i kinda want to finally try out Vibram Five Fingers. Maybe not for running but for the gym, for recovery and whatever else. They just released a “Chinese New Year” pack and it’s definitely intriguing.

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Dear brands, agencies, creatives, shops, friends and family (going to PFW): pls invite me to your events and show rooms, send an email if you wanna connect, chat, run, show me something, have an idea or just say hi (pls don’t be shy, i am sometimes). info@runnershighest.com is the email you wanna use for this! You can also send a message via Substack, no problem!

Let’s start with the love letter/observation/prediction/hot take thing here. Cole Townsend, fastest running Substack mouse on the internet, predicted we’ll have the anti trend next year. Old shirt this’n that and yeah, i can imagine that being a thing. WE’LL SEE.

I recently had my last trail for 2025 (lol, the only one in the second half of 2026, ngl). 33km, 1100hm in Saarland, Germany. Bit of a back country area close to France (for those asking). I call it the local race as it’s only 2.5 hrs by car from Frankfurt and Alpine races are way further away obviously. For the fourth time Hartfüßler organized the race and for the first time, we stood at the starting line, this time with 9 runners from the crew. This time we hit the podium twice - “we” even won the female short distance. Congrats. Don’t underestimate motivated city girls. My race wasn’t that successful but ffs i enjoy the annual XMAS Trail trip with the crew so much. It’s been sold out again but usually no problem to get a spot 2 weeks in advance. It’s a very fair distance to travel in the morning. Start & Finish is in a small village, inflatable Christmas figures everywhere. After finishing, the local Winterbock beer awaits you (and the 7% will probably hit you harder than you wished for) and everything infrastructure is placed in the local gym hall. No big sponsor, no live stream whatever, exactly 1 photographer placed in a secret spot to get out the worst of your facial expressions, no waiting list, no fancy this’n that. But 650 runners, the 45km was btw the distance with the highest numbers of finishers. That surprised me a little but it’s nice! Over the past year, this event has become a much awaited race to end a long running year. Atmosphere is just nice, it’s far from the professionality of the big events (but still nicely organized) and from September on, i’m counting days and weeks until the weekend before Christmas finally comes. So, please keep on doing it and please keep on registering for them!

And here we go with the observation: as much as the “BIG EVENTS” grow bigger right now and build up more hype and reach etc, the (well-made) small events grow likewise! Over the last 5? years, not only the biggest Marathon events were on the rise, also the second row and maybe even the more local event grew much in numbers, as far as i can see it. This development has reached trail running right now - it seams impossible to get into certain races, but also less-known and more local, smaller races grow in popularity. No need to spend a big sum for travel, hotel, bib, etc.. So far, i think this development was more of an immediate reaction. Big events sold out far before the event, smaller and local events still open. From talking to race organizers, i know that those spontaneous registrations may be quite a big part of the total number of runners. Here’s the BUT: i don’t think this was too intentional. That’s changing at the moment. In Germany, the acquisition of ZUT (= Zugspitz-Ultratrail, the biggest German trail race) by UTMB was discussed quite controversially. I don’t wanna repeat this. BUT i think this is changing the vibe of the German trail scene a bit. People claim to boycott ZUT now, “go to other races”. And as vague that is, i think it’ll overall profit all other races way more than expected. And i think it’s not only ZUT. Berlin Marathon and Half Marathon, same with Hamburg. Same goes for Demi de Paris, Hackney Half, London Marathon etc. - i think at some point, the mood towards an event shifts a bit and runners start looking around, discovering a whole lot of events all over the country. Just without the big stage.

So let’s see what 2026 brings in that regard, but i hope we’ll see well-registered local trail races, new cool races emerging etc.

Ok, enough. I’m curious about 2026 and now we’re going back to at least a few cool product news for this week:

1 Hoka’s Speedgoat 7 will arrive on February 1st

I tried a new format when i spotted the SG7 via hoka.com last week and damn, the post flew (more than 1600x shared so far). I guess the Speedgoat 7 is quite the shoe for it as it’s a shoe with a big heritage, the colorway is very appealing, the new look’s interesting AND the last version wasn’t for everyone. Not for me at least. What i really like is that Hoka’s finally going for clean colorways for their focus models once in a while.

2 Norda 005 first thoughts

Bit of a weird take to review with first thoughts after around 1 year of its existence. But i happen to be a proud owner of a pair for two weeks now and haven’t worn another shoe since that day. Had the chance to get in around 60km and roughly 2000hm in that time, not a crazy lot, but enough to realize this shoe’s special. It’s very light. It’s comfortable. The midsole is direct but very cushioning, imho it gets better after some time of running. Not sure if that’s just my imagination. The upper is thin and skin-like but is not too tight - so far and after no longer runs than 20km. I cannot wait to log in more miles and do longer runs in the 005. So far i only was able to run in winter conditions - below 0, slippery and through a bit of snow. NO PROBLEM for the Vibram outsole obviously. This one will definitely be on the shortlist for the next months - even off the trails…

3 Nike ACG starts the new year as tuff as they ended 2025

Grace Cook raised the question “if 2025 belonged to Nike” (pretty good read that was!) which i’d definitely say NO to because of several reasons. BUT Nike is definitely in the middle of a big ass comeback, especially (for me and what i consider my bubble) with the whole recent ACG development. It’s not only about branding sh*t at UTMB, it’s the whole story unfolding over the year. Remember when i shot pics of Caleb Olsen’s ACG Ultrafly 2 which kinda haven’t been spotted on feet before (when he won Transgrancanaria in February).

Then again Caleb won Western States, wearing the Radical Airflow longsleeve. After that, the internet went loose on ACG imho, peaking at UTMB but continuing on a high level of visibility from that day. With the stuff they’ll be doing around the Winter Olympics and all that.

Right now i can see Nike.com is transforming, more and more ACG product is being unfolded and Spring will bring the first BIG releases. @NIKE you know i’m here for it, haha.

4 Hermanos Koumori x adidas Evo SL

I remember seeing those at PFW in summer and i’m happy they’re finally coming out! Mexican run fashion brand (correct?) Hermanos Koumori again collaborates with adidas and brought their own vision onto the equally hyped and crazy good Evo SL silhouette. Release will be January 15th, i’m definitely givin’ it a go!

But take aways for me are (every take away has a link, just click for pics) : 1. Nike will definitely be visible in trail running 2026 way more than in the years before. Branding is on point already, let’s see about the product. Also here’s an interesting bit regarding ACG.

2. After being very “shy” about TheRocker last year with a strict “no photo” policy, Satisfy was quite open about new colorways and stuff for ‘26 this year - if you had an appointment (what pissed off some, i heard). I’m curious for PFW as usually that’s the moment i get my hands on the new stuff.

3. Tantrums definitely won the “eye for the detail” award only smaller brands can win because they’ll have to wisely decide on how to spend budget at an expo to get as much attention as possible. Their Bodega appealed to me quite a lot! Check it out here.

4. Arcteryx is going full overbranding with the Sylan 2 that’s coming with a carbon plate and like the biggest archeopteryx you might’ve seen printed on any product. Ever. Have a look here.

5. Meanwhile Norda stays very true to themselves and only do as many different models as “really” needed. And so far i think they don’t miss, which gives me bug trust in their upcoming 055 runner. A high-stack (& carbon sole i guess) variant of the 005 seemingly, with a sock liner and a seamless upper. Looks promising. Check it out.

Ok, ok. let’s stop here. I bookmarked so many overview IG posts that like every second another brand “i forgot” pops up. Let’s just say these were the 5 brands that kinda popped up immediately when thinking about TRE.

• We’re keeping it short today. You should definitely get your hands at VOL.I of APR Mags’s first, well. mag. Congrats friends, i can’t wait to get my fingers on a copy. Looks fire and the list of contents is awesome!

• I recently played my part in the journey for the newly-opened Berlin flagship store of Hoka. It’s the first pure lifestyle concept for Hoka and a playground for cool stuff. We kicked the opening off with Network__Network and the “Shared Skies” art project and vernissage. My first days away from home since months and a (very stressful) but wholesome evening with Berlin’s community included. Let’s see what we’re building in 2026! Proud to have this in the bag, not gonna lie. Go have a follow at NWNW please, by the way.

• Before i finish it of with a personal take, here’s two of my favorite shoes that have been released this year. First is the Pecan & Sail pack by Nike (Vomero Plus) with the subtle understatement when it comes to branding (well there’s no swoosh at all added) and the very clean and earthy colorways. Very seasonal, very ready to wear on and off the track. Second is the Koshi Tan-Tan Mafate 5 by Hoka. While i actually dislike the black/gold colorways of the pack on the other shoes and the apparel, it’s an almost perfect execution on the Mafate 5. White base, black sole, black & golden details. I don’t ask for more. I think the Vomero is only available via Lifestyle accounts, the Mafate 5 is available “everywhere” now.

• Another personal thing is i just passed 50.000 meters of altitude last week. Never had that in one year before. Ok, i guess 20k of it was done stupidly up and down the “hills” of Frankfurt am Main. But still, made quite a lot of elevation and lately i even did 2/3 of a structured training plan for next week’s seasonal closing. 32km and 1150 hm will be a nice finish for 2025. After that, let’s talk about plans and ideas and ambitions and whatnot for 2026. But at least one race in Chamonix is planned, i wanna do one island trail and maybe another city marathon after two years of not marathoning around. If you’re lucky, i’ll put up a hot take issue in the next weeks and talk about stuff i don’t like and want to go away in 2026. I heard people like reading that as well.

What’s poppin’? Starting with the obvious today: i find it hard to follow up on Instagram & Substack right now, kinda hit a wall over the last weeks. I think summer has been wild and with Autumn Marathon season in full effect, my motivation will be back soon. I think i just have lots on my plate right now and that’s why this week’s issue is a bit shorter. Frankfurt Marathon next week will be the home game so to say and i can’t wait to see some of the friendly face coming to “my” town. Hit me up if you’r running FFM!

1 Amsterdam Marathon with Bambas & New Balance

I sent Joshua to Amsterdam (he’s on his way now) to capture the whole Amsterdam Marathon weekend for New Balance, so you better stay tuned via Instagram over the weekend. Gonna be a good one. Check out what to do if you’re in AMS via Bambas’ page:

2 TSP presents their first team runner:

From the most underground relay race to their very first signed athlete: The Speed Project definitely made more than some big steps over the past years.
Biel, born Gabriel Barros, is a Brazilian-born artist and tattooist, and a Berlin-based ultra runner. He’ll participate in the 24hrs championship in France this weekend.
“Some things don’t need a pitch or a handshake, they just make sense. Me and TSP share the same obsession with the art and pure act of running. No noise, no bullshit. We didn’t plan it, we just collided.” is what @bielruns has today about the newly-announced partnership.

3 Our Legacy Workshop Sport

Didn’t see this coming tbh, but some of the pieces of the brandnew Our Legacy Sport collection are insane.

4 KEEN Roam

Very soon, KEEN will release their second trail silhouette, the ROAM. Tbh it’s more of a “gravel” aka all-terrain runner and i’m looking forward to it. My pair’s lost in the mail but i definitely wanna try it. Their first trail shoe, the Seek, was a very positive surprise earlier in summer.

5 DISTANCE X SAUCONY

Paris homies at it again. Distance are launching their Saucony collab next week. The ENDORPHIN SPEED 5 DISTANCE will be available prior to worldwide release via a special relay event. Check their IG for more!

6 New York Marathon Approaching

2 weeks and it’s NYC Marathon again and i guess, it’s gonna be even wilder than Berlin & Chicago. SOAR already have a schedule and i find it quite interesting that they are teaming up with Rapha for the weekend.

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Tokyo’s over and I enjoyed every day of it - from a German POV the last days even brought some medals. Definitely wanna visit the next World Championships.

Now on to Berlin! Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s race at the 2025 Berlin Marathon in 2:02:16, while Kenya’s Rosemary Wanjiru claimed the women’s title in 2:21:05. Strong race in the deadly heat of Berlin’s last hot day of summer. More than 55.000 runners finished on Sunday. Congrats to everyone!

Again, i didn’t run and again, i wasn’t even present and was only able to observe from home. But with more than 90 brand events, activations by all major and several smaller brands, dozens of shake outs and more focus has definitely been “community marketing” again (even adidas realized that and Nike is back with bold stuff as well). And four small observations:

1. bigger is not always better: brand stopped the unlimited growth and are not hosting shake outs with 300+ people anymore. That’s a good thing.

2. start early: Marathon is not only 1 day any more, not even “only” one weekend. Brands have hubs all week, community events all week, maybe even pre-races on friday (Berlin Braves).

3. It’s for everyone: no joke, it’s getting bigger and bigger but i still think, there’s room for everyone and “ a shake out” for everyone.

4. Don’t stop early: Almost a dozen parties on sunday night. Definitely more than in the last year. Brand want to create the full package, start to finish.

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But let’s check out some of the stuff that went down over the weekend and other cool things running:

1 NEW BALANCE RUN HOUSE ACTIVATIONS

Action Bronson led the way at the shake out. And he cooked for the community later that night. Nuff said? New Balance went big again, this time opening three different locations around the city, offering numerous activations, the Run Kiosk even opened weeks earlier for different runs. Check the IG for everything that went down!

2 ZALANDO RUN ZONE & RACE

Zalando invited Runners Highest to join them for their Run Zone and even gave us a bib for the race. Thank you very much, appreciated! Josh from team RH took the invite and had hell of a weekend! Run Zone in the Zalando store, dinner at Lobe Block, raceday fit and even a shuttle to the starting line. What a service! Thx for having us!

Btw Zalando also asked us to curate our favorite marathon products. Check it out here.

3 ANTE BERLIN

Maybe the hidden champs again? The medal chain idea with jeweler Carolin Dieler is just amazing. Good stuff!

4 ON LABS BERLIN

That was massive. On rented the complete “Kraftwerk Berlin” for days in order to show off the Lightspray technology, workshops, music, creativity and some fancy events. Bold and pretty cool!

5 HOKA HITS BERLIN

Hoka’s first store in Germany has recently opened in Berlin and damn, it’s a huge store on Kudamm. Looks good. They also just started something “sustainable” - the “Lift Berlin” activation!

6 ADIDAS DISCOVERS MODERN COMMUNITY

Yeah i know they had the adidas Runners for years and still have that corporate community. And i don’t think that’s bad. But i think it’s not independent. Therefore i really appreciate their recent activations (although they’re not even asking me to come :D). Bringing Ante in, Mexican brand Hermanos Koumori, Hyld and Jon from Copenhagen seemed like a successful mix, from what i’ve seen!

Enough with the marathon craze - i still have hundreds of pics the team sent me from Berlin (will share some more over the next days) - over to some of the other cool stuff happening right now:

7 MENTAL ATHLETIC X SALOMON

Release today. Good stuff and quite an impressive collection: The collection features co-branded ULTRA GLIDE 3 shoes, modular apparel, and a signature tank top reimagined from ultrarunner Ryan Sandes’ DIY heat-management cuts, all rendered in a monochrome palette with graphic typography.⁠

8 TIEMPOS FW 2025

Available soon and introducing some new pieces and colors!

Ok, done for today, maybe VOL.84 will come later this week already. Or next week. See y’all soon and thx for your support!

*ad: this newsletter contains paid content about the New Balance & Zalando activations around Berlin Marathon.

This week without a deep-dive and without a hot take, that’s a promise - i’m busy watching the World Athletics like all day. Much is going on and i finally made it to the trails again. Finally had the chance to run the S Lab Pulsar 4, which is a fine and pretty fast trail running shoe!

The list of Berlin events this week is long, but i won’t bother you with too many more, promise. Berlin-based retailer HHV teams up with HOKA and Network Network for “The Art of Recovery” and i’m pretty sure that’s gonna be nice!

Btw, the first article this week is a sponsored one and i appreciate every click on the blogpost. Runners Highest and this newsletter are a passion and therefore i’m sometimes dependent on cooperations to keep it all moving! Click here. Thank you! Speaking of support, i still really appreciate being part of this article about the return of ACG. Also i’m trying to get the posting frequence on my blog up again. Click here.

Btw and this runs outside of the competion, Nike has just released A TON of interesting and special colorways on several recent running silhouettes and i don’t wanna gatekeep here.

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1 The 10 freshest marathon pieces…

...you can get just in time for BMW Berlin-Marathon right now!
We selected our our 10 favorite products over at @zalando - both apparel and shoes. Swipe through for our selection and check out the blogpost for more info on each item. Check it out here!

2 OEM x GNUHR

This collab “wins” the week and it’s proof that Gnuhr are the hottest brand in the modern running sphere right now. Warp Kit is on fire and this pattern, i don’t even find words. Really cool one and i guess it’s sold out already.

3 Satisfy TheRocker releases globally

Short news: your local Satisfy retailer (support your local dealer, you know) released TheRocker in some of the available colorways today.

4 Hoka Mafate X Hike

Is it a trail runner? Is it a hiking boot? Well, it’s a hybrid. The Mafate X Hike comes with the chunky Mafate X sole and its own, hiking-ready upper, including recco technology - so you won’t go missing. It’s out now and you’ll see some more about it via Runners Highest soon. One thing, Hoka: i know, "CI” colors, but please do some more, maybe a bit cleaner colorways as well.

5 Salomon x Mental Athletic

Teased for quite some time now, the Mental Athletic collab with Salomon seems to be releasing very soon. From what i’ve seen, it’s gonna be a pretty decent capsule!

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Originally, I wanted to drop a full Berlin Marathon schedule here, but honestly, there are two reasons I didn’t. First, having two kids really changes how you handle schedules - I’m still getting the hang of it. Second, there’s already a whole page dedicated to marathon weekends, and they honestly deserve the traffic. They’ve put so much work into it. Go check out Marathon Weekend!

They’ve sorted all the activations by brand and then by date, so you’ll see pretty quickly that Berlin is going to be wild again. Definitely plan some extra time. I’ll share a little curated list below since I won’t be there myself. 😅

Something you should read is this piece by Michael B. Dougherty about how NIKE is changing ACG. Good approach and i even had the honor to be quoted next to the legend (RIP) Gary Warnett, who was an absolute superfan of Nike ACG. Read it here! I won’t talk much about UTMB in this newsletter, i think most has been talked about already, but Joyline Chepngeno’s doping case leaves me a bit speechless and sad. Read Francesco Puppi’s latest newsletter for a very deep piece on the topic of doping in trailrunning and what has to change.

Last but not least there’s a UTMB story that hasn’t really been told loud enough. German runner Susanne Zahlauer is 46 years old and a mother. And - without being known to more than a handful out there, she managed to score rank 12 in the 100 miles of UTMB 2 weeks ago. That is sensational. No sponsors, no intervalls, but a heart of gold and an iron will. German podcast Trailfunk featured her in last week’s episode and if you understand German, it’s a MUST. How can a single (great) runner be so humble!? It’s a shame we don’t talk about stories like this one enough. Here’s the podcast.

1 NEW BALANCE MARATHON ACTIVATIONS:

New Balance really started “owning” Berlin Marathon only few years ago. Again in 2025, they’ll have 3 different locations that’ll be open for the public and activated. The Run House at Kudamm is quite big and serves as a huge exhibition and activation space on 2+ levels. The Clubhouse Kiosk is placed right next to the last curve of the Marathon route and New Balance hosts the community all September. Several runs a week, different hosts. Same for Marathon Weekend! Last but not least, they’re having the Clubhouse - Highsnobiety Store hosts the NB Clubhouse for the weekend - be there for challenges, customization, workshops and a cute challenge!

Check out more and register here!

2 ON LABS BERLIN

ON brings the Lightspray Experience to Kraftwerk Berlin for the Marathon weekend! They’re offering workshops, running analysis, Lightspray demo, live performances and more the whole weekend, check out the page here!

3 UNNA X HOKA - Interview with Unna’s John Ruben Holtback

I had the chance to get a very early view on the collab in January and waited for the release since then. Nice and clean colorways and a cute story. I like the approach of Unna and was happy to have the chance to ask John Ruben, Unna’s founder, about the collab and the brand itself. Read here. Love the support!

4 ASICS MEGABLAST (NOT A) REVIEW

I received Asics’ latest max-cushion neutral trainer last week and it’s not Nova, nor Super, it’s the MEGABLAST. 45mm heel stack and a new FF Turbo Squared midsole promise to be a versatile trainer for both easy long runs and hard tempo sessions, up to race day. It’s not an everyday trainer but after the first runs i’d say i could run them almost every day.

5 HOKA BONDI MARY JANE

Sometimes it’s gotta be the crazy concept. Not yet sure if it’s a shoe “for me” but kudos to Hoka for trying out new paths and building up their own heritage in both sportswear/performance and fashion. This one won’t be seen on the trails and not on your next longrun. Release October 1st.

6 Mount to Coast

Introducing CircleCELL, Mount to Coast release the first high-performance midsole made entirely from renewable feedstock, including recycled organic waste. It delivers elite energy return and durability while moving us closer to true circular design and uncompromised sustainability.

I’m sold and excited at the same time.

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here i am, wrapping up UTMB week without being there - and tbh i won’t talk too much about the races themselves as there simply are way better outlets for race results. Baby came a week early, that means i had quite some time watching UTMB races in the livestream and what an emotional rollercoaster that was! I’m not a fanboy but maaaan, i really was sad when i realized Ida-Sophie Hegemann dropped out of TDS after being 2nd woman for roughly 100km. Jim Walmsley winning OCC in such an action-packed race was absolutely mental. But ngl, watching Francesco Puppi, fighting through CCC and winning first place made my head explode. He’s so so back.

And then UTMB. What a heartbreaking race. I “knew” Courtney was winning and when she wasn’t she showed everyone what a big win she is for our sport. Even it was clear for hours that she wouldn’t get near the podium this year and she was definitely “hurting”, she pushed through the second half of the race and made it to the finish line. What an athlete. Last one’s Katharina Hartmuth. She finished 2nd two years ago and i really had high hopes in her race style as she always starts “slower” and then fight up to the higher ranks. AND SHE DID. What a third place. Checking into livestream every 10-15min couldn’t have been more rewarding than this.

Last but not least - please let’s not forget all of the other 10.000+ runners starting and (maybe even not) finishing during the week. All my respects to everyone! As i said some days ago, my favorite activity in Chamonix (beside running) is hanging out near the finishline to celebrate “late” finishers of the races. It’s wholesome!

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FYI: i won’t post every activation and release and this’n that in here, so my advise is to check the Runners Highest instagram channel as A LOT was and is going on around UTMB right now and will be until like mid next week. I wanna have a short "opinion” on stuff below. Click Here for the IG Channel.

UTMB - FUCK UTMB? Where are the real runners?

I’m makin’ it short: i heard about too many influencers and content creators and brands and business and not enough real runners in Chamonix for years now but never has it been voiced by more “people i know or follow” as in 2025 and i have some thoughts about that as well.

1 i think you can do business and love running at the same time. You can be invited to Chamonix, do your vlog or whatever and still be a real runner. You can enjoy the drinks and cigarettes and whatever and still love the next day’s f*ckin’ early morning yoga sesh with Hoka. Why shouldn’t you? It doesn’t mean you don’t love trail running enough.

2 i think too many “real runners” who work in the industry forget that they’re part of the big money machine as well. (Trail) running is booming and that also means people can live from running (way better than 10+ years ago) - one way or another. So imho it’s difficult to take one part and ignore the other. “things come at a cost”. Also i really hate gate keeping sometimes. And in this case it’s not the small undercover brand you just found out about, it’s running itself. You’re a runner if you run, if you love running. That’s my definition.

3 UTMB is the biggest trail running event in the world. It’s an expo, it’s a meeting point for more than just one industry. Of course every brand wants to be involved and is. If you want to rawdoggin’ trail running experience i (for a fact) know that there are hundreds of small family-like trail run events in every country. You don’t “NEED” to be in Chamonix if you don't like the commercial side of trail running and if you don’t like influencers and content teams being around. Find your local event, run with a hundred likeminded runners and enjoy it. It is amazing, but from the last years (and even 10+) i know that UTMB Chamonix never has been a small and uncommercial event. I saw Oumou’s post yesterday and tbh i interpreted it differently to many others (in the comments) as i read it like this: trail running is free, make out of it what you want and need. If you want “the big stage”, UTMB is the place. If it’s your expression of personal freedom, so be it. Go run alone, that’s possible - in my experience even in Chamonix and during UTMB week.

Don’t get me wrong: this is just my 2 cents and not a scientific essay. I wasn’t in Chamonix this year and heard it’s been branded even more than in the years before. And i don’t think everything has to be bigger to be better all the time. But sometimes i feel all the critizism feels a bit off to me. Especially when it comes from people heavily profiting from the increasing success of trail running booming over the last years. As always, i’m open for feedback and comments. :)

FYI: interesting take on the Zara/Fast Fashion in Collabs topic by APR Mag. Worth a read!

this format is back after a crazy 4 weeks. It’s been too long but with the kid probably coming next week, i can’t always wrap my head around the newsletter, ngl.

Today i got at least one hotter taker or bigger topic, MANY cool stuff posts and some Chamonix info as well. Will have the event recommendations for Chamonix next week in a text passage tho. Swipe down if you wanna ignore UTMB and my hot take… plenty of cool product in this week’s newsletter btw. Before i forget: i am doing a weekly rotation post now.

A hot Take

Let’s start with the hot take. Something that’s been going through my head over and over again is Zara cooperating with one of the most-respected persons in the “bubble” and the reactions to it. I’m honest: my first reaction was clearly “WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK HE’S SELLING EVERYTHING HE STANDS FOR”. Followed by “yeah, let’s see what it is” and “yeah, what a personal achievement!?”. Followed by reading the comments, things like “democratizing expensive sportswear” and “yeah, please wait until you see the stuff because you shouldn’t be so negative” popped up (bullshit). I don’t have a final opinion, tbh. Also i don’t wanna blame any 1 person for “making a living”, i work with “big brands” as well.

BUT one thing that i really find disturbing in this whole topic is the complete silence of that whole “originality & authenticity” cool runner bubble. All of the accounts immediately firing at Nike about their t-shirts with holes. All of the accounts that went very loud when it came to Zara ripping of SOAR (or Satisfy few years prior to that). All of the people calling out literally every new brand for being fake or stealing somewhere. The cotton crew. Then again it’s big brands ripping off small brands etc. Where are you now? Can’t hear you and that’s a little weird. It’s ZARA, they’re literally peak big corp and rip-off and fast fashion and whatnot. Won’t blame anyone for buying Zara in general, but i think it’s completely off that all the loud voices are so silent right now, just ignoring this discussion at all… Are we gatekeeping now? Or do we democratize running “fashion” now with cheap Zara stuff? How do we choose which brand is allowed to steal? Who’s a real runner and who’s only in for business? Curious about opinions as obviously i still am processing here.

What’s running in Chamonix next week!?

Heading over to Chamonix very quick… by now i probably told you 3 times we’ll have a child next week so i won’t be able to join y’all in Chamonix but still there’s some event stuff going on and i want to inform you about that! But first, some thoughts on the races: I really am cursious about Francesco Puppi’s CCC attempt this year after having such a successfull first half of the year (on shorter distances). Ida-Sophie Hegemann also has quite THE YEAR so far (ok, ZUT wasn’t going to plan) and starts at TDS after 2 DNFs on the UTMB distance. Also Courtney Dauwalter is back in Chamonix, Katie Shide isn’t. Click here to check out all of the highest-ranked athletes in the fields of the different races and don’t blame be, i can’t name everyone here!

As always, it will be wild and even if you’re not running one of the races in the UTMB schedule, you’ll be able to do quite some fun stuff.

Unsanctioned Athletics will have a race on August 29th with Maurten and On for example. Norda is in town with their brandnew 001A update, French good guys from Jolie Foulee have a whole plan for the week, including cheering and a party. La Sportiva, UYN SPORTS, Wise Ultra, Compresssport, Salomon will have a film screening and an early run (no link tho). Arcteryx has a week’s schedule online, Goldwin are new to UTMB imho, ON invited me to a party and i hope that’s a link that should be public. O.O. Hoka obviously has a variety of events in place, including yoga, shake out “with a pro”, their big ass FLY LAB next to the expo and more. Just check it out, you can’t miss. Also, as in the last year, you can test the latest trail shoes for 24hrs, what seems like a fair deal to me. And if you stay all week, don’t miss out on the Like the Wind x Hoka Party on sunday night!

Satisfy also returns to their location from 2024 with the big guns, several runs aaaand, let me guess, several releases over the week. Find out more here! I need the tee. And oh, did you see that (so far) unknown TheRocker? O.O

I am certainly sure Nike ACG (or Nike Trail!?) will be present in Chamonix but tbh, i didn’t find more information on what they’re doing this year. I guess they’ll do something with Sentier?

Ok, click on the link to find out more about the brands’ event schedules, i guess you’ll find a match. Also i’m pretty sure every brand out there will have more going on, just check their booth & communication if you wanna see their events. If you’re in Chamonix for the first time, you should definitely check out Moody’s Coffee, get an expensive smoothie at Arctic, Dainty Pizza isn’t quite French but has good Pizza. If you need a moment of piece and get away from the crowded city part, just do a short run to Le Paradis Des Praz, it’s only few km out of town and it’s the place i wanna hang out with my children when i bring them to Chamonix.

But I think my favorite activity during UTMB week is either hangin’ at a bar next to the finish line, have a (or few) beers and cheer on the finishers. No joke, seeing those people cross the finish line after PTL for example is heartbreaking. Goose bumps mandatory, they just did an incredible job! Don’t need to be a rEaL runner to recognize those who did a real race.

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And here’s what’s hot in running this week:

1 SOAR Race Vest 2.0 & Trail Race Pack

Packing these two in one post. The trail race pack is so lightweight and i am very excited about the usage of Dynema in the front part. Obviously haven’t tested it but makes a pretty good impression. Honestly: IT MUST BE GOOD as it’s not really cheap, ngl.

And oh dang, those colors of the race vest 2.0 are bangers. SOAR is back with their latest race vest and the colors definitely pop off! PB incoming in this?

2 Hoka x J.LAL Mafate X

FINALLY! You know i’m a big fan of performance collabs and J.Lal definitely upgrades the Mafate X here. Love the clean colorways, the dark one a bit more than the brown. Release on Aug 21st, hopefully soon on my feet!

3 Bandit Fall 2025

Bandit FW25 is dropping today and imho it’s a very strong wmns collection this time! More than 90 pieces, nice color palette, gets better every time!

4 BTS Satisfy TheRocker

The design team behind Satisfy’s TheRocker shared some interesting insights to the evolution, design and production of the shoe. Always cool to get a look behind the scenes. Always a along way from the first sketch to the final product!

5 Norda 001A Launch

I told you before how impressed i am by Norda. They released their first shoe more than 4 years ago and still it’s a valid choice for almost every distance, i can see people running ultra marathons around the world in them. They did news versions, but their 001 is more than an icon, it’s still kind of contemporary. BUT they decided to give it a little update and that sounds even more amazing. It’s getting lighter and faster, apparently. You’ll have the chance to test it in Chamonix next week and it’s also available August 27th…

6 AndWander x Altra Lone Peak 9+

Love the content. Another collab between Altra and AndWander hitting the stores and trails! Welcome to (almost) no drop wonderland.

7 adidas Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2

Oh, what a beauty - and a fast one! adidas’ upcoming Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra 2 will be presented during UTMB next week. Welcome to dirty!

8 Salomon S/LAB ULTRA REVEAL Collection

They got me with the eggshell/off-white colorway. 800 pairs available. Out on August 22nd.

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we’re back and i can tell you i’m looking forard to having some vacation next week. Not specifically because “i need” so much vacation right now, but because we’re going to Switzerland and Lago Maggiore and that means chill & family & friends but also finest trails right at the doorstep. Real mountains, crazy elevation, this’n that. You know the deal. Even have the chance to take some test stuff with me. More about that soon!

In some short news, i really like the Salomon x Asphaltgold collab coming next week. Also Ludovic Pommeret winning Hardrock100 makes me so happy, Katie Shide dominating the competition, incl. Katharina Hartmuth, is crazy. People get ready for UTMB, chill in Chamonix makes me happy too, this year it will be livestream season for me. Windthrow did some cool customization stuff btw.

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1 10 Years of Satisfy

Quite a 10th anniversary for the French running/fashion brand that made all the way from indie rach-style cotton running to the leader of the competition, worldwide multi-million $ running company we’re seeing now. They’re releasing TheRocker in a few weeks and i’m excited for that. They’ll also re-release some of their tees from the last 10 years, which is quite nice! To celebrate the 10th anniversary, they dropped another cool video piece, nice work! Meeting Satisfy for a few times now, enjoy the hospitality, the friendly faces and the sharp minds, i can only say: i’m wishing you the best!

2 Raide x Norda Belt 2L

Product of the year already? Sloooow, bro. I talked so much about Raide’s belt in the past and i am really happy, Raide now teamed up with Norda to release a new colorway of their amazing product. Collab’s out already, it’s a match. Dunno if stock remains tbh.

3 Nike ACG goes Trail and i love it

Wrote a little something in a note earlier the week as the rise of Nike ACG in trail could be the big bang some of us have waited for.

Nike ACG massively pushing trail with their ACG line?

I saw several posts about Chongli this week and yeah, i think it’s the first big push from the Swoosh. And i also think it can be way more successful that earlier attempts because it’s ACG. ACG is outdoor heritage, ACG is lifestyle-ready and due to (especially) Caleb’s success in 2025, it’s already pretty visible. ACG puts so much more soul and relatability into Nike’s trail effort as it’s not just the “now we’re here and of course we are winning” we know from track and street and so on. ACG always carried a little bit of self-irony and i think that’s a very good match to Ultra Trail.

4 ALTRA x SOAR

This one’s nice, lightweight and colorful. Altra and Soar team up on a shoe and a whole performance capsule and it comes out as a pretty good match. The trail-focussed collection is out now and includes the Altra Mont Blanc with a carbon plate.

5 KEEN SEEK

Embargo just fell for Keen’s very first trail shoe and it’s an interesting one. They bring in quite some hiking and “fast” hiking experience, so that they’re not completely new to trail. I had the chance to run some first 30k in the Seek and was positively surprised - it’s a solid debut on the trail market! Release soon!

6 Hoka x Maap Tecton X2

Still hoping to get a pair. What a nice shoe. Hoka and Maap kicked off their collab “history” with a trail shoe and i’m excited about what might come next. A kit? A bike? We’ll see but the shoe is one of the best surprises of 2025 so far. “cool” Cycling and running growing closer again?