Renewed Running

Back in July 2023, we thought about starting an athletic apparel brand. But why?

I’ve collected plenty of t-shirts from running events over the last 10+ years (Too many to count). Yet not many of them were t-shirts that I was bothered about wearing. If you’re a runner, you’ll know that most running event t-shirts are economically made and tend to be part of the entry cost for the race. Because of this, they’re made using a wholesale distributor, like Awdis or Roly. These companies allow event organisers to buy t-shirts in bulk for around £5 a piece. The t-shirts from these suppliers are generally good enough to wear for your average training day, but ultimately they’re a big part of our throwaway culture. This is because of their limited appeal and low-quality print, that tends to degrade after a few washes.

My embarrassing pile of running t-shirts

This isn’t to say that even t-shirts don’t have their place, but in an ideal world we believe that running t-shirts should be a separate cost to the event (as well as medals). This would give customers the choice of whether they want one or not. And it would save money for those who don’t want another t-shirt to add to the pile. Around half of entrants for an event have ran for several years, so the appeal of owning yet another t-shirt or medal tends to have worn off by then.

Because of this, long-term runners tend to recycle or donate their t-shirts, or even worse, throw them away. However, as a runner, I still want to own a few technical t-shirts that I’m excited to take out and wear. Especially on longer, hotter runs where the lightness and softness of a t-shirt is important, to promote breathability and avoid chaffing.

In July 2023, I started researching high performance t-shirts and vests for running. After a bit of digging, I found a couple of brands that were similar to what I was looking for, such as Saysky and Janji. These brands sell nice looking, high performance t-shirts, that are friendlier for the environment (using 100% recycled polyester). They have high ethical standards and are more affordable compared to their top-tier counterparts, like Tracksmith and Soar.

When it comes to bolder designs, I think of brands like Happy Stride and Red Bear. However, even though they have lots of choice, many of the designs don’t feel targeted to my age range (40+). Usually I want an interesting or abstract design on a running top, without it being too “loud” for my everyday runs.

This is where I think Renewed Running fills the gap. An athletic apparel brand for those who want a high perfomance top, with an interesting design, that they feel comfortable wearing everyday. And like most runners, we want gear that’s not going to break the bank, and avoids us having to wear the same old plain tee from a global brand with questionable ethics.