Athletics

Coffee with Larry, Episode 877, April 28, 2026, The Running Brand Wars, who won Boston and London?

This is an almost daily podcast, #CoffeewithLarry, focused on the world of running, done today around 6:50 PM Central time US, on April 28, 2026. We are focused on the Boston and London marathons, and the running wars for our feet and checkbooks. This is episode 877.

 

Our topics:

1. Brands that stuck out in the Boston Marathon.

A perfect day for marathoning, 2026 Boston Marathon, photo courtesy of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon

A. adidas owned the weekend. From apparel, products, signage, and athletes. BAA elite athletes scored HUGE PBs, congrats to Robert Miranda, who ran 2:09:40, a PB of 2:27!

B. ASICS won the men’s race, and Under Armour won the women’s race.

John Korir defends his title at the 2025 Boston Marathon with his win on April 20, 2026, photo by BAA Boston Marathon.

C. OOFOS has a great pop-up position. I visited and enjoyed the diversity of consumers, from elite athletes to mall shoppers.

D. Brooks built events around their most authentic ambassadors, and performances of Clayton Young, Jess McClain, and CJ Albertson.

Jess McClain was the top US woman at the Boston Marathon, for the second year in a row, with a US women’s best at Boston of 2:20.49, photo by BAA Boston Marathon

E. NIKE had some good moments. My readers loved Galen Rupp and Calli Hauger-Thackery. The publicity from “Runners Welcome, Walkers Tolerated” was a mixed success: a success in terms of comments and responses, but a failure in that most people were aghast at the comment. NIKE apologized and took signs it down.

 

2. Brands that stuck out in London (done remotely).

A. adidas won the races, had two men under the world record, and one woman who won and broke the world record for Women’s only races. The adidas racing shoe sold out in 2 minutes on the adidas app, at $500, with high sales of $4600 so far! The racing shoe was the adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. How big is this? Well, check out the story in FAST COMPANY:

Sabastian Sawe (KEN) celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the Elite Men Race and break the Marathon World Record in under two hours with an official time of 01:59:30 during the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, 26th April 2026.
Photo: David Cliff for London Marathon Events

B. New Balance, 59,000 plus runners in NB gear.

C. Brooks expanded presence and social presence.

D. NIKE had events with Sifan Hassan, and others, and a strong presence in the top elite athletes in London.

3. What does the social media cloud mean?

4. When a shoe sells out in two minutes, what matters?

Sabastian Sawe (KEN) celebrates breaking the Marathon World Record in under two hours with an official time of 01:59:30 after crossing the finish line to win the Elite Men Race during the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, 26th April 2026.
Photo: Bob Martin for London Marathon Events

 

See you tomorrow on Coffee with Larry!


 

 

  • Larry Eder has had a 52-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.” Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys.

    Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”

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