Could Brooks Be the Running Brand to Beat?

One of running’s most iconic brands is taking its U.S. momentum global as more top-performing athletes join its roster

The running boom has been met by an increasingly saturated market, as legacy brands go toe-to-toe with trendy newcomers looking to capture an expanding audience of marathoners, run clubbers and 5K-ers alike.

Brooks Running seems to be taking advantage of this growth, while also holding onto its longstanding following and tried-and-true reputation.

The Seattle-based brand has reported its ninth-consecutive year of growth, closing out 2025 with record-breaking revenue, and notably, capturing the eyes of consumers globally and domestically by sponsoring some of the highest-profile elite runners across major marathons.

“We want to be known for innovation,” Brooks chief marketing officer Melanie Allen told Athletech News. “You can trust us to be reliable, but we’re also pushing the sport and running forward.”

Eyeing Growth in Asia, Europe 

In Q4 2025, Brooks reported holding the No. 1 market position in specialty retail performance footwear — but while the West Coast-founded brand has a loyal following in the U.S., it has also been capturing the attention of international markets.

Brooks’ global revenue has seen a 16% year-over-year increase as sales in China surging 245% in 2025 — a key market for its expansion, Allen revealed.

“We’re focused on winning the top 10 running markets,” she said. That includes Korea, Japan and China, which will soon be home to about 10 Brooks stores.

Allen also said the brand has been focused on European growth, especially among the booming running market in Germany, where Brooks has held onto the No. 1 premium performance brand spot.

That growth has been driven by engaging on-the-ground at key running events, including pop-ups, shakeout runs and run clubs at major marathons like NYC, Boston and London.

“Our event budget investment has increased a lot,” Allen said. “We’re able to be there with them in those key moments of this sport, but it’s also a way for them to get to know Brooks in a way that they might not have.”

Brooks’ in-person strategy makes sense — being where runners are is the best way to form brand loyalty and relationships, but it also taps into the growing popularity of community-oriented fitness events as more and more people enter the sport.

Trusted by Top Runners 

Sales aren’t the only marker of success, Allen pointed out. Brooks claimed the top international brand spot among elite finishers at the Shanghai Marathon, while more and more high-profile athletes flock to the Brooks roster.

At this year’s Boston Marathon, for instance, Brooks-sponsored Jess McClain secured fifth place, the top American spot and the American course record. McClain was also a part of an all-Brooks American World Championship Marathon team last year, where Susanna Sullivan nabbed a fourth-place finish.

On the men’s team, Olympian Clayton Young made the switch from Asics to Brooks earlier this year. Brooks also backs marathon legends and Olympians Des Linden and Kara Goucher, who host one of the top running podcasts, also sponsored by the brand. At the London Marathon, the two athletes interviewed “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, who partnered with the brand for the race (and was also coached by Brooks athlete Erika Kemp).

Part of the appeal for top athletes is the innovation behind their products, Allen said, but more than that, it’s about how Brooks connects with its athletes.

“We spend a lot of time just getting to know the athletes, understanding who they are, what their values are, what their goals are and how we can help them achieve their goals,” she said. “We don’t have boiler contracts. We have contracts that are really designed for the athlete.”

While Brooks is seeing results at the highest level, Allen said the brand is also targeting sub-elite runners as well as newer younger runners (adults ages 18-35) who are entering the sport amid a major boom, or everyday runners looking to level-up their racing.

“Runners are choosing Brooks,” Allen said. “They have so many different choices. And when we’re the brand that they’re choosing over anyone else, that to us, is the ultimate success.”

Allen revealed that 2026 is one of the biggest years for innovation at Brooks — they’ve already launched two shoes this year, with at least two more to come before the end of the year. That includes the Ghost Amp, a springy, responsive daily trainer made for uptempo miles and daily runs, and the Glycerin Flex, a hyper-flexible daily trainer that helps runners feel the ground more below them, or transition from a run into cross-training.

“Our footwear and apparel offerings have really exceeded where the market is,” Allen said. “When it comes down to it, we want people to be choosing Brooks over anything else.”