Luxury Spending Is Creating a New Category of Runner

Premium brands like Bandit and Satisfy are fueling a new era of luxury running, where high-priced apparel, performance gear and popular races have become status symbols for runners willing to spend thousands on the sport

The trendiness of running isn’t just about the activity itself anymore, as runners seek out the most popular — and often priciest — brands to signal a certain status symbol within a traditionally egalitarian sport.

A new category of luxury runner is being created, fueled by high-end, trendy brands like Bandit and Satisfy, a greater focus on race performance and heightened interest in certain popular half and full marathons.

“It’s becoming less of an activity you can do in your pajamas or your old college T-shirt,” Bloomberg news reporter Lily Meier, who reported on luxury spending in running, shared in an interview on the publication’s website.

Bloomberg also reported runners are spending as much as $3,500 to $5,000 on clothing alone, not even accounting for shoes.

“It does add up in a way that maybe it wouldn’t have in the past,” Meier said. 

New York City-founded Bandit, for example, has grown substantially in recent years, gaining national attention with its “Unsponsored Project” supporting top athletes without traditional sponsorships and its sleek apparel.

The brand has been showing up big in major running cities, with a flashy pop-up at this year’s Boston Marathon and the opening of its Chicago flagship store at the beginning of the year.

Satisfy, meanwhile, has proven to be a brand truly made for the runner willing to spend extra cash.

The brand is known for its “MothTech” cotton tees, which feature tiny laser-cut holes based on runners’ sweat patterns — shirts that have become a status symbol in their own right.

That’s because Satisfy’s tops can range from $140 to $320 each, with most of their shorts hitting around the $220 mark. Even the bandanas cost from $70 to $140.

Both brands are leveraging a rising “drop culture” in running apparel, with people able to sign up for email lists for early access to the latest drops. Bandit actually instated its own $125 membership program for early access to products before official launches.

The running status symbol isn’t just about clothing, though. After all, the core piece of gear you need is shoes — and people are willing to shell out more and more money for the sake of performance as the sport grows. 

Carbon-plated shoes used to be most common among professional athletes. Observing runners at races, run clubs and even on everyday runs through places like Central Park, the expensive performance-driven shoes are everywhere.

These sneakers can cost anywhere from $170 to $500 (Adidas’ limited drop of its Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, worn by Sebastian Sawe during his sub-two-hour marathon world record), and often don’t last as long as the everyday trainer, meaning runners are spending even more to replace them.

But apparel and shoes don’t even cover all of the other gear that you’ll often find on the most serious of runners: wearables (like Garmin watches and heart rate monitors), headphones, hydration vests, specialty sunglasses and more.

Luxury spending also translates to race participation itself. To complete all seven of the coveted World Marathon Majors (New York, Boston, Chicago, London, Berlin, Tokyo and Sydney) is no cheap feat. Between race entries averaging $300, flights and hotels, runners are spending quite a bit to tick off each marathon.

As runners are willing to spend more for major marathons, or simply to participate in their local run club, cities are profiting in the process.

Last year, New York Road Runners (which organizes the New York City Marathon, along with dozens of other races throughout the year) said that its events inject nearly $1 billion into the local economy.