#terralocotravels: The Running Event

Last week, we had the privilege of attending The Running Event (TRE) in Austin, TX. TRE is known as the premier conference and trade show for run specialty retailers. (Thank you, Saucony, for nominating TerraLoco for an event scholarship!)

Over three jam-packed days, we participated in educational sessions with topics ranging from the state of the industry to store flow to run power metrics. We logged thousands of steps at the trade show, visiting our current vendors and learning about emerging products. We rubbed elbows with some of the most inspiring athletes out there. It. Was. Awesome.

We wanted to share some of TRE’s takeaways and trends. We would love to hear your thoughts on them: what resonates with you? What’s missing?

1) Community, community, community! Run specialty stores are filling an increasingly important niche across the country: as epicenters of community life—places to connect, strive and reach goals together. At its heart, TerraLoco has always been more about community than shoes, so we’ve been ahead of the curve! With our $5 5Ks March through October, TerraLoco Travels opportunities, Wednesday night Middle Distance Group, and TerraLoco Pace Team, we create a community for runners, walkers and everyone in between! At TRE we came away with tons of new ideas as well – we’re looking forward to bringing you new opportunities in 2020, like a Run Disney trip in November, Speed Dating for Runners, and lots more! We’re always open to ideas as well, so be sure to reach out if you have something in mind that our community would love.

2) The need for speed: You don’t have to be a runner to have heard about Eliud Kipchoge’s historic performance a couple months ago: his sub-two hour marathon made news across the globe. It also raised the profile of the Nike Vaporfly Next to the average consumer. At TRE, we saw how the industry is responding: if they haven’t done so yet, nearly every brand will be releasing a shoe with carbon fiber plate technology. While these advanced racers aren’t designed for the mere mortals among us out logging our daily miles, expect to see this technology influence shoes from racing flats to daily trainers. We were especially thrilled to see this technology in Saucony shoes starting in June 2020!

3) Safety: As two female runners, we are heartened to see runner safety in the spotlight. A recent edition of Runner’s World provided an in-depth look at tools and solutions to help make running safer for women across the country. This theme wove through both education and products offered at TRE. Expect to see some more specific blog posts on this topic from us in the coming months.

4) Hit the trails! The last day of TRE was entirely focused on trail running. TerraLoco has also been focusing on trail running more and more over the past year or two. You’ve seen us bring you trail demo opportunities, a night dedicated to learning about trail running, a partnership with Trail Transformation, as well as a new adventure in our TerraLoco Travels portfolio: Ragnar Trail Wisconsin! (Check out old blog posts here.) We’re currently accepting deposits to join our Ragnar Team in September 2020 – this is an excellent opportunity to test your limits and hang out with the TerraLoco Team (including owner, Tiffany). When you join our team, you’ll get training programs, supported group runs, swag and none of the headaches associated with forming your own team. Essentially, we do all the planning for you — you just need to focus on training! Register here.

We’re fixin’ to bring you the best year yet at TerraLoco – what do y’all want to see?