For the Love

Words by Matt Taylor, Founder & CEO
Photography by Daniel Ribar & Thomas Hassler

When the idea for Tracksmith first started percolating, I knew that I wanted to build a brand for runners like myself: people who cherished running as one essential part of a full life. We called these runners amateurs, inspired by the Latin roots of the word amo: I love. In the 19th century, amateur came to mean an athlete who didn’t compete for money, a non-professional, and in some ways was used to enforce class distinctions within sport. Today, we proudly reclaim the word and its classical meaning for someone who, quite simply, loves running. 

We’re all amateurs, united by a love of a sport that brings meaning, clarity and creativity to our lives. As a brand, our mission is to celebrate the amateur spirit and to inspire the pursuit of personal excellence. In 2020, our goal has been to find new ways to expand our reach within the sport. We started by supporting 138 runners at the Olympic Marathon Trials. We’re excited to announce the next step.

In a new model for athlete partnership, we have hired distinguished middle distance runners Mary Cain and Nick Willis. As full-time employees and members of our marketing team, they will also compete as Tracksmith athletes in their build up to Tokyo 2021. Mary is our New York Community Manager, helping grow our on-the-ground and virtual efforts in one of the most vibrant running scenes in the world. Nick is our Athlete Experience Manager, using his decades of competitive experience to build programming that will inspire, motivate and deepen our community’s connection to the sport. 

This new way of working together gives Mary and Nick the freedom to participate in the sport with no expectations or pressures outside of the ones they place on themselves. In our experience as runners, that’s the environment in which our love for running not only flourishes but it delivers on its ability to make us better human beings.

We also believe that for our sport to truly thrive long into the future, it needs passionate contributions in areas that extend far beyond the track. Both Mary and Nick have a deep desire to be involved in running in new and exciting ways, and to share their creativity, vision and experience with the community. Expect to see and hear more from Mary and Nick in the coming weeks. We’re thrilled to have them on board and appreciate that they’ve wholeheartedly embraced the challenge and opportunity of this unique partnership.  

If these challenging times have taught us anything, it’s that the heart of running lies in its vibrant community. It’s our hope that Mary and Nick’s example will prove inspiring and valuable to a wide spectrum of runners. This is just the start.

Matt Taylor