Ready for the one-mile race?
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The sky is black. The athletics stadium is lit. And under the floodlights, hundreds of amateur runners line the red rubber track wearing numbered bibs. A pistol fires. The watching crowds go wild while the runners lap the track four times. Within a few short minutes, the first heat is over.
The Tracksmith Amateur Mile, a one-mile race, was launched in London by Boston-based running label Tracksmith in 2022. It makes a 10K seem a laborious schlep. And a marathon? Forget it. This is quickfire, intense and under the glare of lights. “You get to imagine what it’s like to be an Olympian in this environment,” says Patrick Kelly, a 32-year-old commercial accountant who has raced in London.
A shorter race has many pluses – chiefly that it’s time-efficient for those juggling work and family life. “As I got past 40, I started running shorter distances,” says Matt Taylor, Tracksmith’s co-founder. “Marathons are time-consuming to train for.” But it’s also time-efficient in the moment: “That’s also why I love the mile race. It’s over before you know it.”
The events draw participants from as young as 8 – and “we had an 80-year old run on the track this year”, says Taylor. Short, sharp races have physical benefits too: they’re a muscular switch-up that pushes the body and rewires the brain, with effects similar to those of a cold-water swim.
Founded in 2014, Tracksmith has become known for its preppy New England aesthetic, premium natural materials and distinctive colourways that are more ready-to-wear than running kit — think dusky yellows, rich browns and lots of navy. Winter wear includes turtleneck merino tops (£138), breton-stripe performance jerseys (£68) and a curved-hem jogging fleece with a grandad collar (£198). Collaborations with J Crew have further amplified its cool, collegiate image. More recently, it opened Trackhouse stores on Chiltern Street in London and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Designed by Roach Matthews, each shop floor is inlaid with a terrazzo running track.
The brand’s track racing events originally began stateside with the Twilight 5,000 series, a 5K race. These have since been rolled out to 18 cities, from Mexico City to Washington DC, Denver and Toronto. There’s something nostalgic about the track environment – a refreshing antidote to pounding the pavements. “Tracks are one of the most underutilised community spaces,” says Taylor. “And [for events] we don’t have to close off any roads.”
Race nights can include hotdog and (non-alcoholic) beer carts and live bands. “It’s fun whether you’re racing or not,” says Taylor. Families get to see runners zoom past multiple times (and the Twilight 5,000 is 12 and a half laps). “In a road race, you’re lucky if you see someone once or twice,” says Taylor – in other words, it can get boring. Spectators can also stand anywhere they like. “Kids especially love cheering on the infield,” says Taylor.
Participation globally has grown 70 per cent in the last year; hundreds raced at the Twilight 5,000 in London last November.
Tracksmith is the only sports label to host its own community race series. “People can come and race their best mile, whether that’s in four minutes or 15 minutes,” says Taylor. It’s an adrenaline hit that recalls childhood. Says Taylor: “When as an adult do you get the chance to just run as fast as you possibly can?”
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