Long Run Labs: The Business of Endurance

Taylor Hoekstra, founder of Popfly, joins Jon to discuss the future of creator marketing and a massive untapped opportunity in the running and outdoor industries.

Taylor explains why traditional influencer platforms are falling short, what brands get wrong about creator partnerships, and how Popfly is working to unlock billions in underutilized retail marketing dollars. They explore why authentic, long-term relationships outperform transactional sponsorships and how creators could play a much larger role in driving retail sales.

They also discuss Taylor's experience building Popfly, mortgaging his house to fund the business, using AI to accelerate development, and his perspective on raising venture capital.

Further Reading: Jon's A Guide to Raising Money as an Endurance Brand expands on the fundraising conversation with Taylor, exploring when founders should raise capital, how to find the right investors, and why the type of funding you accept can be just as important as the amount.

Support our Sponsors:

Halo transforms race-weekend hotels into branded clubhouses where athletes and communities can stay, connect, and experience your brand at a fraction of the typical activation cost. Visit poweredbyhalo.com before October 31st for a chance to brainstorm your activation with Jon and Aaron from Second Nature. Only three spots available!

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

San Francisco Running Company is now a partner of Long Run Labs. SFRC is bringing one of trail running’s most storied specialty shops to a national audience, online and in store. Shop here: https://store.sfrunco.com

Raziq Rauf has spent more than 20 years working in journalism, from covering music to building his own running media platform, Running Sucks, and writing the book This Is Running. He joins Jon to unpack the increasingly blurry line between journalism, influencer marketing, and paid promotion in the running industry.

They discuss what happens when brands fund the content we consume, how creators can maintain credibility while making a living, and why trust matters more than follower counts. Drawing on their experiences at UTMB and across the running industry, they explore the difference between telling stories and selling products, the responsibility that comes with having an audience, and what brands should consider when choosing who represents them.

They also get into representation in trail running, Raziq's recent conversation with Kilian Jornet, and how media can contribute to meaningful change beyond selling the next pair of shoes.

Stay Connected:

Raziq on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raziqrauf

Support our Sponsors:

Halo transforms race-weekend hotels into branded clubhouses where athletes and communities can stay, connect, and experience your brand at a fraction of the typical activation cost. Visit poweredbyhalo.com before October 31st for a chance to brainstorm your activation with Jon and Aaron from Second Nature. Only three spots available!

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

San Francisco Running Company is now a partner of Long Run Labs. SFRC is bringing one of trail running’s most storied specialty shops to a national audience, online and in store. Shop here: https://store.sfrunco.com

Joe Earley co-founded Tifosi Optics more than 20 years ago after spotting a gap in the market for high-quality eyewear at an accessible price. What started with 24 SKUs has grown into a brand carried by thousands of retailers around the world.

Joe joins Jon to talk about bootstrapping Tifosi, building through relationships and customer feedback, and how the business has evolved from cycling specialty into running, direct-to-consumer, prescription eyewear, and beyond. They also go deep on how Tifosi is using AI to analyze data, automate time-consuming work, understand its customers, and make a small team dramatically more efficient.

They also dig into sustainable growth, why bigger isn’t always better, and what more than two decades of building a business has taught Joe about success.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

San Francisco Running Company is now a partner of Long Run Labs. SFRC is bringing one of trail running’s most storied specialty shops to a national audience, online and in store. Shop here: https://store.sfrunco.com

Salomon has long been synonymous with trail and mountain sports, but the brand’s ambitions in endurance are getting much bigger.

Erin Cooper, Director of Marketing for Performance and Sportstyle at Salomon North America, joins Jon for a conversation about the brand’s evolution and what it means to build for the increasingly multidimensional athlete.

They dig into Salomon’s new five-year partnership with Ironman, the growth of gravel running, why the brand is expanding into road and triathlon without backing away from trail, and how athletes influence everything from product development to where Salomon invests next.

Erin also shares why run specialty remains such an important part of the equation, how a global brand adapts its strategy for different markets, what responsible brand presence should look like at events like UTMB and Kona, and why the old playbook for reaching runners may no longer apply.

Plus, Jon asks the question everyone wants answered: what’s next for Salomon at UTMB?

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

San Francisco Running Company is now a partner of Long Run Labs. SFRC is bringing one of trail running’s most storied specialty shops to a national audience, online and in store. Shop here: https://store.sfrunco.com

Dan Lampard is Chief Commercial and Operating Officer at Science in Sport (SiS), where his background in finance meets a lifelong interest in sport and performance.

Recorded at SiS headquarters in Blackburn, England, Dan shares how he thinks about building a sports nutrition brand in a rapidly growing endurance market. They dig into why SiS wants to be just as good at telling athletes when they don’t need a gel as when they do, why education and trust matter more than simply chasing conversions, and how the company decides which athletes, experts, retailers, and markets are actually worth investing in.

Dan also talks about the rise of the multi-sport athlete, what brands can learn from training and high-performance sport, balancing financial realities with long-term brand building, expanding in the U.S. and Japan, and why a growing market doesn’t have to mean treating every other brand as the enemy.

They finish with AI, the future of personalized sports nutrition, and why technology may make human connection and real-world communities even more valuable.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

San Francisco Running Company is now a partner of Long Run Labs. SFRC is bringing one of trail running’s most storied specialty shops to a national audience, online and in store. Shop here: https://store.sfrunco.com

Sito Luis spent more than two decades at Camper before an idea born during the pandemic eventually brought him together with Kílian Jornet to launch NNormal. Now, as CEO, he’s helping build a trail running brand around authenticity, durability, and a genuine connection to the sport.

Sito joins the show to talk about how NNormal came to be, why Kilian’s role as a co-founder goes far beyond having a famous athlete attached to the brand, and what he’s learned about building a company from the ground up. He explains why NNormal hires people who actually run trails, how the brand approaches growth without chasing demand too quickly, and why run specialty stores have played such an important role in its expansion.

They also get into the growing crossover between technical outdoor products and fashion, the differences between trail running consumers in the U.S. and Europe, using AI for demand forecasting, and NNormal’s decision to prioritize shoes that last longer rather than simply using materials that sound more sustainable.

Sito also shares his thoughts on the rapid growth of trail running, why brands can’t fake belonging to the community, and how the sport can welcome more people without losing what makes it special.

Stay connected:

Sito on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sito-luis-salas-15255b/

NNormal Website: https://www.nnormal.com/it_IT

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

What makes someone choose one brand over another when the products themselves aren’t all that different?

Brian Button joins Jon to talk about brand strategy, authenticity, and what companies can learn from his time helping build brands like Lyft, DoorDash, and Instacart. Brian shares how Lyft differentiated itself from Uber despite offering essentially the same product, why founder-led brands should pull back the curtain, and why authenticity is something brands have to earn, not simply claim.

They also dig into the return of long-form content and in-person experiences, why the best brand activations feel true to who a company already is, and how a clear brand strategy can give teams permission to experiment without chasing every new idea.

Plus, Jon and Brian talk about using AI as a thought partner rather than a replacement for human intuition, creating cultures where people are allowed to be wrong, and why so many companies suffer from the same problem: urgency without clarity.

This is a conversation about building brands people actually care about and creating enough clarity that everyone knows which direction to row.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

Jeremy and Adriana Nelson did not set out to build a company. Jeremy was a mechanical engineer tinkering in his garage with rollerblade wheels. Adriana was a professional runner from Romania training twice a day at altitude in Boulder. When Jeremy could not find his prototype, he knew it was good because Adriana had stolen it. And that was the beginning of Roll Recovery.

Thirteen years later they have a product in Fleet Feet, Boulder Running Company, and running stores around the world. They have never taken outside investment. They barely advertise. And they built the whole thing one relationship at a time.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Tech in Running Live Panel: If you are heading to Chamonix for UTMB week, come find me. I am hosting a live panel on Wednesday of race week covering data, AI, wearables, and where the human still beats the algorithm, brought to you by TrainingPeaks. Email [email protected] and I will send you everything you need to know.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

Karen Merlin on UTMB, women’s trail running, and growing the sport sustainably.

Karen Merlin, elite athletes and inclusion programs manager at UTMB, joins Jon to talk about how UTMB is evolving its race ecosystem, how athlete feedback drives change, and why women’s trail running is gaining so much momentum. They also get into accessibility, representation, sustainability, and what race week in Chamonix is actually like on the ground.

In this episode Karen shares how UTMB thinks about growth without dilution, how the organization works with athletes and brands to make trail more welcoming, and why visibility, storytelling, and thoughtful policies matter for the long term health of the sport.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit poweredbyhalo.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Tech in Running Live Panel: If you are heading to Chamonix for UTMB week, come find me. I am hosting a live panel on Wednesday of race week covering data, AI, wearables, and where the human still beats the algorithm, brought to you by TrainingPeaks. Email [email protected] and I will send you everything you need to know.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands

Training Peaks: The coaches behind UTMB winners and the athletes you've heard on this show are all using the same platform — and that's not a coincidence. Get 20% off Training Peaks premium with code FTLR here!

Leland Kohere is the marketing manager at Osprey Packs, one of the most trusted names in outdoor gear. He oversees their athlete program, field marketing, content, and social media. And after five years on the inside, he has a pretty clear view of what works and what does not when it comes to building a brand that people in the outdoor industry actually respect.

Osprey launched a major run campaign this year behind the redesigned Duro, Dyna, and new Pro series vests. That product took four years to develop with their athlete team. And the marketing behind it was just as deliberate.

Leland joins Long Run Labs to talk through how Osprey thinks about athletes versus ambassadors versus UGC creators, why they are not a podium driven brand, and what it actually means to show up authentically in a space where people can see through the fluff immediately.

Support our sponsors:

Halo: Racing is easy. Getting there is not. Halo is a hospitality platform built by runners that turns race weekend lodging into a branded clubhouse where your athletes and community actually stay together. Whether you are a brand, an event organizer, or just heading to a race yourself, visit haloracing.com or reach out and tell them you heard about it on Long Run Labs.

Tech in Running Live Panel: If you are heading to Chamonix for UTMB week, come find me. I am hosting a live panel on Wednesday of race week covering data, AI, wearables, and where the human still beats the algorithm, brought to you by TrainingPeaks. Email [email protected] and I will send you everything you need to know.

Popfly: If you're a brand trying to reach outdoor, travel, and adventure audiences, Popfly is where to do it. It connects you with the largest communities of adventure creators and handles the entire process from start to finish. Creators click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabscreators. Brands click here: https://popf.ly/longrunlabsbrands