I ran the London Marathon twice back in the 90s, once in 25-degree blazing sunshine, once, less fun, in 12 degrees and rain. My best time, the sunny year, was 3:33, not quite Harry Styles level but not bad for a six-foot-three ninety-plus-kilo former rugby player. The forecast for today’s marathon looks pretty good, so it should be a fantastic day for all involved. And congrats to everyone who ran the Manchester Marathon last weekend too.
Before I knackered my knees I loved running and over the years did all sorts of fun races; the Death Valley Marathon, the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon, the Grizzly, Man vs Horse and various other oddities. Running then was pure; no Instagram, no Strava, frankly barely any photos. I couldn’t find a single photo of myself from any of the four marathons and dozens of halves I ran, all I could find were old numbers. That’s not to say that some of the tech doesn’t encourage people to run more, which is a good thing, but running, like lots of things we used to do just for fun, has become a marketing tool for the big sportswear businesses and their endless encouragement to buy more and newer stuff. I loved running more when it was just you, some shoes, a vest and shorts and the trail.
I also despair at the damage our sports kit does to the planet. The oil, the carbon footprint, the microplastic pollution, the plastic waste mountain. Well over a billion pairs of trainers, all made of plastic, were sold in 2025 alone. It doesn’t have to be so consumptive and it certainly doesn’t have to be so plastic. As I’ve written in this newsletter before, Seb Coe won the ’84 Olympic 800m in a cotton vest and shorts and Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile in leather shoes. Our range of 100% plastic-free running kit has been super popular since we launched it and we’ll be adding some new colours over the coming months. If you’ve not checked it out, you can find it here. Even if you don’t run, the shorts are great for the summer.
And for any runners among our community, whether new or seasoned, we’re delighted to have partnered with One Track, who are offering a free month’s subscription to their training programmes for Community Clothing customers, as well as the chance to win three months of coaching and a one-to-one session worth £450 (see below for details).
Good luck to those running today.
One Track x Community Clothing Competition
One Track Club is a global, science-driven running community and coaching platform designed for "everyday athletes" seeking structured training who we've been chatting to recently about our nature positive running gear.They've very kindly offered CC customers a month's free trial (open to everyone), on top of which you have the chance to win a coaching package worth £450.
You can find out more and sign up by clicking here.
I ran the London Marathon twice back in the 90s, once in 25-degree blazing sunshine, once, less fun, in 12 degrees and rain. My best time, the sunny year, was 3:33, not quite Harry Styles level but not bad for a six-foot-three ninety-plus-kilo former rugby player. The forecast for today’s marathon looks pretty good, so it should be a fantastic day for all involved. And congrats to everyone who ran the Manchester Marathon last weekend too.
Before I knackered my knees I loved running and over the years did all sorts of fun races; the Death Valley Marathon, the Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon, the Grizzly, Man vs Horse and various other oddities. Running then was pure; no Instagram, no Strava, frankly barely any photos. I couldn’t find a single photo of myself from any of the four marathons and dozens of halves I ran, all I could find were old numbers. That’s not to say that some of the tech doesn’t encourage people to run more, which is a good thing, but running, like lots of things we used to do just for fun, has become a marketing tool for the big sportswear businesses and their endless encouragement to buy more and newer stuff. I loved running more when it was just you, some shoes, a vest and shorts and the trail.
I also despair at the damage our sports kit does to the planet. The oil, the carbon footprint, the microplastic pollution, the plastic waste mountain. Well over a billion pairs of trainers, all made of plastic, were sold in 2025 alone. It doesn’t have to be so consumptive and it certainly doesn’t have to be so plastic. As I’ve written in this newsletter before, Seb Coe won the ’84 Olympic 800m in a cotton vest and shorts and Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile in leather shoes. Our range of 100% plastic-free running kit has been super popular since we launched it and we’ll be adding some new colours over the coming months. If you’ve not checked it out, you can find it here. Even if you don’t run, the shorts are great for the summer.
And for any runners among our community, whether new or seasoned, we’re delighted to have partnered with One Track, who are offering a free month’s subscription to their training programmes for Community Clothing customers, as well as the chance to win three months of coaching and a one-to-one session worth £450 (see below for details).
Good luck to those running today.
One Track x Community Clothing Competition
One Track Club is a global, science-driven running community and coaching platform designed for "everyday athletes" seeking structured training who we've been chatting to recently about our nature positive running gear.They've very kindly offered CC customers a month's free trial (open to everyone), on top of which you have the chance to win a coaching package worth £450.
You can find out more and sign up by clicking here.
One Track Club is a global, science-driven running community and coaching platform designed for "everyday athletes" seeking structured training who we've been chatting to recently about our nature positive running gear.They've very kindly offered CC customers a month's free trial (open to everyone), on top of which you have the chance to win a coaching package worth £450.
We asked award-winning photographer, writer and skater Stuart Clapp (whose photos now appear in the pages of skateboard magazines - something that would have blown the mind of his younger self), along with his pals in the South Essex skateboarding community, to field-test the Community Clothing trousers.
Brilliant British Wool.
It’s that time of year when a third of our design team (it’s a small team) disappears and comes back a week later rather bleary-eyed and smelling slightly of wool.
