What A Thing or Two and 831 Stories' Claire Mazur & Erica Cerulo Wear to Work Out
Chatting about the demise of the matching set, the goth volleyball player, T.J. Maxx and more.
In Boston, September and October are hands down the best months for running. The air is crisp, but it’s not quite time for tights. After the humidity of summer, a 50-degree day makes you feel speedy and fit. I’ve been easing back into running with an eye on the BAA Half in late November. It’s been fun to train with the Runna app, which has post-partum programming that’s helped me get back into the swing of things. As part of my return to running, I’ve been trying out the Saucony Endorphin Speed, which I really like, though only in copying and pasting in this link did I realize it has a nylon plate. I am very easily influenced by the salespeople at Marathon Sports, I take what they give me and don’t ask a lot of questions.
Anyway, it feels good to find a rhythm with running again, although I’m still doing a lot of walking, which I shockingly don’t hate. I’ve been taking stock of the running attire I see on my runs – one day I’m going to time my walk with the Saturday ParkRun at Jamaica Pond and report back on the gear trends. Next week is Head of the Charles, which has the potential for some very good sports-adjacent people watching. If Barbour is your thing, HOCR weekend is essentially a barn jacket convention by the river.
This week’s chat is with two women I’ve admired for a long, long time: Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo of A Thing or Two, a media enterprise dedicated to “stuff we think more people should know about”. This summer they launched 831 Stories, a modern romantic fiction company. I’ve been a romance fan since high school (historical fiction in particular), and love the attention the genre is getting these days. I devoured their first novella Big Fan and have been wearing my “Sports Romance” hat on my walks, while I plot my Olympic-themed second-chance romance (seriously.)
Claire and Erica were kind enough to share their perspective on dressing for performance. They’ve built their business on having great taste, so bookmark these recommendations!
The Studio is My Runway
In conversation with Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur
What was your introduction to sports? Do you remember what you wore?
Erica: I played all the backyard sports in grade school and soccer at recess. The girls I was friends with all wore Umbros—as did I, though I sometimes wore jean shorts, which got me labeled “too girly.”
Claire: Growing up I always felt pretty on the outside of sports culture, especially team sports, because nobody in my family was big into them. When I was 24 I started running to help with the transition off of antidepressants and it completely changed my life. I’m pretty sure I was wearing the MJ Soffes I’d picked up in high school when I first started putting in miles.
What's your current fitness routine? How do you fit it in with so much on your plate?
Erica: My current fitness routine is…not what I want it to be. I love reformer classes and studio yoga, but I only do that once-ish a week now. I got into habit of streaming classes during the pandemic that I haven’t been able to break because of the ease. The one upside is that I take a weekly Zoom Pilates private with my friend’s instructor in San Antonio, and it’s such a funny and delightful little long-distance, years-long relationship to have.
Claire: I work out pretty religiously in the mornings 5-6 days a week. It’s usually running outdoors but I go through phases (like now, when life is especially hectic) where I rely more on the efficiency of the Peloton bike. And for the last couple of years, I’ve also been trying to get to the gym to do some improvised version of strength training at least once a week. I wake up early to get exercise done because the chances of it happening at all decrease as the day goes on. Knowing how much of an impact it has on my mental health is the only reason I can keep it up when it feels impossible to find the time.
What's your default workout outfit? What do you look for in your performance apparel?
Erica: Lately the Split59 Raquel High Waist Crop legging and a merch-y tee. I’m kind of over workout tops? OH, and a Forme bra. I can’t believe what a difference that makes (for me!).
Claire: I’m super into Forme—the bras, the shorts, the leggings—because I think their stuff really works to improve my form and posture. Investing in their pieces—which are pricier than what I used to wear—has made me better about leaving items out to dry after a workout and wearing them a couple of days in a row before washing them. I used to have so, so much workout gear taking up room in my closet because I would only wear it once before throwing it in the hamper.
What brands resonate the most with you right now in terms of workout gear?
Erica: I’m in a rut, I have to say, but I think the tennis gear from Fila and The Courts (two very different vibes!) both looks so great. Honestly wish I played enough to validate buying it. My biggest gripe about NYC is tennis-court access!!
Claire: I keep getting stopped in my tracks (or my scrolling, really) by how nice the women’s stuff at District Vision is looking and how good their styling is. I haven’t pulled the trigger on any of it yet but maybe next time I sign myself up for a race I can use it as motivation. Beyond that I think On is doing a nice job filling the gap of fashion-adjacent running stuff and I’ve been wearing their Cloudmonsters for awhile.
You're both based in NYC, what trends are you seeing in the activewear space in your neighborhoods?
Erica: I personally like that we’ve moved past the super matchy-match sets, as a culture. The best activewear-attire-watching, imo, is a Sky Ting class.
Claire: The ladies at my local Blink are wearing high-waisted leggings with bra tops. And I was at a dinner with a lot of young people the other night where Bandit kept coming up.
Your first book from 831 Stories is a celebrity-normal person romance, including a musician as the love interest. I thought it was so clever to release the song from the book as a single. This has me wondering, what's your go-to workout music or podcast?
Erica: Is this where I confess I don’t really listen to music while working out?
Claire: I cannot run without listening to music and I really wish I was one of those people who could listen to podcasts or audiobooks instead—feels productive!! I’ve been randomly adding to the same running playlist since whenever I started my Spotify account, so it’s currently at 233 songs—everything from Michael Jackson’s Will You Be There (aka the Free Willy song) to Hole’s Celebrity Skin. It’s all over the place.
What's something you think is missing from the activewear market?
Erica: Chic ski and boot bags. If you know where to find them, tell me!
Claire: Maternity workout gear still feels like it’s not where you’d hope it would be. And I think we’re all still waiting for someone to recreate the magic of early Outdoor Voices.
Quick Thoughts
Things that Drew my Eye or Ire…
I’m noticing a marked shift back towards performance messaging this season. Nike has been loud with their “Winning isn’t for Everyone” campaign, and they’ve been going hard with the running-specific version “Winning isn’t Comfortable.” North Face debuted “We Play Different,” to emphasize its adventure cred and Mamut just launched a pointed campaign separating itself from the streetwear-ification of outdoor gear. I guess being hardcore is cool again.
Media Day for college athletes has taken on a life of its own, especially on TikTok. When I was in school we got about two hours notice before our session, resulting in some truly unfortunate pictures that haunt my Google search results to this day. Today’s athletes seem to be having a lot more fun with their shoots, from Santa Clara University’s Cross Country team to Nora Hayd, the Boise State volleyball player going viral for her goth team photo. Her interview with the New York Times is worth a read, I particularly enjoyed this exchange: “On a scale of 1 to 10, how intense is this makeup look for you? Like, a solid 4.” Being yourself pays off, she’s being courted by Hot Topic for a brand deal.
It looks like someone at T.J. Maxx is a fan of women’s sports. They ran a campaign with Madison Keys during the U.S. Open and they’ve been sponsoring Togethxr for a bit, most recently this content with Olympian Annette Echikunwoke. Annette’s been on my radar since the Trials – her stylish Instagram presence makes her ripe for fashion collaboration.
I did some googling to see if there’s been any coverage of T.J. Maxx’s women’s sports push, which has been going on since at least late 2023, but looks like it’s mostly going under the radar. I’m going to send an email to their press team and we’ll see if I can find out more.
Hoka, like On, has been investing more in their apparel, but I’ve seen less buzz about it. This puffer poncho stalked me on Instagram – can’t say I like it, but appreciate the effort to do something unique.
Kenya’s Ruth Chepng'etich smashed the women’s marathon world record in Chicago, wearing Nike’s special singlet for the race, which featured the city skyline. A big upgrade from the striped kits IMHO.
Horse Girl Fall continues, with Sporty & Rich’s equestrian-themed collection debuting this week. Of all their collections, this feels the most on the nose. Is there anyone sportier and richer than horse girls?