What The Cool Girls Are Wearing to Run Marathons
Vintage shopping in London with pro-marathoner and coach Erika Kemp
April’s content was brought to you by Paradis Sport, makers of natural fiber, active underwear. These were my go-to pairs for traveling to and running around London this week. If you’re looking to test them out, use code TSL20 for 20% off your first pair.
Hello from London! On Sunday morning, I had the distinct privilege of witnessing two world record-breaking marathon performances. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa ran 2:15.41 for the women-only record, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe clocked a mind-blowing 1:59:30. Both ran in the new Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3. While I don’t much care for the minutiae of sneaker technology, with this result, Adidas cements its place atop the performance pyramid and kicks Nike where it hurts.
I’m in London courtesy of the Brooks team, who’ve shown themselves to be savvy in courting writers on Substack. When they invited me to join them for their Marathon activations, I was flattered1 and excited to return to my favorite city, but eager to expand my coverage beyond shoe news. And so I pitched this idea: would they be open to me taking 2:22.56 marathoner and Brooks pro Erika Kemp vintage shopping? To my delight, both the brand team and Erika said yes.
Erika was in London not to race, but to coach. In a wild turn of events, Erika’s first athlete is the Tony-winning multi-hyphenate (and sneaky fast runner) Cynthia Erivo. When Brooks signed the star as their latest ambassador, they offered her a slate of potential coaches, and Cynthia chose Erika. To complicate Erika’s first official coaching gig, Cynthia’s training was hampered by her obligations as the star of the two-hour, one-woman West End show Dracula, with seven intense performances a week. And other totally normal runner things, like sitting front row at Paris Fashion Week.
If you’re curious about their athlete-coach dynamic, I had the chance to see Erika and Cynthia in action at a live-taping of Nobody Asked Us with Des Linden and Kara Goucher. You could tell there was real chemistry between the two – Brooks was wise to celebrate it!
Erika took the stage in the cutest outfit: a denim mini, Brooks Carhartt button down (customized for her after the U.S. Trials in 2024) layered over a white long sleeve, and Brooks Adrenaline 10s. Constrained as they are by brand deals, pro athletes rarely showcase much personal style. There are only so many ways to rock brand-approved gear, but Erika does it with real flair.
Browsing the racks at Vintage Threads in Soho, I ask her about her approach to style. “It’s fluid,” she says. “I like to play dress up.” You won’t catch her wearing running clothes off duty. Given she spends so much time training in activewear, she prefers to lean into her girlier side. She shows up to our shopping session on a sunny London Saturday in baggy jeans, a ‘90s striped cropped tee, black leather jacket from Aritzia, and Brooks Adrenaline 10s (her lifestyle go-tos along with the 4s.)
I wanted to vintage bop with Erika for a few reasons. First, because it’s my favorite way to explore a city, and second, it seemed like a good opportunity to explore Brooks’s increasing lifestyle relevance. In the past few years, the brand has noticeably stepped up their fashion and energy game, reissuing archival styles like the 1976 Vanguard, 1982 Chariot (my choice for the weekend), and Y2K-era Adrenalines. PYNRS and frequent Brooks collaborator Sid Baptista rocks an enviable pair of Cascadia 1s in yellow and black. Katie Douglas styles her ‘fits with a vintage-inspired pair of Adrenaline GTS 24.
Brooks has long been the running industry’s stalwart, the go-to shoe of the masses, yet they’ve lacked the cool-kid energy associated with Nike or Adidas. Who needs the cool kids, though, when you’re consistently the top footwear brand in wholesale and enjoying record-breaking YOY growth? Still, recent moves – their PYNRS collaboration, working with streetwear designer Jeff Staple on archival styles, signing Cynthia Erivo – suggest they’re not resting on their laurels. They’re out for real cultural relevance, too.
Athletes like Erika, rocking butterfly tattoos and a nose ring, help. Or Jess McClain, the top American of all time at the 2026 Boston Marathon, who made 2:20:49 look super slick. What kind of witchcraft is required to land finish-line photos like this? (I was hoping to ask Jess about her sunglasses while in London, but didn’t get the chance. Erika tells me they’re almost certainly Goodrs.)
The topic of butterfly tattoos comes up while we’re shopping. We stop at a stall in Soho selling vintage-inspired watches, where Erika is delighted to find a Y2K-style link watch complete with a butterfly charm. Erika’s Painted Lady butterfly, which rests delicately on the inside of her elbow, is “adaptable and tiny.” The insect has the farthest migration pattern of any of its kind. “She’s the queen of endurance,” Erika says.
It’s a thoughtful choice for the marathoner, who wants to feel “cool” (literally and figuratively) on race day. She races with a small stack of permanent silver bracelets and a scattering of piercings. Cynthia raced London with charms of her own. Brooks updated her Hyperion Max with customized silver medallions in honor of her dogs Caleb and Gigi. She paired her shoes with a light blue Dash Half Zip, 7” short tights, and a royal blue Osprey hydration vest to run her 3:21:40 PR. I was curious to see if Erivo, who is known for her enviable earring stack, would keep all her gems in for race day. While she left most of her earrings at home, she still rocked her signature manicure and round diamond eternity band.
As part of her coaching duties, Erika helped Cynthia, who runs on the colder side, pick her racing ‘fit. She also contributes insights to the Brooks apparel team. Requests have included an ask for cropped long sleeves and even more pockets.
On our vintage stroll, she gravitates towards graphic tees and hunts for a Premier League jersey. I’m drawn to this Comme des Garçons jacket, but leave it behind (this turns out to be the wrong decision!).
We wander SoHo and Covent Garden, before stumbling into an astrology shop, where our conversation takes a turn to the mystical.
It turns out both Cynthia and Erika share an appreciation for astrology. Cynthia’s a loud and proud Capricorn, and Erika is a quirky Aquarius. It’s an impactful pairing, the internet tells me, “Capricorn and Aquarius make a powerhouse, CEO and Revolutionary friendship, bridging traditional structure with innovative future-thinking.” What a treat to watch that power play out in real time in London as Cynthia smashed her goal in style.
Elevating cool women doing really cool shit together? Yes, please, thank you, more, Brooks.
This was the Best Look from the Boston Marathon
Of all the running outfits I have seen in the past two weeks, this look from Julia Carrasquel is my hands-down favorite. Julia is a Boston-based marketer (and the creator of Delacourt, a tennis hospitality concept). She works with the PYNRS team – helping execute a major slate of Marathon activations and collaborations – and ran her first Boston on behalf of Tenacity, a charity that powers tennis and academic programs for local youth. I texted her to learn more about her approach to race day style, which was as personal as it was fashionable.
Lee: Tell me all your outfit details! How were you hoping to feel on race day? I want to know all about your waist-scarf! And your sunnies!
Julia: My outfit was inspired in part by Rawayana’s lead singer, Beto, who’s making sports jerseys cool again, and my team at PYNRS’s incredible style. Going to the Daughters & Sons studio every day is a stylist’s dream.
On race day, I wanted to feel fully like myself (corded headphones and all). I didn’t want to psych myself out with a brand new fit. I wanted this race to feel like another long run (even though it was my first marathon, it was the 130th freaking Boston Marathon and very much not another long run). Repping my home country and my run crew felt like the best way to acknowledge that I wasn’t doing this on my own and how much better it feels to do it together.
The Details:
Hat: PYNRS
Sports Bra: PYNRS Longline Bra in Black
Jersey: Venezuela’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Team (We’ve never qualified, but we’re all still huge Vinotinto fans). I added my birth year and my name to the back to encourage spectators to yell my name, lol.
8” Shorts: An Amazon buy, I’m afraid. I’ve run all my major races with these and I’m fairly superstitious. Pockets are great, and I like the length.
Socks: PYNRS’ road logo crew sock in white
Shoes: Brooks’ Glycerin 23s
Sunglasses: A $10 find in 2018 at a local Allston thrift store (Vivant!). Unbranded, a perfect shade of blue. They don’t move, don’t fog, and are light as a feather. Eight years in, they’re still my go-to for anything sports.
Scarf: PYNRS Seaver Silk Bandana! I wear it often and differently: around my waist, layered over a button-down shirt, hanging from a belt loop, as a scarf… But beyond being the perfect finishing touch, on Monday, it was a nod to the crew. I did not train for this marathon on my own. I trained with Pioneers, and many of the people I trained with had run the 26.TRUE Marathon just days earlier. They were wearing it too (fellow runners and spectators). We wanted to be there for each other and I knew many of them would be hanging at Mile 22. After Heartbreak, all I could think about was Sid, Kenia, Wizzy, Alfred and Dajaisha. Their embrace was the absolute highlight of the day.
Notes & Emphemera
I carried on and only brought one pair of walking shoes, these Brooks Chariots, which made for a fun styling puzzle.
London Fits. A lot of the Brooks team was rocking the new Vanguard in a rosy pink colorway. You can also find fun vintage styles floating around. I am very into this maroon and blue colorway, these white ones, or this red and orange pair.
On the marathon style front, Puma’s Project 3 seemed to be really pop in London in terms of cornering the sub-elite market. I spotted lots of women running 3:15 and faster wearing their drippy sherbert kits.
I also noticed that there were many more women outside of the pro field rocking briefs! This is a topic I’d love to explore a bit more. Hit me up if you are a regular runner racing in buns.
Bandit gets a lot of hype for being cool, but what stands out most to me is that their products – especially these Cadence Shorts – work really well on women who don’t fit the “typical” petite runner’s build. I saw lots of tall, curvier women running (fast!) in these styles in London. Cheers to Chief Design Officer Ardith Singh for nailing the fit here. THIS is what other brands should be working to emulate, not the vibes.
A few newsletters back, I spoke to Paradis CEO Sarah Weihman. I saved one question– about the future of the brand – for this final send.
Lee: What’s next for Paradis?
Sarah: We’re entering a phase where we’re not just expanding our product line, but redefining what women should expect from their first layer.
Our ModiQ line launches on Earth Day in mineral dyes. This is a new line for us, with a very innovative knitting technology using Tercel modal yarn to knit seamless garments. It’s a technology currently only used by European brands.
In July, we are celebrating our namesake, Marie Paradis (the first woman to summit Mont Blanc) with a special collection of merino-blend bikinis, boyshorts, sports bras, and long-sleeve base layer tops.
In August, we will launch two more sports bras, both in a fast-drying and extremely soft fabric: a racerback that is highly technical with side and phone pockets, and a ballet back bra that is perfect for studio or everyday wear.
In October, we have a racing stripe collection of colorful, high-performance seamless bikinis and sports bras for marathon season.
We are working on our 2027 collections and some really innovative offerings. We are staying very narrowly focused on the first layer and doing one thing exceptionally well. Our goal is to be the authority on underwear and redefine expectations for the category — so that every woman can find her perfect pair.
For those keeping track, I’ve knocked off three 2026 goals this month: first brand sponsor, first IRL activation, and first brand trip! LFG!
I rocked briefs for a marathon in 2021 when I ran 3:20 and Boston in 2022. It was super empowering! I was far from the fastest woman training on my team but the only one wearing briefs.
This was so fun - felt like I was walking along and thrifting with you both! And congrats on notching those goals :)