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Sock obsession + new races added 🔥
RUNLY NEWSLETTER #140
Thurs Jan 22nd 2026
Over the last few months I have been completely and utterly obsessed with socks.
You know, when we first launched socks onto the website, it was just a logical thing to do.
Lots of people were saying 'hey you should bring out socks' and I said yes, I think we should.
It made sense, runners love their socks, it was nice for us to have people wearing Runly socks & it gave us something to do other than vests, which is still very much the core of our business.
But slowly and gradually over the last couple of years something weird and wonderful happened.
We started selling more socks.
People loved them!
And then I thought, okay, it's time to get serious about this.
So at some point over the last couple of years I absolutely went to town on crafting and improving our running socks.
I want them to be in the best in the world. World-class. Best you can buy.
And the truth is, we're probably about 75-80% of the way there. We can still make some slight adjustments and composition improvements to get there.
But in the last three months, this obsession has gone up a gear (as you can see from the feature photo).
I have been on a mission. To test, sample & try every available composition, material, manufacturing process and level of softness there is.
I have gone through many prototypes - what you see above is a small selection of it.
And during this process, I have made some interesting discoveries (to me at least, lol).
Back in the day you used to hear people say 'oh don't wear cotton socks for running'.
And while true(ish), I believe cotton is the best possible material for a running sock.
But not on its own.
With a blend.
Cotton on it's own would absorb too much sweat, which is why you used to hear (and probably still do) people saying don't run in cotton socks.
But where cotton shines is with the help of a few friends to bring out its best properties.
Enter: Poly-blend, elastane and spandex.
Now, I realise I have lost a number of readers here. This is not necessarily interesting to many people.
But hear me out.
I have sampled so many composition and so many materials that I have landed on this composition as one of the strongest performers.
- Extremely comfortable
- With mesh panelling it airflows really well
- It is very durable
- Provides enough friction not to move in the shoe
I trialled a bunch of materials;
Wool - for me it's too soft, which is a weird thing to say. But remember we are creating performance socks, not lounge socks. I also don't think it creates enough friction in the shoe, meaning it moves around a bit too much.
Bamboo - if you've ever tried bamboo, it genuinely feels so nice to touch. But bamboo compresses quickly and it can almost feel like it's getting flatter and thinner as you run. I'm keeping this option open for a future collection if I can find the right blend and manufacturing process.
Nylon & poly - these have a place in performance socks. Obviously in a type of blend scenario. For me, the haven't outperformed a cotton base in any test, but they are definitely a viable performance material.
I know I have geeked out in this newsletter. So I won't write anymore about sock materials. But I did write an article with a bit more information if you're interested in having a read here.
TWO NEW EVENTS ADDED
When I was planning our event activations for this year, I was a little bit sad because we didn't have any events until March.
Luckily, we have been invited to the attend the Run for Respect in Melbourne. It's literally our local running track here - Princes Park, Carlton.
The event has a wonderful purpose which supports the initiatives from Carlton Respects in the prevention of violence against women.
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We have also been confirmed for an event I have been wanting to get to for a number of years: Run Forrest.
One of the iconic trail running events in Victoria.
You can check out our full event schedule here (subject to change).
That's all for this week.
Run well,
Robbie
