The Speed Project Is Defining the Future of Running, Right Now
This is the third installment of our Deep Dive into the rise of running clubs, featuring an interview with Nils Arend, founder of The Speed Project.
Links to the first installment, second installment, along with a full breakdown of the Deep Dive and what you should expect. We’re making this interview free for all BoE readers.
We’ve got run clubs everywhere we look, businesses adapting to cater to the running boom and record high marathon sign up numbers. But we’re curious about what’s happening in the far less occupied spaces. This is where juxtapositions hold reign, the cultural zeitgeist emerges well ahead of the curve and a bit of secrecy remains. It’s where early adopters set trends without even knowing it.
We knew we had to track down Nils Arend, founder of The Speed Project, an invite only, unsanctioned, elusive 340 mile global ultramarathon relay race that has no website, no rules and no spectators, to get a peak into the future.
What exactly is The Speed Project? It’s a grueling race where runners, in small teams, push their minds and bodies beyond expectations in harsh environments. LA to Las Vegas, across Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest non-polar desert on earth, from Chamonix to Marseille in the shortest amount of time. It takes the traditional framework of a marathon and turns everything upside down. It’s running in its rawest form. There’s no cash prize, but instead a focus on mental resilience, team work and self determination.
From Costa Rica, the nomadic enigma dished on how running transitioned from just a sport to a lifestyle like surfing or skateboarding and why curating The Speed Project’s teams is like being a bouncer at a club.
You mention that at the start very few people, including brands, took The Speed Project and what you were doing seriously. How did that evolve?
The way I see it now and I tell that to our community a lot - everyone in it brings a huge value to the brands. The value we all bring to them is authenticity and they can’t have it without us.
The Speed Project is this little field kitchen, this big pot of incredible soup or sauce. And the brands are lining up and they have a little bowl with plain rice and everybody gets a scoop. I'm not saying this in an arrogant way and I'm not saying we're like the only ones who have this kitchen out there, there are a bunch of them, and everyone is cooking something up. But the brands need that.
With my agency experience, dealing with brands all my life, and the combination of us having eleven years under our belt we can determine the rules. The most power is held with the participants, they are leading the charge. We initiate, they take over. They are truly our focus, and they are empowered to drive it. We don’t allow brands to sponsor.
With the brands, I'm going to tell you, here's how this is going to go down and if you like it great and it's going to give you a lot of substance but if you don't like it or you feel like you need to be in control, you’re in the wrong place.
What frustrates you about the current running scene?
Very little, actually. I think it’s hilarious that top level DJs start run clubs and countries implement laws that you can’t run with more than four people. I’m sitting here having a blast seeing how everyone in this sport is giving it their own twist. I think it’s phenomenal. And if it leads to less alcohol consumption or less drug deaths then we’re on the right path. Do I have an opinion on how people act within this, of course. But is it better for them to spend their time in the space of sport than somewhere else, probably.
There have been rising trends of people becoming more sober-curious and moving away from alcohol consumption, especially with a focus on fitness. In my circle I’ve got friends training for marathons and that I’m going to boxing classes with.
There’s a lot of people who don't go to the after work getting hammered at happy hour but they go to the Thursday night run club. That’s why so much of the gear, the products and the way you look plays a role because that's the equivalent of what people used to do when they used to go to the club. That's why there is such a gigantic desire to dress a certain way or buy products and why the industry is gung ho on it. And why they’re like, fuck yeah, let’s make some more shit.
You’re right, you look at the elevation of what people are wearing in these spaces and it’s no longer the free t-shirt they got at a 5k running event or the basic Nike tee. It’s quite cutting edge, futuristic.
Oh yeah, we are in this transition period where running transitioned from being a sport like field hockey to becoming the equivalent to skateboarding or surfing where it’s a lifestyle. You see someone wearing boardshorts but has never touched a surfboard but they’re attracted to that product because it stands for so much more. And you see that happening now in running for quite a while.
Editors Note: with fashion starting to play a much larger role in the space, we’ll be digging deeper into this with Pruzan Running co-founder Jessie Hyman and Running Wylder founder Katherine Douglas.
Running traditionally didn’t have that undertone of coolness. The aesthetics have been pretty ‘suburban looking white male’. You look at the covers of Runner’s World and…
They’re still stuck in that world. Nobody has really figured out how to embrace that side from a media perspective in my mind. There’s not a media outlet where I’m like, damn, this is drawing me in. This is what I want to read. It’s still catching up. I feel like there’s so much space for it, so much opportunity to tell that story in a way that it deserves.
Do you feel like you’re trying to do that with the visuals you put out with The Speed Project?
We are telling the stories of our participants and sharing their journeys and we’re having fun with that. We run through very photogenetic parts of the world and we lean into that. I still feel like we have so much substance and things to share. We are absolutely under-resourced. We’re limited because we choose Instagram to be one of our outlets and it’s so limiting. We have a print publication that we’re now fully committed to an annual release. We gave birth to that after meeting so many people with so many things to say. We have a responsibility to make sure these conversations see the light of the world.
What is the next phase of TSP?
That’s a good question. We want to continue building the bond with our people. Everything is about content, though. You go to your favorite concert and look around and everyone is filming instead of being present, right? It makes my heart bleed. I’ve felt challenged by that.
If you’re not in the thick of TSP and you’re on the outskirts, you’re like, this is all about the content. One of our focus points is about bringing it back to being in the moment. At our 10th anniversary we launched this saying “it was better next year.” It played into the FOMO of course but it says be present and here now. I want to bring it back to the actual experience. The value of human connection.
One thing I often remind participants is that eleven years ago it was just me and my friends and us having existing relationships, going on this journey together, really created a bond. And created a lot of magic.
Now eleven years later you have that on a micro level but LA to Las Vegas we bring over 1,000 people together from around the world with different backgrounds, different beliefs, but we all share the love for adventure and the commitment to the sport. And to TSP. That’s such a unique opportunity that everyone needs to lean into and one of my missions is to remind everyone of it. You will rarely find me promise you anything but the one promise I always make is that if you lean into it, it will always be rewarding. Going into the moments with your guard down, being open minded, it’s so fucking cool.
I saw a photo on Instagram the other day, someone in New York walked down the sidewalk and took a photo of someone wearing a TSP hat in front of them. And the caption just said, “I don’t know you, but I know what you did.” It’s this bond amongst people. We can find this wavelength and proof of mutual ground.
How do you go about the selection process? It’s the coolest event, people throughout the running world want to be a part of it.
It’s the least fun thing because we have to say no to people. We are always to a certain extent over capacity. If you think about it, it’s like someone who runs the door as a club. You’re in charge of creating the energy inside. And you need certain types of personalities to create that level of flow and excitement. You can’t just say, “oh this type of personality only.” There’s a real clear formula to it, it creates the soup.
How much emphasis is on performance? The roster typically includes former Olympians, people that are breaking records at marathons and leading performance driven run clubs.
For me it’s very clear. We’re not here to organize a party. The backbone of it is running. It is a performance. I’m looking for the effort vs. the records.
I hate when people celebrate people for showing up. That’s not when you celebrate. You celebrate for putting it all out there, whatever that means to you. I’m equally excited about the team that comes to TSP with the intent of “we’re going to destroy this record” and then the stories of team 55 and team 65 battling it for hours back and forth. Or the teams that found each other in the middle of the night and are like, should we run together and do this together. All those motivations get me equally excited.
I’m very proud that we’re doing these extreme events with speed in the name of it but so many people feel attracted to it at the same time.
Where do you pull inspiration from?
I’ve always been intrigued by theater, other organizations like Burning Man. Other worlds that have very little to do with running. That’s where I pull inspiration, motivation, excitement. I always search outside of the norm. I love juxtaposition. I’m not your typical runner.
In terms of the finale, once everyone has finished the race, how do you go about curating that hospitality experience?
It’s the pinnacle moment. If you compare TSP to a yoga practice, it would be Savasana. We’ve put all that work in to get into that point and let go. Coming together, sharing the war stories, having moments together is a super critical part of the recipe. If that moment is exclusive to participants, it’s so much richer.
My objective to the team was like we need to blow everyone away with that party. In France, we stayed at a very rugged, super cheap hotel but then we found this insane chalet and turned that into the most outrageous day time party. Or like in Chile, we had this little glamping site in this little desert town, but then people are BBQing like there is no tomorrow and there’s a little crooked DJ stand with a sore runner from Paris or Chile DJing. It’s all about leaning into those juxtapositions and framework of energy.
What do you think is the future of the unsanctioned running space?
It’s totally small. I’m personally surprised how little has happened in this sector of the sport. But the other element is that it’s not easy to put on. When I was organizing raves back then and we had 8, 9, 10,000 guests, transforming an entire forest, someone asked me, what do you do during the week? And I just laughed and was like, what the fuck, this doesn’t just appear.
One important fact to know is that it’s not easy to do what we do. It takes trial and error, and it takes trust. We are in a very fortunate place where we can support that. So on one end I’m not surprised there isn’t more out there. There is a huge opportunity and I always treat it like an open source.
Up Next…
From uncovering the roots of the running boom to exploring how businesses are adapting and spotlighting brilliant maverick minds like The Speed Project founder Nils Arend, we’ve been on quite the journey. A true marathon of discovery.
But what does the future of running hold? Don’t worry, we won’t leave you hanging that much longer - we’re dropping that next! Now off on a Monday run…
Bonus
What the Speed Project is doing is truly next-level, and we both have favorite moments of discovery from going down the rabbit hole. We wanted to share them with you.
Katalina
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Last April, the Speed Project invited six women from the Indigenous Rarámuri community of Chihuahua, Mexico—renowned for their extraordinary long-distance running abilities—to participate in the race. Team @ra_ra_raaaaaa took third place.
Kelley
The Speed Project brings together all the mavericks, maniacs and misfits from all over the world and seeing their individuality shine through definitely does it for me.