FLYING HIGH

FROM HIGH FASHION TO HIGH ON ENDORPHINS - HOW DID SOAR RUNNING BECOME LEADING INNOVATORS IN TOP-END TECHNICAL RUN CLOTHING?

- TIM HEMING

It’s not atypical for a 220 Triathlon interviewee to run 50-60 miles a week as part of their job, but whereas it’s usually a pro triathlete looking to get fitter and faster, this time it’s a former DJ and fashion designer focused on a very different goal.

Tim Soar, founder of Soar Running, takes his role as product tester seriously. Every garment is put rigorously through its paces on the parks, pavements and towpaths of north-east London, and as a bonus his company benefits from one of the fittest chief execs in the capital.

The daily routine can’t be a gimmick for the running clothing specialists because in a market where apparel is available from so many big brands, it’s the quality — and accompanying price tag — that sets Soar apart. Tim Soar carved his reputation on style, but in this industry you have to have the substance to match.

“We own race kit in the UK,” is the Londoner’s confident take as we chat over a cup of tea in his terraced Victorian home in Clapton, surrounded by shelves of vinyl as a reminder of how his passion projects have shifted.

“If you’re a serious runner, by and large you’ll be wearing Soar kit unless you’re a sponsored athlete. Phil Sesseman [the highest-placed British finisher in the 2021 London Marathon] approached us to wear Soar kit as he was unsponsored. It’s because the products we have are head and shoulders above anything on the market.