This morning I woke up early around 6am made myself a quick espresso, put on some clothing laced up my Mizuno runners and off I went running into the first cold morning of spring.
After about 2 km’s I noticed something….. I just got up and went for a run!!!! Does this make me a runner now? Well I guess I am.
This got me thinking about my brand Zeffz, the cycling obsessed brand I started 5 years ago to quench that never ending obsession of Textiles, Design, Cycling and the other thing I could never stop thinking about..cycling socks.
Over the last 5 years I have watched our cycling socks be ridden by every type of rider from your daily commuter ( there’s nothing better than riding into work and getting past by someone wearing the pink cactus socks under their suit pants) to National Champions and it’s been amazing to watch these riders ride in the same sock created 5 years ago that has only seen a few tweaks (that being all race socks now made from Coolmax)
But what was probably just as amazing was seeing all these other athletes compete in different genres of sport such as Ironman triathlons, Marathons and gruelling ultra marathons in a sock that I never really considered could be so widely used in the sport of running when creating this sock back in 2015 (the sock took 8 months to develop and test before going into production)
So I guess from the help of our amazing customers Zeffz has become the ‘accidental’ run sock brand and we couldn’t be happier.
But why?
Let me explain.
If you grew up like myself as a young cyclist in the late 90’s you pretty much knew (well with the older riders I spent time with) that if you rode bikes…then you rode bikes and that was it! Even going to the gym for cycling benefits was a no no as they would say that if you need to go to the gym for cycling then you better start pedalling with your hands.
Back to running and if you did run then it was pretty clear and simple you were a triathlete.Period.
Thankfully times have changed and now most of us (if we have the time) will incorporate at least some type of cross training into our schedule whether that be weight training, running or something else to help our bodies take the load of training a little better.
For me I found my way to running via cyclocross as I realised that running was an important part of racing if I wanted to have a little fun and try to get a result (for me that means not getting lapped by some teenager in B grade)
So where from here? Well we really don’t know and that’s actually a good thing as it opens up a new exciting direction for us as a brand and personally as a textile designer I can’t wait to get to the mill and start creating some new socks for both running and cycling.
This doesn’t however mean we will stop creating cycling socks as at our core that’s what we love and are passionate about and we have so many ideas and directions we want to take our cycling socks we probably need at least another 30 years to achieve it all. But this being said there’s always room in life for more passion other than just cycling (though it’s tough to beat)
I can tell you though that in November we will have a new version of our popular All Rounder cushioned sock which will be lighter and more breathable than the current version and after some testing we have found it to be a great sock if you like running in a cushioned sock.
So before I finish this blog here’s some details on what makes a run sock by answering a question that was our topic of discussion for one of our Monday morning meetings.
Why do so many runners wear our socks?
There’s so many different types of run socks out there (thank god!) for pretty much every type of runner and ours sit with the runner that wants a light, thin, highly breathable sock that doesn’t move on the foot and we have found that this has been a lot of runners out there, probably due to the fact that just like in cycling shoes, running shoe technology keeps getting better and better every season and less padding is required in running socks.
Also with our bespoke stretch and recovery elastic our socks don’t slide down the foot or bunch up when you get sweaty or wet, plus this also makes the cuff lighter and enables us to use less elastic around the top of the sock which means it’s more comfortable and leaves less a mark on your leg after use.
Personally I am a fan of both styles of socks and as a fairly new runner I have yet to find what suits me best and what is better for running multiple times a week, though I have noticed that my shoes don’t work as well when I have a padded sock on.
I hope you found this blog of some interest and maybe it has helped you decide if Zeffz socks are for you or not….but hopefully they are.
Happy running or whatever you choose to do.
Cheers
Cam
Zeffz :)