Performance Run Stays Hot—But The Pendulum On Stacks Might Be Peaking

From On’s growth to Hoka’s deceleration, Q1 results suggest performance run category is stil strong—but the rise of low-profile sneakers signals a potential headwind for maxing out on cushioning.

Earnings for Q1 2025 are now behind us, and I thought it would be a good time to look back at how the running space performed. I went back and forth on including Adidas, Nike, Skechers and Under Armour because a huge portion of their respective businesses have nothing to do with performance running, but I included them just for comparison’s sake. Keep in mind, Nike’s most recent quarter ended March 31, and its current quarter wraps May 31, so the brand will slam the book on all things related to spring 2025, when it reports earnings later this month.

According to Circana’s retail tracking service, sport lifestyle, or athleisure sneakers, remained the largest footwear segment and grew almost 1% overall during Q1, according to reporting by Footwear News. Running shoe sales grew a much more robust 7% during the quarter and generated the most incremental dollar growth versus last year.

Clearly we’re still in the midst of salad days for running, spurred in part by a post-COVID wish to be healthy and social while also buoyed by lightweight ultra-cushioned outsole technology enabling beginners to enter the sport more easily. The London Marathon recently broke a record with 1.1 million entries for the 2026 event, an increase of 36% from last year.

And yet, from a brand perspective the space is becoming extremely crowded as multiple publicly traded companies attempt to grab on to a piece of the energy and all the clout that comes with it.