Every year for the past 20 years, I’ve had the fortunate opportunity to be a kid in a candy store when it comes to checking out new running gear.

Through a variety of trade shows and brand events—and, most specifically since 2006, The Running Event (TRE) trade show in Austin, Texas—I’ve been able to check out, try on, and run in next year’s running shoes months before they hit running stores. That includes getting to nerd out with product line managers and, in some cases, shoe developers and elite athletes who played a big role in creating those new models.

It’s been an invigorating part of my job as an editor in the running media world, but it’s also been a thrill as a lifelong runner and shoe geek.

Even before the advent of social media and the proliferation of behind-the-scenes content creation, runners wanted a look inside The Running Event. Friends, running buddies, and random running shoe aficionados would ask me what I saw and which models I was most excited about. And why not? It’s like looking into the future and getting a glimpse of your next marathon PR.

The only trouble is that the trade show is for the industry only, so you have to work for a shoe brand, retail store, media outlet, or business directly related to the running to get access to the show. 

A Sneak Peek at 2024 Running Shoes

This year, thanks to the running smarts and conversational skills of Thomas Bailey and Gary Koutsoubos, the public can, for the first time, get a live look into The Running Event. They’ll be livestreaming during this year’s trade show on November 29-30 at the Austin Convention Center.

Bailey, a.k.a. “Tommie Runz,” is a 2:46 marathoner from the Detroit metro area who has become a popular running content creator. The host of The Run Eat Sleep Show, he’s an authentic storyteller who brings an energizing vibe to his social channels and a diverse voice to the running space. He and Koutsoubos also produce training, racing, and running shoe content for their PR Project platform.

The goal of the TRE livestream, according to Bailey, is to give runners a peek behind the curtain in a fun and informative style as Bailey and Koutsoubos show off new shoes, talk about trends, and get runners pumped for 2024.

“We hope it will provide a good look into what’s happening at the show and all of the new gear that’s coming out,” Bailey says. “We pitched this idea to TRE as a partnership, and that’s the way they took it. They haven’t steered us in any direction to do anything, they’re just trusting us to tell the story.”

Bailey and Koutsoubos will be set up at a TRE news anchor desk on the show floor, where they’ll conduct 15-minute interviews with more than 30 guests over two days. That will include representatives from big and small shoe brands, apparel manufacturers, and even small accessory companies. Those chats will include lively show-and-tell sessions about some of the cool gear coming out in 2024, as well as discussions about brand initiatives and what some of their sponsored athletes will be doing next year.

When it comes to shoes, there is a lot to be excited about. 

Nike will be showing off its Alphafly 3—the shoe that Kelvin Kiptum wore to set a new marathon world record of 2:00:45 last month—while Puma will be dropping the Fast-R NITRO Elite 2 at a Wednesday morning fun run. New Balance will highlight its speedy FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4 and FuelCell Rebel v4 shoes, while On will be showing off its new CloudMonster Hyper. Reebok will be unveiling its FloatZig 1, Asics will highlight its Gel-Nimbus 26, and Skechers will tout its Go Run Razor 4. There’s also a new shoe brand launching called Mount to Coast.

The are several new trail running shoes expected to generate some buzz, including La Sportiva’s Prodigio, Hoka’s Speedgoat 6, Merrell’s MTL Skyfire 2 Matryx, Adidas’ Terrex Agravic Speed Ultra, NNormal’s Kboix, Saucony’s Xodus Ultra 3, and Scarpa’s Ribelle Run Kalibra HT BOA.

Plus, several brands will be offering private showings of top-secret shoes that are expected to launch prior to the U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon on February 3 in Orlando. But those shoes will be kept under wraps, so you won’t see those on the livestream or social media platforms for several weeks. 

Diversity Is Long Overdue

As much as Bailey is eager to pursue his own personal goals as a runner and a creator, he’s equally interested in helping drive diversity in the running space. Led in part by the efforts of The Running Industry Diversity Coalition (RIDC), running brands have shifted marketing to have more all-inclusive appeal and engaged with BIPOC personalities with ambassador, influencer, and amateur athlete partnerships. While some progress has been made in recent years, it’s clear there’s still a lot of work to be done at the corporate and retail levels.

If you know Bailey and Koutsoubos, you know they’re all about opening up spaces to more inclusivity and diversity with purpose and style. “We thought, Why not make the conduit of the public and brands something to help with the diversity side of things?” Bailey says. “It’s not just about getting more Black folks in there, it’s so many different angles of inclusion that need to be tackled.” 

Aside from the trade show, The Running Event also has numerous seminars and speakers that address a variety of current issues and topics, an industry-only 5K race, and an awards dinner that honors the best running stores of the year.

“This matters so much, not only because it’s giving more eyes to the running industry and the brands having more exposure—basically all of the on-paper reasons,” Bailey added. “But for it to be happening with us—a Black dude and a Mexican guy from the Detroit area—basically as the face of this big event on a livestream for eight hours. It’s huge.”

In addition to engaging with gear brands, Bailey and Koutsoubos plan to chat with Sidney Baptista, a Boston-based runner, coach, and founder of PYNRS apparel brand and Pioneers Run Crew, Jake Fedorowski, executive director of the Queer Running Society, Naseemah Palmer of the women’s active wellness hub Vivid Belle, Dave Zimmer and Ari Perez from Fleet Feet, and TRE show director Christina Henderson.

“For the consumers at home to see a diverse group of people that represent the running industry is so important,” Henderson says. “We love the idea that they came up with and thought, what if we could give a peek of The Running Event and the future of the industry to consumers? We think it will drive fun and excitement for consumers, but it will also drive value for exhibitors. There will be a lot of value for consumers to see what’s happening and what’s coming from the running industry in what otherwise is an exclusive B2B event.”

Which running shoes will you be buying next spring? Not all runners are nerdy enough to care about the shoes they’ll see at their local running store months in advance, but whether you’re a running shoe geek or just excited about reaching your running goals next summer, you can tune in this week and catch a glimpse of 2024’s best shoes for the first time. 

Follow the social media coverage of The Running Event at Trail Runner and Outside Run.