Days before the Berlin Marathon, whispers circulated among the running community about a secret celebrity participant. Tracksmith founder Matt Taylor initially heard the buzz, but it wasn’t until Sunday morning, when a friend called him from the race course, that the extraordinary rumors were confirmed.
This mystery runner sported a mustache, sunglasses, and a headband, with a discreet bib number — 31261 — above the name ‘Sted.’ This, it turned out, was the pseudonym the celebrity had adopted for the event.
Despite his attempt at anonymity, it quickly became clear that ‘Sted Sarandos’ was none other than global pop sensation Harry Styles. Even in his partial disguise and moving with impressive speed, Styles was unmistakable. Crucially for Matt Taylor, his friend on the course delivered exciting news: the pop star was wearing Tracksmith shorts.
For Tracksmith, a relatively small running apparel company founded by Matt Taylor in 2014, this was a momentous validation. Based in Boston with a lean public relations team, Tracksmith has no official partnership with Styles, a superstar boasting nearly 47 million Instagram followers, three chart-topping solo albums, and now, a sub-three-hour marathon under his belt.
“What’s truly exciting for us is seeing his progress and how fast he’s running,” remarked Taylor, Tracksmith’s CEO. “It’s one thing for someone to wear your product, but it’s another entirely to see them actively training hard and pushing their limits in it.”
Image: Pop superstar Harry Styles in action during the Berlin Marathon. He’s seen wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt, black shorts, and striking orange shoes, running on a blue surface. Styles participated under the pseudonym Sted Sarandos.
Image: A close-up of the Tracksmith Van Cortlandt shorts, in black, featuring the brand’s distinctive small animal logo in the corner. These are the very shorts Harry Styles personally bought and wore.
At 31 years old, Styles finished the marathon in an outstanding 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 13 seconds. This remarkable achievement, averaging about 6:50 per mile, placed him among the top 5 percent of the 55,000 participants. Taylor hails breaking the three-hour mark as the ‘gold standard’ for amateur runners. This was a significant personal best for Styles, who had previously run the Tokyo Marathon in 3:24:07 just six months prior.
“To cut 25 minutes off your time in just half a year — that’s something many people take years to achieve,” marveled Massimo Alpian, Tracksmith’s director of communications.
Throughout the summer, Alpian would periodically receive updates from friends in London who reported seeing Styles training in Regent’s Park, consistently sporting Tracksmith gear.
“I’d simply think, ‘That’s interesting,’” Alpian recalled. “He clearly seemed dedicated to his running. But I didn’t connect all the dots until last Sunday’s race.”
In the fiercely competitive world of sports apparel, Tracksmith holds its ground as a niche brand, standing out amongst giants like Nike and Adidas. (Notably, Styles, like many other runners, chose Nike sneakers for the Berlin race.) Tracksmith has built its reputation by backing promising athletes; a significant moment for them was when emerging sprinter Cravont Charleston secured the men’s 100-meter dash title at the 2023 U.S. national championships while representing the brand.
But celebrity endorsements? That’s typically not their game.
“When we do connect with someone, we aim to build a genuine relationship,” Alpian explained. “We’re not like a luxury brand with a dedicated celebrity and V.I.P. division.”
This all highlights a crucial fact: in an age dominated by paid partnerships and meticulously planned endorsements, Harry Styles is simply a genuine Tracksmith customer. Taylor confirmed that Styles has visited their London store on Chiltern Street at least twice, seemingly shopping just like anyone else. The retail team, Taylor noted, treated him with the same respect as any other patron.
Last weekend, Styles sought to be just another marathoner, an intention Alpian believes was deliberate. “It seems he prefers to keep his participation in these races quiet until after they’ve occurred,” he observed.
A request for comment from Styles’s representative went unanswered.
For the Berlin race, Styles chose Tracksmith’s iconic Van Cortlandt shorts. Taylor described them as the brand’s “most classic, timeless performance running short.” These lightweight mesh shorts, with a four-inch inseam, retail for $75 – a style choice Styles is famously comfortable with.
While Styles also sported Van Cortlandt shorts in Tokyo, that appearance garnered significantly less attention, likely because his finish time, though respectable, didn’t quite capture the running community’s imagination.
Following this latest event, Tracksmith has reportedly seen a 50 percent surge in sales of their Van Cortlandt shorts. In an effort to express their gratitude, the company even tried reaching out to Styles via direct message, offering him a commemorative poster.
As of now, he has yet to reply.