Pacesetters: Pruzan

Last week we introduced our newest concept: Runlimited Pacesetters. Designed to introduce our community to exciting and innovative labels, Pacesetters brings in the best independent running brands to the shop, hand-picked by our team.  The running world is filled with these small brands who are constantly challenging norms, innovating, developing. Often less visible within the wider running community, they are positioned to offer customers a fresh alternative to the industry’s more established names. 

​

As a revolving program, Pacesetters by Runlimited seeks to highlight these labels, showcasing the work that they do, and introducing them to new communities through limited one month partnerships and creating experiences for customers around each brand.

To kick off the Pacesetters program, Pruzan and Runlimited are partnering for the month of July. “I would describe Pruzan as applying a feminine perspective to running apparel” says Jessie Hyman, co-founder of the brand, “specifically, it represents this duality of femininity: the strength and the softness; ambitious but adaptable”. 

She told Runlimited co-founder Molly that the seeds of the Pruzan brand were sown as a response to other labels posing that running and performance was about a “win at all costs” attitude that meant runners like Jessie didn’t feel like they belonged.

“During the pandemic, I had moved to London [Jessie is from the USA] and I wanted to use running as a way to make friends and make community.  But I felt like whenever I was putting on the apparel that I had, I felt like there was such a mismatch with how I dressed, how I felt about myself versus what was on the market. Major brands weren’t storytelling, while the independent brands felt super masculine. I just didn't feel invited to participate. It didn't really create that sense of belonging”.

From there, she and co-founder Lexi Copithorne began Pruzan, a women’s running apparel brand that melds the worlds of performance and style, representing the balance that Jessie highlights as a duality of femininity in sports, “a kind of measured control; staying true to yourself”. As for staying true to herself, Jessie eulogises her great-great-grandmother in the brand, taking her surname as the name of the brand itself.

When bringing together Pruzan and Runlimited, Molly and Jessie expressed similar feelings for creating a sense of belonging for people in founding their respective brands. “When Jonty and I first founded Runlimited, our idea came when looking for a space to feel like we belonged” says Molly. It is through this shared vision that Molly introduced Pruzan to the Runlimited sphere.

Last Sunday, we kicked off our partnership with a 13km run from Runlimited – Borough Yards to Beckenham Place Park, led by Molly, followed by a lake swim and picnic. The weather turned up with glorious sunshine and perfect temperatures, making for a refreshing dip in the swimming lake. En route, the run took in the street-scapes south of the Thames as well as parkland and trail paths, perfectly creating a duality between city and country as Pruzan blends aesthetics and functionality in all that they build. 

From now until Mid-July, we’re proud to showcase a curated collection of Pruzan apparel at Runlimited, including their Marathon Bra and Shorts, Airlight Tee, Softhold Socks, Aerostretch Top and Mesh Singlet.

Shop the collection in-store and online.