I’m recently back from a whirlwind week in the capital for the ever-epic London Marathon. You’ll have heard all about it, I’m sure – on Instagram, in headlines, everywhere. But this isn’t about the race in general. This is about Puma and how they turned up here, there and seemingly everywhere.
Puma set up camp at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) for marathon week, conveniently placed on The Mall. I didn’t make a point of scouting every other brand’s location, but I’m not sure any of them were as close to the finish line as Puma. That in itself says something about their positioning.
Attending Puma House, as I decided to call it, was nothing short of brilliant. As with many Puma silhouettes, across Sportstyle as well as running, it felt futuristic, surrealist almost. Walls of electric plasma balls, apocalyptic-sounding techno and neon signs dotted its halls. All things you’d expect on a Blade Runner set but also what I imagine the Puma product development studios to look like. You don’t design something like the Fast R3 or the Mostro in a sterile, blue-lit room. This felt much closer to the truth.
I think it’s fair to say Puma didn’t just show up for marathon weekend, they built a playground for it. Puma House became a full-blown NITRO™ lab, equal parts performance hub and controlled chaos. You could walk in and leave with a personalised marathon poster, get garments printed on the spot and customise laces and socks like you were part of the design team. There was a 1K treadmill challenge running all day with a live leaderboard for anyone brave, or foolish, enough to have a go, a claw machine tucked in the corner, and an innovation hall quietly flexing the latest NITRO™ tech and PROJECT3. Even the coffee felt on-brand – Flat White, or something a bit more to the point depending on how your taper was going. Saturday leaned into the community angle: a 5K shakeout run led by Lucy Davis, followed by a panel session that carried the energy beyond the miles.
While I was there, I dipped into the seeding suite – a chance to properly nerd out on shoe tech with Puma’s team – and picked up the final piece of my puzzle: the MagMax Nitro 2. With the Deviate and the Fast R3 already in rotation, I can now run a full week entirely in Puma. No complaints here. The R3 and Deviate are fast, too fast for everyday mileage, so the max-cushioned MagMax Nitro 2 fills the gap, soaking up those slower, recovery-days that make up most of the week. Clean and heavy stacked – just look at her…
It’s fair to say Puma were behind the curve in the running space not too long ago. Between 2020 and 2022, the front end of most marathons was a sea of Alphaflys, with the usual challengers – Adidas, Asics, Hoka – steadily staking their claims. Puma, despite their scale and legacy, weren’t really in the conversation. At least not from where I was standing.
Whatever they were building in that sci-fi lab, though, was worth the wait. Watching the elites and sub-elites tear through London this year, it genuinely felt like the Fast R3 was everywhere. Maybe the bold colourways helped me pick them out, but still, go back a few years and you’d struggle to spot more than a handful of Puma shoes in those lead packs. That shift speaks volumes. It’s product, yes, but also smart placement, smart partnerships, and a brand that’s clearly decided to take running seriously, while doubling down on spaces like Hyrox where they already dominate.
I’ve taken the Fast R3 out for a couple of interval sessions, and they definitely live up to the hype. The super shoe market is crowded, and hard to differentiate – everyone has a carbon plate, everyone claims propulsion. What stood out to me and, more credibly, to 2:11 marathoner Alfie Manthorpe, is how aggressive the shoe feels. I was able to chat to him ahead of his debut marathon, mostly discussing the shoe that would go on to propel him to his 2:11 time. The heel cuts sharply underfoot, while the forefoot has a tongue-shaped lip to drive you forward. The result is a slightly unhinged, lopsided U-shape through the midsole geometry. It’s kind of mental, but sometimes mental works. This is one of those cases.
Puma might have arrived late to the running party, but they’ve made up for it. You know when you’re at a shin dig and it’s good, but it starts to lull a bit – then someone turns up, slightly chaotic, but it’s exactly what the room needed? That’s Puma. They’ve ruffled feathers and stamped their name on the marathon in ways some other brands have failed to do year after year. A crucial point here is that they now have the product to back it all up too.
See you at the next one.
Shop Puma’s performance running range here
