We just landed in Atlanta and are officially, officially ready to take on Runningman Festival starting tomorrow. It’s as if we’ve trained for this all year, covering some of the biggest news and interviewing some of the biggest names on our own podcast.

TLDR, in case you haven’t been paying attention: Front Pack is hosting The Learning Lab, the educational component of the three-day festival.

We’re speaking with experts, athletes, and entrepreneurs from all walks of life, and we’re ready to soak up every mile of it. Speaking of miles, I think we’re even getting pressured into doing The Beer Mile. Oof.

Here’s what we can’t stop thinking about, in no particular order.

Front Pack Leading the Stage

Heading into 2026, we’d written down “speak at a conference or festival” as one of our year-end goals, and boom — we’ve made it happen. That’s thanks to all the hard work we’ve put in (pats own back), but also huge thanks to the folks at Runningman for working with us. Incredible people. But this is exactly why we do what we do. Yes, the nerves are kicking in, but we love being up in front of a crowd — trading ideas with industry leaders, hearing how other people in this space think, and helping others grow into their best selves, whether that’s in sport or in life. That’s the job when it is at its best, not sitting behind a desk. We love the bright lights, we love the mic, and we love learning in real time from the people standing next to us.

The World’s Biggest Sauna

Because of course — we’ve seen photos and video of this thing for years. It’s one of the coolest things about this festival, and we can’t wait to step into it.

Everyone in Attendance

The biggest question we get from friends when we tell them we’re going to Runningman is, “Oh, you have to tell me about the vibe.” Every. single. time. It’s always some version of, “I’m interested … but I don’t know.”

So we can’t wait to get on the ground and talk to anyone and everyone — from the tattoos of Runningman to the casuals to the hardcore folks running 50K on Saturday. What makes them tick. Why they’re really there. There’s something about standing shoulder to shoulder with a group of like-minded people that resets your perspective on how good this life actually is.

Catching Up With Everything New in Health & Endurance

We’re looking at the list of brands on-site, and there are just as many we know nothing about as ones that live in our daily orbit. For the ones we don’t know; what’s their story, and what problem are they actually solving? We’re for the athlete, always have been, always will be, so we’ll be doing a lot of sniff tests, separating what’s BS from what really matters. On top of that, we’re diving into the interactive stuff — live gait testing from RunDNA, checking out what Altra’s bringing, and more. We’ll do some on-site testing and bring it all to you. Our expectation is that because this is a festival built for the community, not a stuffy conference in some convention center, guards will be down and we’ll get some real conversations.

The Run

At the end of the day, this is still a running event. On Saturday, attendees decide whether to do a casual 5K or really test themselves and run all day in the 95+ degree heat. Runningman doesn’t call it a “race,” because it’s not, and that’s what makes it one of the most intriguing parts of the festival. We’re used to covering events where people train relentlessly to accomplish the impossible. This one’s built to be fun and pressure-free instead. We’ll see if that holds up.

The Surprises

With a festival like this, you can’t map it all out — you just go with the flow and see where it takes you. There’s a lot to do and a lot to cover, and we’re sure there’s a brand or an interactive space we haven’t even heard of yet that’s going to grab our attention. So it’ll be interesting to look back and recap what really surprised us about Runningman.

If you’re on the ground at the festival, swing by The Learning Lab and say what’s up. If not, we’ll have a full recap on the site, on socials, YouTube, and the podcast.