If Wiz Khalifa has been taking over your Instagram algorithm lately, you’re not alone. Except instead of a new song, it’s running. He started sharing his runs this summer after casually knocking out three miles one day and five the next while on vacation, and somewhere along the way, he caught the bug. Hard. And since we’re a running store, obviously we’ve been paying attention to what’s on his feet too.
So far we’ve spotted the Nike Vomero Plus in Sail/University Red/Light Orewood Brown, aka the “Cow Print,” the New Balance SuperComp Rebel in Pistachio Butter with Morel, and the Nike Pegasus Premium in Light Orewood Brown/Sail/Black/University Red, just to name a few. He may be new to running, but he’s already figured out that you probably need another pair of running shoes. And then another.
Maybe the best part is that watching Wiz discover running makes you remember what it felt like when running was new to you. Before training plans. Before Strava. Before you somehow ended up training for an ultramarathon and started telling people you were “just running 20 miles” on Saturday.
Remember when three miles felt like a REALLY big deal? When you bought your first pair of actual running shoes and suddenly felt like a runner? Or the first time you ran on a treadmill with your Garmin and realized the two distances didn’t match?
But what we might love most about the whole thing is how excited the running community is to have him. Runners can be a weird bunch, but we really, really love when someone discovers our sport. His comments are full of runners cheering him on, offering advice, suggesting races and waiting for the inevitable moment when he signs up for something that makes him question all of his life choices.
Brands like Nike, New Balance and Altra jumped into the conversation almost immediately too. And when someone with nearly 40 million Instagram followers starts posting his miles, pace, shoes and genuine excitement about running, suddenly running is showing up in the feeds of people who may have never given it much thought before. Maybe they see Wiz having this much fun and think, “I could try that.”
And really, that’s all it takes. One run. Maybe a pair of running shoes. Then another run because the first one wasn’t as terrible as you expected. Before you know it, you’re planning your weekend around your long run.
It’s been fun watching Wiz get sucked into running right along with the rest of us, and even more fun knowing he might be bringing a whole new group of people with him.
If you’re one of them, come see us at Running Lab in Brighton, Michigan, and we’ll help you find the right shoes to get started. And if you want some company, Team Running Lab meets every Tuesday at 6 PM for a free group run/walk from the store. Run, walk or do a little of both. All paces are welcome.
Just be careful. “I think I’ll try running” has a funny way of turning into planning your entire weekend around your long run and making running your whole personality.
