Our client was seeking to push the boundaries of innovation in apparel – but aren't they all? The usual course...talk to everyday people! However, sometimes talking to everyday people, as lovely as they are, just won't cut it. For this project, we needed to find the most extreme athletes we could find. In this group, the entry level runner is completing several world-class marathons a year. At the most extreme end? We had one athlete who completed seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days. Where to start? Homework, obviously. And none of the usual excuses..."my dog ate it...?" not allowed. Typically we ask our subjects to keep a journal and think about critical questions that might require them to bring examples to the table ready to share. In this case, we asked them about their most ingenious apparel hack that helped them keep their performance edge and not die out there.

Over the course of two days, we got to know our amazing crew of extreme runners. We started with a round-table discussion of their chosen discipline, and what that particular type of running demands of them. We frame conversations through analog tools, drawing out observations and needs along the way. By day two, it was time to put the athletes to work, identifying innovative solutions for their ideal and nearly impossible future performance apparel needs.