Coffee with Larry, for Wednesday, December 28, 2022, Adrian Leek, some thoughts on a good man, the challenges of being a successful running brand

Today, I heard that Adrian Leek, GM and Senior VP at adidas, is retiring from the brand. Adrian had two lives at adidas, and he is one of the reasons why the brand came back from the 1980s so well. Adrian is a former world-class runner who knows athletics and has reminded me (quite gently) of a couple of geek errors in a column I did years ago, but who has lived running and the adidas brand for several decades. One of his legacies is the firm relationship between adidas and the Boston Marathon, one of the finest examples, in any sport, of how sponsorships should benefit both brands.

Runner’s Yeah, we’re different, one of the finest ad campaigns from any brand, photo from Pinterest

Adrian Leek gets it. The funny thing, he always has. A personal note as well, when I was starting American Athletics in 1989-1990, Adrian Leek and his associate, Cindy Yoshimura, found money to support our dream. I was so broke, I was living with my then-in-laws and trying to keep the magazine afloat. adidas showed off the Equipment line (ads designed, i believe, by the late Peter Moore) on our inside front cover and page 1. Great brands and great brand makers get it.

I feel very lucky to work with great brands and great people each and every day! I will miss Adrian Leek.

This is my daily chat with #RunBlogRun viewers and track fans on all things track & field!

1. Adrian Leek is retiring from adidas, some thoughts on a good man.

2. The importance of supporting grass roots.

3. Making great running shoes

4. Brands supporting the sport.

5. adidas stories.

6. Boston Marathon and adidas, a great success.

7. Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah.

Larry Eder has had a 50-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America’s first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: “I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself.”

Theme song: Greg Allman, ” I’m no Angel.”

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