(this post is from november 2024, but still relevant since it's *freezing* in SF right now)

Last week, like most of the running community I was at The Running Event. As a slight introvert who craves the simplicity running affords, two days of looking at the latest + greatest gadgets in a convention center surrounded by people from every running store in America was…a lot. Walking the floor for 8 hours, constantly fighting old white guys from Fleet Feet for attention from reps (some of whom still ignored me, despite selling + championing their products…Bandit). I didn’t spend my two nights in Austin partying like most, I spent them eating take-out tacos in my room and catching up on sleep.

It was a nice respite away from the atmospheric river turned bomb cyclone that had settled itself over the bay. I was able to escape most of the rain yet still made it home in time to experience my first flash flood warning, a phenomenon I thought only occurred on episodes of Rescue 911. I also came back to discover that while I was away the switch had flipped on winter. No longer would my highly curated assortment of running shorts suffice for the near frigid conditions I found myself in at the store, as the door is always open. We have a heater, however it unfortunately sounds like an airplane taking off, only warms the upstairs loft, and costs a fortune to run. It seems my best strategy for keeping warm at work is to layer up and this past week I’ve found myself searching for outerwear options of the fleece + puffy varietals. Long tights and sweats are my new BFFs and I might be investing in some heattech layers for the first time…ever.

I really shouldn’t be surprised by how cold it’s been since it’ll be December Sunday and gets dark at 4:30pm. It always sneaks up on me but this year between the (good) chaos of the store and an unusually long extended summer, I hadn’t realized we were approaching the end of the month until I woke up Monday and realized Thanksgiving was Thursday. Like always, December will fly by and before we know it we’ll be singing Auld Lang Syne cheersing in the start of 2025.

I had a woman pop in the other day and ask me if I was offering any specials for the holidays. After mentally processing that we are in fact in the holiday season I feebly offered her 10% off a pair of socks with shoe purchase (she wasn’t impressed). The reality is Running Wylder has been open for barely a month, margins are already tight and bills are coming due. I joke that it’s a very bootstrapped operation but it’s true: we have no financial backing other than our own. People often ask if we’re a chain, if we have any other locations and most are surprised when I answer ‘no’ and ‘no’. These days it seems opening a (singular) retail store is not the common entrepreneurial path.

Most residents in SF, especially ones in our zip code, don’t need to be shopping for deals. They can afford to pay full price for a pair of $160 running shoes, however big box retail has trained us to always expect a little something extra, especially around the holidays. Black Friday used to be an anomaly, one where TV’s were sold at rock bottom prices and people lined up overnight for Tickle Me Elmos. Now it starts weeks in advance, with financial plans strategically architected around it.

I won’t be offering any Black Friday specials, even if some of the brands I carry in store do. Should someone ask, I’ll match a price, but I hope they’d be willing to pay reg price simply to support my store. My margins are slim; our contractor called to ask we go over our next bill in person because it’s that high and product invoices are all coming due. Oh yes and rent abatement ends Saturday.

Black Friday is a holiday that supports big box consumerism, not shopping small or shopping local. Brands like the Gap and J.Crew have the margins to support steep mark downs, and any traffic directed toward their store or website is good traffic. Last year I got sucked into the frenzy and even published a list of Black Friday sales. This year I’m ignoring it all together, because with the constant spam of the emails it feels like I’m at a night market, everyone trying to peddle their wares.

Turns out what I actually need and want aren’t stock up items or left over fall products anyway. I want things that I can wear day in and day out that are both functional (keep me warm) and stylish (look cool). If there’s an item I’ve had my eye on and it happens to also be on sale, awesome. If not that’s fine too; I’d rather be buying fewer and better.

So for November, two days before it becomes December, a Stuff I Like list of all the outerwear that could also be insidewear that I’ve been browsing and contemplating adding to cart. Pieces that can function as a top or mid layer, that will keep me warm and toasty top to toe.

1. Puffy jackets that aren’t the North Face or Patagonia

   When I first moved to SF nearly ten years ago, I was so excited to be moving to California I got rid of all my outerwear, including a below the knee wrap style Patagonia puffy jacket. I figured my days of puffies were behind me since I’d soon be enveloped in the year round glow of that sweet California sunshine. Between the El Nino of my first winter and the fog of my first summer, I could not have been more wrong. The Patagonia puffy seems to be the uniform of choice for SF residents and while functional, I can’t. I want something that is more of a statement, unique, more down duvet. Something I can wear with tights or with jeans and be snuggled up in it’s delicious warmth.

   

    

2. Ditto with the polar fleece

   I love me a polar fleece moment but good ones are so hard to find. Nothing is more annoying than purchasing one to find the fleece pile too skimpy or the fit too neat. The pile must be nappy or plush - there is no middle of the road, no in between. It must be either here or there because if it’s neither it looks cheap, like someone either couldn’t make up their mind or source the right quality based on their price point.

   

    

3. Sweats because it’s so cold in tights I feel naked

   Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back on the apparel assortment I bought for the store I would say it all skews annoyingly light. I leaned into functionality and the truth is for SF you really only need a light long sleeve for winter running; maybe a rain jacket at most. Shorts will suffice pretty much year round, maybe tights if it’s an especially frigid morning. I skipped over any of the heavier weight winter run products because the shelf life for us here in the bay is so short and most of them are unnecessary anyway.

   What I do wish I had bought into was some more lifestyle pieces; cozy fleece tops + bottoms, something to wear pre or post run. I thought maybe my own branded product would fill this gap, which maybe for the average runner who doesn’t live in their activewear like I do it does? As Alanis Morissette says, you live, you learn.

   

    

4. Sherpa lined shoes = socially acceptable slippers

   My shearling lined Tokios are three years old now and while still functional I might be due for an upgrade. I’m thinking maybe a boot, something I can wear with tights and one of those oversized puffy blankets, proportionally interesting even though theoretically basic.

   

    

Wherever + however you celebrated Turkey day, I hope it was one filled with good food and loved ones (friends, family, fur babies, real babies). Congrats if you trotted, congrats if you didn’t. Either way the turkey still tastes equally delicious.