By the end of the year, the marathon boom continued, including the Guangzhou Marathon and the Zhejiang Marathon Classic this weekend. Among them, Guangzhou and Ma attracted 0.026 million runners.

Looking at a series of recent marathons, we can also see that the influence of Chinese sports brands is becoming more and more prominent. This will also be one of the important highlights of Guangzhou and Ma this time.

Take the Shanghai Marathon, which recently ended successfully and is one of the most heavyweight and spectacular domestic marathons of the year, as an observation window.

This year, Shanghai officially became the only Abbott World Marathon Grand Slam candidate event in China, marking that it has reached a new level in the world's top marathons and has reached a new level in terms of race organization and competition. Post-match statistics showed that the tournament attracted 38,000 contestants, with a completion rate of 98.24%, and the number of people breaking three reached 1,466, a record high.

At the same time, local sports brands have once again risen to prominence. According to data from Happy Running Circle, Tep topped the list for the first time in the overall wearing rate of runners in Malaysia, accounting for 22.4%. It maintained a relatively rapid growth rate and completed overtaking of international brands. At the same time, it also ranked first in the wearing rate of Shanghai Breaking 3 running shoes, accounting for 19.7%.

This strong performance also points to the fact that professional and popular runners vote with both feet, and Xtrep has gradually become the first choice in the minds of more runners, continuing to lead the development of road running in China.

Looking at it from a broader perspective, Shanghai is the “core area” for international brands, and it is significant that XTEP can lead the market, fully demonstrating its advanced competitive strength.

In addition to going to Malaysia, in 2024, many domestic heavyweight marathons such as North Malaysia, Xiamen, and Chengma all became the top global brand with three breakers, and showed a crushing advantage. TEP is also heading towards its own “Grand Slam”. In particular, in Chengma, the wearing rate of trekking shoes reached 39.1%, leading the second place nearly 4 times, an increase of 12% compared to 23, and the fastest improvement among all sports brands.

On the same day that the race started, TEP also teamed up to run the Jinjiang Marathon in their hometown. In the end, including 8 champions in the Jinma race, the XPS Championship Running Shoe Family helped create 14 champions in a single day.

Behind this, it is inseparable from the rapid increase in TEP's product strength on professional running shoe tracks.

From the 160X 3.0 PRO national rations racing shoes to the disruptive design of the 160X 5.0 PRO and the further evolution of the 6.0 PRO, the 160X series shows increasingly hardcore product strength, helping runners achieve excellent results. In this launch, the 160X 6.0 PRO and 160X 3.0 PRO of the TEP Champion running shoe family also occupied two seats in the top 5 in the wearing rate of runners who broke three, totaling over 15%. It is also the only Chinese brand in the top five.

Xtep also empowers product innovation and leadership through continuous investment in scientific research. Every year, it uses 2%-3% of its revenue to support scientific research and development, and has invested more than 2 billion yuan, including spending huge sums to build the X-Lab, a world-class running laboratory, thus cultivating the 160X Champion Edition running shoes. In September of this year, the TEP Group Innovation Center, which took three years to build, was also officially put into use, building the “brain” of Xtep R&D and the “heart” of innovation, driving a further leap forward in running shoe technology.

It is also foreseeable that this logic will continue to be interpreted, injecting momentum into TEP to create more high-quality running shoe products and continue to lead the development of road running in China. This also makes the high-quality development characteristics of Xtep more obvious, consolidates its leading role, enhances brand awareness and influence, and is also expected to spread to more people and categories based on brand power to achieve overall positive development.

As Special Step unlocks more potential, value returns and advancements are also worth looking forward to.