Nighttime Marathoner Has Bright Idea

Notes from Chris

Episode 1765

Allison Tully is a competitive runner—she does a 3:15 marathon—who’s often up before the sun with her training partners. They all wear multiple pieces of equipment such as headlamps, safety vests, and red blinkers to light the path ahead of them, but the gear is clunky, heavy, and a pain to wear. And it doesn’t always work. Despite wearing all that gear, Allison has been hit by cars twice while running. (Not to worry. Since I’m telling you this story, she’s okay.)

One morning in the summer of 2018, the group was getting ready to run when Allison’s friend Christy was struggling with her LED vest. It had become a tangled mess, so Christy finally gave up in frustration and said "I'll just run with you all lighting the way."

Allison hated to see her friend, a mother of three, wearing all black in the dead of the night without a single piece of gear to keep her lit up. Admittedly, she doesn’t like wearing a bulky headlamp either, since it led to all kinds of issues like headaches and neck issues from skewed running form.

This was her lightbulb moment, literally: could there a way to combine all of the pieces into one comfortable unit that wasn't a bother to wear? She went home and asked her husband if that concept could work. He’s a rocket scientist and a straight-shooter, so she knew he’d be honest with her. Fortunately, he liked the idea of taking on a big challenge.

Allison wanted to make her product in the U.S. but didn’t have much luck with domestic manufacturers, so she looked overseas instead. They imported samples from China and sent multiple versions of the light to testers, ultimately landing on two products and producing their proof of concept.

By now they also had a name: the InfinitiLoop. To launch it, Allison made a few Instagram posts on her personal page but, in hindsight, she wishes they’d done a more focused pre-launch campaign.

The InfinitiLoop now averages around $2,000 in sales per week. The biggest contributor to growth has been word of mouth from the local running community. Her running club relationships led to a big deal with an elite triathlon team who agreed to an annual team order! Several of those athletes have a large social media following, which has also helped.

Going forward, Allison is working on new packaging to encourage more influencers to post unboxing videos. She says they have a second InfinitiLoop that is nearing prototype completion, and they’re also doing a limited-edition InfinitiLoop for dog walkers.

This unexpected market—dog walkers—have turned into a huge customer base so that they can keep their hands free to hold the leash without having to fumble around with a flashlight or phone. Because Allison’s company is called PeakPerformance, that branding leaves them open to launching other projects beyond the InfinitiLoop.

For example, she and her husband are also working to release an LED dog harness that a dog can’t wiggle its way out of, something they’ve experienced with their own pups. All that to say, the path is well-lit and the future is bright.

 

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MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Learn more about Allison and get running with her bright product at her website, PeakPerformanceEquipment.com.

SEE ALSO:

• Marathon Runner Earns Full-Time Income Trying On Shoes: A decade-long “marathon distance” project earns six-figures in affiliate commissions for this patient runner.
• Dedicated Runner Goes the Distance for Online Training: When a government contractor and experienced runner injures himself after a marathon, he races to start a blog helping others avoid the same fate—ending up on track for his own success.
• Engineer Sells His Sole To Aspiring Barefooters: After getting sore feet while using his standup desk, an engineer creates an inner sole for his shoes, becoming the sole-proprietor of a successful side hustle.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,