June 18, 2026 by Jamie Saffer
Saucony: The 125-Year Running Brand the Sneaker World Finally Noticed
Some brands arrive with a campaign. Saucony arrived with a creek.
The Saucony Shoe Manufacturing Company was founded in 1898 in Kutztown, Pennsylvania - named for the Saucony Creek that ran alongside the original factory. For most of the twentieth century, it was the running community's best-kept secret: a brand with serious performance credentials, a committed cult following, and almost zero interest in chasing mainstream attention.
That restraint, which might have looked like a weakness at the time, is exactly what makes Saucony so compelling right now.
The Running Credentials
Before the lifestyle angle existed, Saucony built its reputation on track. The brand's shoes were a fixture in distance running circles throughout the eighties and nineties, favoured for their construction quality and the reliability of their cushioning systems. While Nike and adidas were building global empires on endorsement deals and cultural cachet, Saucony was focused on the thing that matters most to a runner: what happens to your foot when it hits the ground.
The ProGrid technology - a grid-patterned cushioning system built into the midsole - is the foundation of Saucony's performance range. It's not the kind of innovation that photographs well or reads easily in a campaign, but the people who run in it understand it immediately. Consistent energy return, stable platform, no drama. The ProGrid Guide 7 and ProGrid Omni 9 carry that technology into silhouettes that have found a new audience well beyond competitive running.
Why Now
The sneaker world has spent the last several years catching up to what running communities already knew. Technical runner silhouettes - chunky midsoles, layered
overlays, visible cushioning units - have moved from the track to the street, and the brands with genuine performance heritage are the ones that look most credible in that context.
Saucony is one of those brands. The ProGrid series didn't need to be reimagined for a lifestyle audience - it was already built with the kind of substance that translates. The colourways available right now sit in earthy, considered territory that works across a wide range of fits from technical outerwear to relaxed streetwear.
There's also something to be said for the scale of the brand's history. Over 125 years of making running shoes creates an archive that the wider sneaker world is only beginning to explore, and the collaborations that have emerged over the last decade - with boutiques, artists, and designers who understand that heritage - have done more to bring new audiences to Saucony than any mainstream push could have.
What to Shop
If you're coming to Saucony for the first time, the ProGrid series is the starting point. The Guide 7 is the more structured option - built around a stability platform that provides a firm, predictable ride - while the Omni 9 leans into comfort, with a fuller midsole and a slightly more relaxed upper profile.
Both are available at Kick Game, 100% authentic. The people who know, already know.
Now's the time to find out for yourself.
Shop the Saucony ProGrid Guide 7 →