Nearly half of all runners in the United States are women, according to Running USA, a nonprofit running advocacy organization. Women have discovered the benefits of the sport and have embraced running at a record-setting pace. With over 400,000 women pounding the pavement at races and marathons throughout the country, it’s no wonder Rae Moon and Julie Romeo have found a niche for their line of fashionable running T-shirts, aptly named Run Happy Tees. What began as a way to fund their travel expenses to half-marathon events has grown into a successful business.
Moon says she and co-founder Romeo were inspired to create fashionable running shirts when they couldn’t find “cute” attire to wear when competing in half marathons. “Sure, when you finish a race you’re sweaty, your feet are blistered and you’re exhausted,” says Moon. “But you still want to look good!”
The two friends started their business with a T-shirt that read “Run Like a Mother,” which remains their best-selling design to this day. After successfully selling their designer tees at race venues, they quickly realized they were on to something.
“When most businesses were struggling in the down economy, we were experiencing a steady increase in sales,” says Moon. The savvy business women quickly expanded their line of tees and established a Web site for online orders. New designs – with slogans like “Run Like a Rock Star,” “Peace-Love-Run” and “Run Strong” – quickly caught on.
These moms-turned-entrepreneurs say they experienced a “Wow!” moment when retail stores started contacting them to sell Run Happy Tees in their stores. Currently, they have seven wholesale accounts, with more in the works. They continue to sell their line of tees at race events, where they have found a following.
“We have repeat customers who come back to get the newest tee, and we often sell to groups of friends who want to wear the same tee on race day,” says Moon. “It’s like the Run Happy Tee is their unofficial team uniform!”
Both women say that one of the unexpected benefits of the business has been the opportunity for their families to be involved. From selling T-shirts at race events and shipping Internet orders to developing fresh and inspiring designs, every family member contributes.
Another unexpected surprise was the positive response from customers. “We get letters and e-mails frequently from women who share their running stories – amazing stories of mothers who have lost children, women who are battling cancer, women who do not see themselves as athletes, but they are out there running half marathons and marathons,” Romeo says. “It’s very empowering.”
Though both women are happy to report a 42 percent increase in sales in their second year of business, they agree it’s not all about the money. Because many female runners want to support a cause when they enter race events, the duo has made it easy to donate through their company’s Web site.
“We want to make it easy for women runners to look good, feel good and support the charity of their choice, so we created Virtual Tee Parties,” says Moon. Runners can send electronic invitations to friends to shop at www.runhappytees.com; after adding a special code at checkout, Run Happy Bucks are donated to the runner’s charity of choice.
Romeo and Moon say they both began running as a way to stay in shape and to escape the stress and demands of family life and work. Though increasingly busy with their new business venture, the two women still find time to run. They laugh when they say running has not only made them physically fit, but fiscally fit as well. With the incredible success of Run Happy Tees, these women are truly experiencing a runner’s high.