Dr Ron Hill MBE founded the brand in September 1970, five months after becoming the first Briton to win the Boston Marathon in a record time of 2:10:30.
His sole purpose: to produce kit that kept him winning.
Dr Ron gained a PhD in Textile Chemistry, from the University of Manchester and through alchemy and his art as a runner, began to rethink the fly-by-night running kit of the time. After winning the Commonwealth Games in 1970 he developed the ‘side-split short’ which famously become the Freedom Short and the Mesh Vest - both having accompanied him to his greatest victories on the road.
Ronhill is proud of our founder and the heritage he has allowed. His lifelong passion of running and improvement is shared within the team and products we produce today. With 50 years of retrospect, Ronhill has benefited from the experiential learning and change that has occurred within running – from its sporting roots, to a lifestyle and universal culture.
Our purpose now is to make a better future for today’s runner by sustainably developing the elements of our past.
HILLY SOCKS
Hilly socks was founded in 1992 by British running legend Dr Ron Hill MBE and is the sister brand of Ronhill, founded in 1970, also by Dr Ron.
Dr Ron noticed that distance runners weren’t wearing performance socks but were suffering the effects of hard racing and training and through foot friction were suffering from blisters and other related issues. As one of the world’s best runners;
'Ron had an obsession with detail and the same nous has been applied to the products he designed, including Hilly socks.'
After spotting the opportunity within the market he applied the science of his PhD in Textile Chemistry to a range of technical running socks using soft anti-wicking yarns. As the brand grew, so did the technology with the development of the Twin-Skin sock, a double layer sock that prevents friction from occurring on your feet and in turn, blisters from appearing.
The running sock can often be an overlooked piece of kit but all of Hilly socks have wicking properties; this transfers the moisture to the outer layer leaving the foot dry and therefore reducing the risk of friction and blisters. In addition all of the socks have other features, including: a seamless toe construction and an arch grip support.
Hilly socks are multi-purpose and offer great features for other sports including: cycling, racquet sports, hiking etc. Other key styles in the range are the Marathon Fresh, a lightweight performance style perfect for Half and Full Marathons and the Supreme, a soft and comfortable style, with anti-microbial qualities, anatomical design and under foot seamless toe construction, combined with lots of cushioning.
THE WORLDS GREATEST RUN STREAK
#RUNEVERYDAY
In 1964 one of the world’s greatest sporting achievements began.
Ron Hill ran every day for 52 years and 39 days (19032 consecutive days) – the longest running streak in history.
Having started the streak to improve his marathon performance, Ron's back-to-back training method led him to
international success and competition in over 115 countries around the world.
His enthusiasm and commitment to running every day inspires us and every October we as a community come together to share and motivate each other to try a run streak during the month.