What to wear for the London Marathon 2017

There's no underestimating the importance of high-quality kit when running a marathon, both for getting you through the months of arduous training and for ensuring you perform at your best on the day. A marathon requires a level of discipline that many people won't have experienced in their running before: there are no short-cuts, no quick, easy wins, and this extends into every element of a marathon campaign.

For most people running in London or at any other spring marathon, training and racing will take place in highly varied weather conditions and over differing terrains and distances. This will make greater demands of their bodies and their kit than they have previously experienced. Long runs, faster shorter repeats, marathon-paced sustained efforts and recovery miles all present unique demands to runners and their clothing.

For too long brands had ignored the impact that cutting-edge technical clothing could have on performance. While the importance of the right footwear is well documented, much less has been said about clothing. Distance running lagged behind sports like cycling in embracing the fact that the best fabrics and design help athletes perform at their best for longer, whatever the elements throw at them. I wanted to radically change that.

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I've been a designer for 30 years - launching my own label in 2005 - and a serious runner for 15. I launched Soar Running in 2014. I've always loved clothes, both fashionable and functional, and coming from a background in high fashion men's and women's clothing, I understood the importance of how things looked and how they where made. My experiences as an actual runner, meanwhile, taught me the importance of how things should work and how much existing running clothing didn't work.

Everyone who works at Soar is a runner – in fact, I can't imagine employing anyone who isn't a runner. All our models are real runners, not "fitness" models. We also support local running clubs and races and host the Soar Mile, a track event for the best elite middle-distance runners, but also with races that everyone can have a go at. Running is central to our lives, a literal and metaphorical heartbeat, and we want to cherish the beauty of running in everything we do

When I was planning the original range, one of the key products I focused on was the classic split-leg race short. For me, this was always going to be our go-to product for real runners. Many people who are new to running think split shorts are a step too far, but a good pair can really improve your running experience - they're designed for full, free movement on warmer days, when you need airflow to keep you cool, making them ideal for a spring or summer marathon.

I sourced a high-end French woven stretch fabric for the outer part and a very soft, but supportive knit fabric for the inner liner. The hems are laser cut and bonded as these are the areas that have most contact with the moving leg. We've also removed fabric from the waistband to keep this as comfortable and minimal as possible. They're also incredibly light and quick drying and give good support where needed.

For springtime in Britain, I'd also recommend a waterproof jacket. The vast majority of waterproof sportswear use laminated fabrics that can achieve a very good level of waterproofing, but are just not breathable enough for a highly aerobic activity such as running. The result? You get soaked from sweat build-up if you run for any distance or with any pace, which sort of misses the point of a garment designed to keep you dry.

For our Ultra Shell Jacket, we developed a fabric in Japan that has an unbelievable level of breathability – as far as we know, it is the best there is. It is also incredibly light. The result is a waterproof jacket that weighs less than five ounces and is so breathable that you can use it in any conditions, not just when it is raining.

For women, I knew that the humble T-shirt was going to be an important part of our range and I approached it as I would a high fashion garment – by that I mean I pattern cut it from scratch. The Mayola T-shirt is cut with proper bust darts, which allow us to achieve a slightly off-the-body fit which is also very precise. Most importantly, it's not just a re-proportioned men's T-shirt.

The fabric is from an Italian mill which makes the best knitted mesh and it has an antibacterial finish so it stays fresh no matter how fast you run. Bonded seams means the overall garment is very sleek and stay comfortable as you move. It's a real runner's T-shirt

There's no getting over the fact that a marathon is very hard and to perform to your best requires perfecting as many variables as possible. Through innovation in materials and design, and working first-hand with committed runners, we've been able to reinvent what performance running wear means, ensuring that whether race day is hot or cold, wet or dry, the kit will always perform – especially when you're digging deep and most need it.

And you'll look good while you're at it.

After founding Post Design in the 1980s and then working with hotel and fashion brands such as Ian Schrager Hotels, Adidas and Fendi and many others with Music Concrete, Tim Soar launched his menswear label Soar to great acclaim in 2005, before turning to performance sportswear. He runs every day, normally around Hackney Marshes in London, and couldn’t live without it. Soarrunning.com