TAG Heuer and New Balance team up for a collaboration designed specifically for runners
On your marks, get set and make a dash for the nearest TAG Heuer boutique, with a stop off at a New Balance store on the way, because these two brands have teamed up to create the ultimate sports package. The TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 40mm x New Balance Edition has been optimised for runners, while the TAG Heuer x New Balance SC Elite v5 Shoes will help you pick up the pace.
‘Our goal was to create a watch paired with a shoe that truly serve people who want to surpass themselves,’ says Antoine Pin, chief executive officer of TAG Heuer, about the collaboration. ‘Working with New Balance challenged us to rethink what runners expect from their gear. Every choice, from the materials to the training plans to the design, was made to support people who treat running as a craft.’
He’s not exaggerating. Everything about the new TAG Heuer Connected has been designed with the runner in mind. There are running plans at a variety of levels, from 5K to Half Marathon and Marathon Mastery, for those who want to take their pavement pounding to the next level. There are even plans to help build strength to optimise your running times. They are all simple to use. Just set up the plan on the Connected app, get your week-by-week roadmap and sync it to your watch, meaning you can leave your phone at home.
Other runner-optimised additions include warm-up timers, colour-coded pace feedback and the Chasing Diamond element, with the shape following your route with you to ensure you’re running at your correct pace. It tracks calories burned, steps made and your heart rate in both active and resting mode, so you can find out how quickly you recover. With all that, the battery still manages to last for 12 hours, which is great if you’re one of those unhinged ultra-marathon sorts.
All this has been made possible thanks to TAG’s new operating system. The previous four generations of Connected used Google’s WearOS, but parted company with it because TAG Heuer wanted more control of its own system. By creating its own OS, TAG Heuer was able to work with New Balance to design a watch that would address runners’ specific needs, as well as allowing it to enhance its GPS by perfecting the double-band GNSS (global navigation satellite system), so you can trust that the data uploaded to the app post-run is super accurate.
The shoes that New Balance has designed to accompany the watch, should you want the kit to go with the tech, are just as impressive. This is New Balance’s FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5, the latest version of its carbon-plated road racing shoe. At its core is the FuelCell. This layer has nitrogen-infused foam in it, which drives the foot off the cushioning platform more efficiently, resulting in a more propulsive running style. The sole has also been given better grip, even in wet conditions – ideal if you’ve signed up for the London Marathon, for which TAG Heuer is the official timekeeper and New Balance the clothing and footwear partner.
A collaboration like this needs a face and, in American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, champion 400m sprinter and hurdler, the two brands have found the perfect fit. At just 26 years old, she has won four gold Olympic medals – two at Tokyo 2020 and two in Paris last year. She also holds the world record for the 400m hurdles, clocking in at an astounding 50.37 seconds, beating her own previously set record. Suffice to say she’s no token ambassador and definitely knows her way around a running app, as well as how to gauge the performance of her shoes.
‘TAG Heuer is all about being designed to win,’ she says. ‘That is what drew me to this collaboration. Being the face of this new campaign with New Balance is exciting because I actually love what this watch and shoe together bring to training.’
It’s not just the watch to which New Balance has lent its knowledge. It has given some of its high-tech inlay to the strap as well. TAG Heuer’s engineers worked closely with specialists to introduce the patented Cushion Comfort System for the strap, which combines a flexible rubber base with New Balance’s innovative textile. It also comes with a second strap, an integrated co-branded option featuring an embroidered New Balance logo.
The TAG Heuer x New Balance Connected CalibreE5 is limited to 3,000, while the shoes, which come in co-branded packaging, featuring custom details such as a TAG Heuer-branded sock liner, will also run in limited quantities worldwide.
‘They are built for athletes who want to stay accountable, trust their plan and keep pushing for better every single day,’ says McLaughlin-Levrone. If that sounds like you, you’d better get your (old) running shoes on pronto. These stocks will not last.
TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E5 40mm x New Balance Edition, £1,750; tagheuer.com; TAG Heuer x New Balance SC Elite v5 Shoes, £270; newbalance.co.uk
