TreadHappy Review - Raleigh's Running Studio

There’s a new studio in town folks! TreadHappy is the name and running is their game – well, among other things. Long story short, It’s awesome and you should check it out but keep reading for my full TreadHappy Raleigh Review

This studio is the 4th TreadHappy to pop up and the first in the triangle! Located right on Hillsborough, the studio is easy to get to and convenient to a bunch of post workout meet-ups. After following the studio through every step of their build, excited to get in there was an understatement!

During their preview week, I snuck in to take 2 of the 5 classes TreadHappy offers. I’ll chat about those a bit more below. The studio also offers a few others which I’ll report back on soon! Those include a Distance class where you can rack up the miles, a Hustle class which gives you longer running intervals to find your pace, and a more intense interval class called Power. I started with the 2 you’ll find on the schedule most often – TreadHappy & TreadTempo!

TreadHappy

The first was actually called TreadHappy and it was my JAM. The 55 minute class consisted of 2 tread intervals with 2 floor work intervals alternating between them. It had a bit of a Barry’s or Shred 415 feel but held its own vibe. Like most similar interval classes, you pick a tread or step with an assigned number then flip to the opposite when time! The entire floor interval is explained at one time which was new for me. That provided a nice 2-4 minute recovery time before picking up weights and also allowed you to pace yourself to work through the full floor interval.

TreadTempo

The second class I took was Tread Tempo. This one was 45 full minutes on the treads. In all honesty, I’ve only run for 45 minutes a couple times in my life so nerves were a bit high stepping onto the tread compared to Happy. But with that being said, I still really enjoyed the class. I had to walk during the recovery tracks (which there were two of throughout class) but was otherwise able to keep up and push during high intensity intervals. The longest run interval was around 3 minutes but with the encouragement of the coaches and pacing throughout class, it was totally do-able. Coolest part? I knocked out 4 miles in this class without even thinking twice which is normally TOUGH.

My favorite parts:

You get a free drink after class – wait – like a drink??. YEP! Complimentary beer or cold brew coffee on tap to enjoy after every class in their picture perfect sitting area
The lighting – sounds small but the lighting in a class makes a WORLD of difference. We all know the pitch black flywheel stadium and the beaming red Barry’s studio. Tready happy is mostly dark but with a bit of green glowing over the treads. It was dark enough to feel free of judgement but light enough to feel confident with each step.
The teachers & studio owner. These people are beams of light! Owner Jordan, remembered me after only being in a couple times and has poured her heart into the studio. Founders, Chelsea and Sarah have built an amazing team of instructors that understand music, tempo, and bring some serious energy to every inch of the studio.
There was no doubt that it is OK to move at your own pace. When it came to those all out intervals, sure, there were sprinters. But there was also some fast walkers and some moving at a solid jog pace that was their own 100%. For a class that could be super intimidating, it isn’t!