Jenny Jurek Launches Always Up: Performance Products for Active Families

This article originally appeared on Trail Runner

Necessity breeds invention. And, says Jenny Jurek, ultrarunner, author, clothing designer, and as of today, business owner: "The best products are born out of necessity in pursuit of what you love."

The 45-year-old mother of Raven, 7, and Evergreen, 5, launched Always Up on September 20, a new company offering performance products for pregnant women and new parents.

"I’m trying to fill a need for active young families," she says.

Jurek--who is married to ultrarunner and author Scott Jurek--has worked as a product designer for outdoor and running industry brands such as Moonstone, Outdoor Research, Patagonia and Brooks. She's a runner, rock climber, and outdoorswoman. Naturally, she's always tinkering with existing gear to create new things.

With her first pregnancy, she thought a lot about what she'd want in a pregnancy support belt made specifically for runners. Like many pregnant runners, she found belts online that came from the medical field, and not necessarily built for sweatiness and frequent washings. "They're kind of just like Ace bandages with old-school Velcro," she says.

It helped, Jenny says, that her OB-GYN was in full support of continuing to run while she was pregnant. A runner herself, she encouraged Jurek, reminding her that the adage of staying below 140 beats per minute was arbitrary and that being healthy and doing what you enjoy is a positive thing for pregnant women.

When Jurek carried her second baby, she decided to get crafty to re-invent the support belt because running became uncomfortable for her around 27 weeks. "I kind of retooled the belts that existed and like, 'Franken-stitched' my own because I wanted pockets," she says. Having designed hydration vests, hip belts, and packs for Ultimate Direction, she knew what materials would work best in that application.

The belt, which has a pocket in the front for gels or other snacks (or any small objects), a zippered pocket in the back that fits a phone, and three points of adjustment to allow for inevitable growth, is called the Cloud Belt ($68). The name evokes "lightness," what most pregnant women want their bellies to feel when they run. But "Cloud" is also the middle name of Jurek's best friend's child who died from leukemia before her third birthday. Cosette Cloud, her friend's baby, would have been the same age as Jurek's 5-year-old, Evergreen. "So it's the Cloud Belt," says Jurek, for the "lightness, and coziness."

Perpetually Rising, Always Up

Names are important to Jenny, whose maiden name, Uehisa, translates to "always up," or, "perpetually rising," in Japanese. "I didn't even know that," she admits, explaining how she's fourth-generation Japanese and doesn't speak the language.

It was the owner of a Boulder sushi restaurant--also a runner--who told her what her last name meant. The Jureks had taken their kids to Japan when they were 1 and 3 years old for their first bike-packing trip to connect to their Japanese roots, and Jenny has been enjoying learning about and sharing her heritage with them. So when she learned what her last name translated to, in the midst of conceptualizing the company, a light bulb went on in her head. "I was like: 'Always Up!' That's perfect!"

"When you have kids, you’re always up," she says. "Your attitude has to be always up...always up for adventure, always up for whatever. It really spoke to me and what I wanted to do."

She jokingly laments that she changed her name from Uehisa to Jurek, "which means 'George' in Polish,'" she says. "I traded 'perpetually rising' to 'George.' Oh my God.'"

Helping Families Thrive in the Outdoors

Aside from the Cloud Belt, Always Up is launching with the Yama Bag ($55)--a fanny pack-style bag that Jenny calls a "Daddy diaper bag"--and the pocketed Nest Organizer ($29) that's meant to go on the back of the drivers' or passengers' seat of a car for the kiddos in the backseats.

"Yama" translates to "mountain" in Japanese, and the hip belt, with its large exterior pocket, three interior pockets, and main compartment, is meant to help both moms and dads comfortably carry diapers, bottles, and other needs on hikes, while skiing, and being active in general. It comes with a rectangular, durable, waterproof piece of material meant to be used as an impromptu diaper changing pad, but the Jureks have also used it as a doormat for their tent while bike-packing in Japan. "You can also use it for a picnic if the grass is wet," she says. The material folds and stores into stretchy bands at the bottom of the pack for easy access.

The Nest Organizer is meant to keep books, toys, and snacks organized in the backseat of a car. Jurek had designed a since-discontinued product called The Crew Roll for Ultimate Direction, which had room for running shoes and all the items an ultrarunner's crew might need to help support their runner in an aid station. The Nest Organizer is based on the same concept. You have what you need organized and right in front of you, whether you're a two-year-old child or an ultrarunner, mid-race.

Jurek's goal, she says, is to help families thrive by being active in the outdoors.

"During Covid, bounce houses were closed, climbing gyms were closed--all the things that we drop off our kids to do weren't available," she says. "I really feel like families did thrive--going backpacking, going outside, taking advantage of our natural resources. It's been proven how nature and sunlight helps young kids develop. I just really want to encourage families to be outside together, to move through nature together. That's my idea of thriving."

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