Project

Beat the Boys

A bold identity for Mary McCarthy's women-led global race series, built around competition, confidence and the challenge to beat more boys than last time.

Brand

Overview

Mary McCarthy had already turned #beattheboys into a rallying cry for women who run to compete. The next step was to give that idea an identity of its own: something bold enough to become a recognisable race brand and flexible enough to grow into a global series. Beat the Boys is for women who line up to race, not simply make up the numbers. We created an identity that captures that competitive energy and turns an individual target, beat more boys than last time, into a shared challenge women can take on together.

The design

The identity is direct, fast and unapologetic. Oversized racing typography, a high-contrast red, black and off-white palette, structured grids and handwritten accents give the brand the attitude of a starting line, with enough flexibility to move between social content, race information, merchandise and digital communications. The language is just as important as the visuals. Short, active statements such as “Sign up. Show up. Finish first.” keep the focus on competition, while the deliberately raw details bring Mary's personality and the energy of the running community into every application.

The impact

The new identity gives Beat the Boys a clear platform to grow from a social rallying cry into a repeatable race series. It creates a distinctive presence for Mary's community while making space for individual races, stories and future locations to feel part of one idea. The series begins in London with an all-female Beat the Boys team taking on Run the Wharf, a closed-road 5K through Canary Wharf, before the next race follows in summer 2027.