OMR 2026: A Morning Run in the Rain and a Conversation on Running, Mindset and Entrepreneurship
OMR is one of Europe's largest gatherings for digital, marketing and tech, and every year it turns Hamburg into a two-day hub for creatives, founders and operators. For the second year running, Avalon Advisory helped open the festival the way we like best: on foot, before sunrise, at the OMR Morning Run. The day after, our Managing Partner Nicki Lange took to a different kind of stage, joining former Olympian Philipp Pflieger for a conversation on running, mindset and entrepreneurship at the Die Techniker booth.
The OMR Morning Run: Come Rain or Shine
Tuesday morning, 6:30 am, pouring rain. Hamburg welcomed us in its finest form, and yet more than 100 runners showed up at Ruderclub Favorite Hammonia to run a loop around the Alster before two days of full festival focus. The weather did nothing to dampen the energy. If anything, it proved the point.
Nicki Lange hosted the second edition of the OMR Morning Run together with Uta von Braun from Die Techniker and Noah Leidinger from OMR X. The format is simple: meet at 6:30 am, start at 7:00 am sharp, and share a run that doubles as one of the most relaxed networking settings the festival has to offer. To make sure everyone's immune system was ready for 48 hours of learning and networking, our friends from AG1 took care of the fuel.
What started last year as an experiment has become a fixture, an annual OMR morning ritual for creatives and entrepreneurs who would rather begin the week with movement and fresh air than with a crowded hall. A sincere thank you to everyone who laced up their shoes and joined us in the rain.
On Stage With Philipp Pflieger: Running as a Mental Training Platform
The following day, Wednesday, Nicki Lange joined Philipp Pflieger on the Die Techniker booth stage in Hall A4 for a twenty-minute conversation about running, mindset and entrepreneurship. Philipp is an Olympic marathon participant from Rio 2016, an entrepreneur, a podcaster and one of the best-known voices in German running. Nicki is an investment banker and a passionate ultra runner who has completed several ultratrails and documents his running in film projects. The pairing brought together two perspectives on the same question: how movement can become your comfort zone rather than a reason to step outside of it.
Two thoughts stood out from the talk. First, the inner voice during a marathon is not always rational or about pushing harder. Often it is about being present. Second, the hours spent alone in the harsh conditions of the desert and the mountains, and the difficult decisions made during a race, build a perspective and a calm that carry over into stressful moments at the desk or in the meeting room. The conversation also delivered on its practical promise, with running hacks the audience could put to work immediately.
Why This Sits Close to Home for Avalon
Sport, mindset and entrepreneurship is the intersection where Avalon Advisory feels at home. As an M&A advisor working across lifestyle, sports, media and entertainment, we believe the best conversations happen when business meets real experience, when discipline, resilience and long-term thinking are discussed through the lens of human performance rather than abstract theory. The same principles that carry a runner through an ultra, preparation, patience and clarity under pressure, are the ones that carry founders and shareholders through a transaction. Showing up at moments like OMR keeps us close to the people building in this space, long before there is ever a deal on the table.
Our Appreciation
Thank you to Die Techniker and OMR X for partnering with us on both the run and the talk, to AG1 for fuelling the morning, and to Philipp Pflieger for an inspiring conversation. Most of all, thank you to everyone who joined us, in running shoes or in the audience. See you next year.