#HeadsweatySelfie Contest May Reminder

Just a reminder for the month of May that Headsweats are running this great contest and it’s an easy opportunity to win some free stuff!

I am sure you are all up on how to take a selfie etc so here are the rules!

1.  Take an awesome selfie in your favorite Headsweats
2.  Post to your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram using the #HeadsweatySelfie hashtag
3.  Be entered to win a FREE piece of Headsweats headwear!
Yup that’s it…like all the best things in life it’s nice and simple!

At the end of each month, we will pick 2 #HeadsweatySelfie winners to receive the prize.  It’s ongoing throughout the year so set yourself a reminder!

Race, training, golf, beach, whatever…make it fun!

Not sure exactly what a HeadsweatySelfie is?  No worries – I’ll start you off!

Free stuff from Pactimo!

I love my Pactimo kit, I wrote a review on it last year when I wore it for the 6 Hours of Temecula MTB Race. They have introduced and awesome scheme where you can get free stuff for simply being a bike rider and customer.

Here is how it works;

Earning Reward Points

Rewards can currently be earned for the following actions:

• Create an account —  Earn 200 points for new account creation.
• Make a purchase — Earn 1 point for every dollar you spend. (Does not include tax & shipping.)
• Subscribe to the Pactimo Email Newsletter — Earn 50 points for a first-time subscription.
• Refer a friend — Earn 200 points for every invitation you send out which leads to a friend creating a new account.
• Friend makes a purchase — Earn 100 points for every friend referral that leads to a first-time purchase.
• Write product reviews — Earn 75 points whenever you submit an suitable review on an item you've purchased. Limited to one review per item purchased.
• Points will not be earned, nor can they be redeemed for Custom Clothing Orders.

Please note, we are unable to credit you with reward points unless you are logged in to your account.

Reward Points-Exchange Rates

The value of reward points is determined by an exchange rate of both currency spent on products to points, and an exchange rate of points earned to currency for spending on future purchases.

The exchange rate is 25 points = $1

Reward Points-Minimums

You must have at least 300 reward points accumulated before they become available for redemption.

Redeeming Reward Points

You can redeem your reward points at checkout.

Once you have accumulated 300 points, you will have the option of using points as a payment method. The option to use reward points, as well as your balance and the monetary equivalent of this balance, will be shown to you during checkout in the Payment Method area. Redeemable reward points can be used in conjunction with other payment methods such as credit cards, gift cards and more.

Managing Your Reward Points

You can view and manage your points through your Customer Account.

From your account you will be able to view:

1. Your total points (and their currency equivalent),
2. Minimum needed to redeem,
3. A cumulative history of points acquired, redeemed and lost.

The history record will retain and display historical rates and currency for informational purposes. The history will also show you comprehensive informational messages regarding points, including expiration notifications.

Reward Points Expiration

Reward points will expire 365 days from the date they were first earned.

Note: You can sign up to receive email notifications each time your balance changes when you either earn, redeem or lose points, as well as point expiration notifications. This option is found in the Reward Points section of the My Account area.

Additional Program Policies

• Purchases made before March 12, 2015 are not eligible to receive reward points.
• Points earned through a purchase will be deducted if that item is refunded or a store credit is issued.
• Points will not be earned, nor can they be redeemed for Custom Clothing Orders.
• Points have no cash value other than use for purchase at pactimo.com/shop.
• Points are non-transferable.
• Points are not living creatures and should not be fed, watered or otherwise coddled.

There you go, time to get some sharp new kit!

Clif Shot; Electrolyte and Recovery giveaway

Summer is in full swing…so much so that the kids go back to school in 23 days, not that I am counting really.

Fortunately we have been spared the scorching temperatures that we have had in recent years although Summer can extend through September and even October if we’re unlucky! I am not going to harp on about the importance of hydration and post run/bike etc recovery! Of course if you’re reading this you know all about that! So the good folks at Clif have have given me me 3 CLIF SHOT Performance Drinks packages to hook you up with, each pack contains; the entire CLIF SHOT Performance Drink Portfolio: CLIF SHOT Electrolyte Hydration Drink Mixes in Cranberry Razz and Lemon Lime-ade and CLIF SHOT Protein Recovery in Chocolate and Orange Mango. So here’s the giveaway, I am sure you know the following by now;

• Like Clif on Facebook – 1 entry
• Follow Clif on Twitter – 1 entry
• Tweet the following – I just entered the @quadrathon giveaway for @clifbar Hydrate and Recover#QUADCLIFSHOT you can too here http://bit.ly/1nSMuuB – tweet everyday between now and Friday for one entry per day!
• Leave a comment on this post telling me what you have done - 1 entry

That’s a total of 9 possible entries

Winners will be drawn on Friday and announced!

Whatcha waiting for…

Save the date…and win Clif Shot products

No I am not getting married again. This time save the date for a Q&A with two kick ass Ultra Runners!

You are invited to join Clif’s Facebook chat Wednesday, April 30 at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT hosted by world champ ultrarunners Scott Jurek and Ellie Greenwood.

They will answer any and all questions related to running (from first-time 5k to ultra-distance racers). Ask questions and win prizes including:

- One winner will receive a 30-minute 1:1 consultation with Scott Jurek to discuss how to prepare before, during and after race day. Scott will choose his favorite question at the end of the Q&A.

- Several lucky participants who ask questions during the Q&A will receive a CLIF SHOT Toolkit featuring CLIF SHOT products, gear for training and race day and CLIF’s marathon training and nutrition guide.  

I also have a Clif Shot Tool kit to giveaway, this is all you have to do!

• Leave a question on Clif’s Facebook page for one entry
• Leave a comment on this blog post for one more entry!
• Tweet “I entered the @quadrathon @ScottJurek @eLLiejG 90-to-0 Preptalk Competition to win a @clifbar toolkit at http://bit.ly/1mEmpAa #quadclif”

Tweet as much as you like, every tweet is worth one entry and then the winner will be drawn and posted the evening of April 30th!

Easy peasy!

Review; Mission Care Enduracool Arm Sleeves

I reviewed the Mission Care Enduracool Towel last August I was keen to try the new range of clothing that Mission Care launched this year and they kindly sent me a pair of arm sleeves to try out.

Arms sleeves provide multiple uses throughout the year, warm in the winter, coverage in the summer and I have even used them to isolate a painful ITB flare up! But basically in the summer they provide some cover from the sun when you don’t want to even think about a long sleeve shirt. Mission Care have taken this even further with protection from the sun with a built in UPF45 block. The main feature of these is when wet they active the CoolCore which is what makes the feel cool on the skin…voodoo you cry! For sure I reply but you know it works. With summer warming up in Southern California (yesterday locally topped out at 102f) anything that can keep you cool is a bonus.

Once on they feel soft and comfortable, they are not overly compressive, the tops are elastic but do not have the tight rubber grippers that you may have seen on other sleeves. The construction is of two fabrics with three quarters of the sleeve being solid and the remaining quarter being of a mesh which allows for some “venting”.

The CoolCore works really well and like the Enduracool towel you have to wet it and snap it to activate it, this is easily achieved by just pinching it off your skin and letting it ping back. At the end of each sleeve there is a little pocket which at first I thought would be useful for a gel but the added weight made them a bit uncomfortable. What actually worked really well was to carry a small sponge in them which I could dampen and wet the sleeves with, this is a much more conservative use of water than just squirting water and soaking an area rather than get them wet all over. Also it sits on your Ulnar Artery which is very close to the skin so if you can keep that cool it will actually cool your blood and you down…look at me getting all scientific! 

So in conclusion with the heat of summer coming fast and furious this is a great piece of kit to keep in mind when you are you are heading out for a run or ride, it weighs next to nothing and is actually proactive in keeping you cool.

With the help of Mission I have a giveaway and discount code for my readers.

For the giveaway I am working on the honor system

Liking them on Facebook gets you one entry

Follow them on Twitter gets you one entry

Tweet “I entered to win the @missionathlete EnduraCool Arm Sleeves from @quadrathon you can too, enter here http://bit.ly/11Yvwgz” at least once a day between now and Friday will get you five more entries;

Leave a blog comment on Friday telling me what you did and that’s another entry for a total of eight, I will draw a winner on Saturday!

If you can’t wait till then, just hit up their website and use this “quadrathon25”code to get yourself some goodies with a 25% discount valid today through July 15th.

These Arm Sleeves were provided free of charge by the good folks at Mission. See previous gear reviews under the Product Reviews tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Mission Enduracool instant cooling towel

The good folks over at Mission sent me one of their Enduracool instant cooling towels to try out and given that we are in the grip of summer the timing couldn’t have been better! This is what they say on their website:

Mission’s™ Enduracool™ is made from a proprietary performance fabric that instantly cools when wet with water or sweat, wrung out and snapped in the air to activate the sustained cooling properties. Use during or after competition to provide sustained cooling on your neck, head or other hot zones.

How It Works: A revolution in cooling, this performance fabric absorbs and retains sweat and water, circulating the molecules while regulating the rate of evaporation to ensure an instant cooling effect against the skin for hours, without feeling wet.

In other words it’s best described as scientific voodoo! Well not quite…here is a sweaty guy to explain the technology:

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More importantly than how it works is does it work and I can confidently say hell yeah! After several hot runs I have popped it out of its plastic tube, soaked it in water and given it a “snap” (take each end in your fingers and pull sharply) and low and behold instant cool. Now I choose the word cool (as I am sure Mission did) specifically because it is that and not “cold” and in fact that is just about perfect to drop your temperature without having that harsh effect cold can have. After each run I simply air dried it and rolled it back up and put it back in the tube, voila!

Inexpensive but effective…almost the perfect combination (only the addition of bacon somewhere would make it perfect) the towel is available in various colors and sizes and for diehard NBA fans has a branded version too. You can purchase it directly from Mission through their website or via Amazon and other online outlets

Best of all I have one to giveaway! It’s the usual format; doing multiple things will get you multiple entries:

• Leave a comment on this post will get you one
• Like Mission on Facebook gets you another
• Follow Mission on Twitter is good for a third
• Finally copy and tweet the following will get you another possible three; one tweet a day for three days, for six in total! “I just entered the @quadrathon @MissionAthlete #Enduracool towel giveaway, you can too here http://bit.ly/Rhcr3g”

I will draw a winner on Sunday and mail if off out next week.

This towel was provided free of charge by the good folks at Mission. See previous gear reviews under the Product Reviews tab above. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Walter needs a new home…

I first met Walter about 6 years ago; he was clean and tidy and had no real signs of abuse. Prior to out meeting he had been in a series of short term relationships, he was a rental, pimped out during the summer and those “let’s go for a ride” days! The relationships he had had, none of them lasted longer than a day and some were as quick as an hour. He longed for something more substantial, a partnership where he could dig in and provide support over the long term, see some of the world and be there through the ups and downs.

To be honest I have lost track of the distance we have gone together, it’s a long way, something north of 8000 miles maybe even 10,000 miles. Some more memorable occasions were my aborted Century Ride (broken spoke halted me around mile 80) and a ride through Death Valley to Badwater.

We have crisscrossed the Santa Monica Mountains on countless rides and spent cold dark nights in the garage with nothing but the hum of the trainer to keep us company.

During the years he had some changes, a new crankset replaced the original as well as replacement wheels, the stock rear one buckling under impact during a 40mph decent…it was a straight line! During all of these years and miles he has kept me upright and he never tried to throw me to the curb!

But last year things changed, Thor came into my life and Walter took a back seat, it was inevitable and I had been preparing him for over two years for this event and he was ready to embrace his new place…for the last year he has hung out in the garage and has now taken on a hue of neglect, a thin patina of abandonment covering a willingness and wantingness to be out on the open road.

Now I consider myself pretty fortunate, while I can’t go out and drop wads of $$$ without thinking about it I can, with some dedication, save up for those big ticket items over time. I understand that for other folks this may not be the case and sometimes somethings are just out of reach and so this is my offer. Walter needs a new home and he needs some TLC and if you offer that then you can have him for free, gratis, nix, nothing, nada...except the cost of packing and shipping!

There are no conditions other than he needs to go to a home where he will get some use, want to cross train, ride a century, race a duathlon or like me become a triathlete here is your chance otherwise maybe your partner needs a bike to accompany you as you run or ride or you have a parent or child that could do with it, all I want to avoid is him ending up on eBay or Craigslist and the cash in your pocket and so I will completely trust that your intentions are honorable.

So here are the details, he is a 2005 58cm Raleigh Grand Prix, I am 6’1” and he fits perfect, anyone who is between 5’8” and 6’3” should be fine. He has a triple chainring at the front and 9 cassette at the back. The frame is aluminum and the fork and seatpost carbon. The groupo is a mix of Shimano, Truvativ and Tektro, Cane Creek wheels round it out. He will come as you see in the picture above without the Profile Design bottle cages, saddle bag and pedals.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me who will get him (it’s ok if it really is you) and why and I will choose the most compelling. As mentioned you need only pay for boxing at my local bike shop and shipping, I am guessing you will get change out of $100 for domestic US shipping which is the only geographical limitation, we can settle up through PayPal…of course if you’re local you can pick him up…I will pick a winner in a week or so.

Oh and he can become a she too for you who prefer to name your bike Tracey or Susan or black ninja stealth assassin from the underworld, Walter is only a nod to the brand Raleigh, Walter Raleigh, explorer, adventurer…get it…nevermind!

I think it’s a pretty good deal as $100 will get you diddly squat in most bike shops!

So if you didn’t get a new bike for Christmas here is your chance to get one for 2012!

13.1 LA Giveaway!

The good folks at the 13.1 Series have given me a race entry to give away! I have run this race the two previous years, this is only the third year, and have nothing but good things to say, you can read prior years reports here; 2011 and 2010.

This year there is a change of route and the race will now stay on the coast and in addition to running along the Venice boardwalk the course will take runners down to Marina del Rey, the largest Marina in the world!

So how do you win and free entry will it’s pretty simple really;

1. Follow my blog (of course you are already following me right?), that gets you your first entry
2. Like the 13.1 series on Facebook, is your second.
3. Follow me and 13.1 on Twitter and Tweet the following statement for your third - I just entered the @Quadrathon contest to win a free entry into @131Marathon Los Angeles in Jan 2012, you can to at bit.ly/ua573t #131LA
4. Comment on this post telling me what you have done gets you fourth
5. Easy right!

Winner will be drawn Sunday…watcha waiting for!!

ClipE Winner

Quick Fanfare….

And the winner is Kirstie! Drop me a line with you address etc to quadrathon (@) gmail (dot) com and they will go out in the mail

Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

RFP Book and Walkman Winners!

Ok so I am a day late (well three) in posting this but I did actually make the draw on Friday but then got distracted getting my family off on their vacation on Saturday morning and then there was the Tour to catch up on, some running, a bit of cycling and before I knew it is was Monday morning!

So without further ado here are your winners…drumroll…

Relentless Forward Progress goes to….Mike!

The other Sony Walkman W series goes to….Peter!

Thanks guys, email me; quadrathon at gmail etc, or DM me on Twitter your mailing address and I will endeavor to get them to you before Christmas!

Sony Walkman W Series MP3 Player – winners!

Sorry I have been hiding under a rock for the last week or so and nearly a week late here are the two winners of the Sony Walkmans:

Drumroll……..

Kristy and Timbeuax!

Drop me an email to quadrathon @ gmail.com with your mailing address and I will get them out to you!

Review; Sony Walkman W Series MP3 Player

If you have ever seen a photo of me chances are I have earbuds stuck in my ears, I would like to think I am an audiophile but the truth is that I like to have a solid bass and no hiss! Yeah it’s not the safest thing to do but…well 2-3 hours doing anything needs some musical accompaniment. Up until a couple of years ago I was happy with the out-of-the-box Apple earbuds, then I discovered Sony Mdr-Ed12Lp, not the catchiest of names but these babies pack a punch and you can pick them up online for around $10, but there downside is that are susceptible to water, sweat, Cytomax; yeah I dropped an ear bud into an open handheld once! So when Sony hit me up to review there latest reincarnation of the Walkman I was in!

Now the truth is I am a bit late to the party on reviewing these; there are some actually pretty thorough reviews posted by other blogging buddies of mine including,

Frayed Laces; “Perhaps I just have abnormal ears”

ChicRunner; “I love this little guy”

Gretchen; “an excellent player for the gym or other low-impact sports”

Aron; “I would definitely recommend this”

So I am going to spare you the basics about the features, suffice to say it goes forwards and backwards. There are some nice touches that have not been mentioned in other reviews:

• It is iTunes compatible just drop and drag your music easy peasy, you can create playlists through new folders and then scroll through from the earset
• It comes with three sizes of earbuds so you can get a good fit; they’re really easy to change and you can mix and match to get the best fit possible
• The sound quality is really good, way better than the Apple buds and as good as my beloved Mdrs, deep rich bass and clear top notes
• The magnetic touch turns them off so as long as you close them you can save the battery, they also charge up really quickly approx 80% in 5 minutes from flat
• No cords, needless to say this is a total bonus
• Water…well sweat proof, yeah it’s getting pretty toasty on my lunchtime runs, today hit 98f

Of course there are a couple of downsides:

• Changing tracks on the fly is a bit tricky, you get used to it but it is a bit tricky!
• The fit, this is one size fits all, kinda, the loop that wraps round you head is one size and ergo if you’re an XL or XS cranium you could have issues…I am erring on the XL side
• One thing missing for those that run with a cell phone, these would be great if they were blue tooth compatible
• The earbuds, well here’s the kicker they rubbed the inside of my ear and for me that’s the deal breaker

Now just because they do not work for me does not mean they won’t work for you and thanks to Sony I have two pairs to give away to two lucky readers…and listeners I suppose!

So by now you know the form right:

Show some Facebook love will get you an entry.

Post about it on your blog will get you another.

Tweet “I just entered the @quadrathon win a @SonyElectronics W Series Walkman competition you can too http://tinyurl.com/4352l6h” and you can have three.

Finally let me know how many you entries you need by leaving a comment on this post for your fourth and I will draw a winner on Friday! Otherwise you can have a rummage in the garage for your old cassette player!

Giveaway in LALA!

I was contacted by the folks at 13.1 Marathon again this year who asked if I would be interested in giving a free entry away for the race in Venice Beach on Sunday, January 16th. This is a series of 13.1 mile races, similar to the Rock’N’Roll series, from the producers of the ING Miami Marathon and Half Marathon®, ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon®, and the Chicago Half Marathon and 5K.

I ran it back in January and had a blast, this year they have changed the route to run more along Venice boardwalk in sight of the ocean! You can read my race report here.

So here’s the dealio, it’s along the usual lines:

Liking them on Facebook will get you one entry

If you post on your blog about this you can have another entry and if you Tweet “I just entered the @quadrathon LA13.1 giveaway, so can you http://bit.ly/cNMm59” there’s one more entry!

Now for the bonus, if you can donate a pair of used shoes I will give you 5 more entries, to do this you need to visit Top To Top, a specialty running store in Santa Monica to donate your used running shoes to Give Your Sole, a program which collects athletic shoes from races and donates them to men, women, and children in need between November the 18th and 21st. Top to Top’s location is 2621 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA. I am working under the assumption that someone local will want to enter, win and run the race!

Now the donation has to be totally on the honor system, so I will leave it up to you to be well…honest!

Leave a comment telling me what you did out of the above and I will tally the entries and draw the winner next Wednesday.

Talking of winners the winner of Running Hot is, drumroll….Lauren! Email me your mailing address and it’s on its way to you!

Review; Running Hot (and giveaway)

A few months ago I was browsing through Amazon and I saw this pop up in the suggestions, there are not too many books about ultra runners and ultra running and so I threw it the old basket and checked out. It sat on my night stand for a while…most books do and then during the late summer I managed to start it and within a week it was done!

I would best describe this as the less flashy more down-to-earth and dysfunctional female version (hey we’re all dysfunctional in one way or another…but I digress) version of Dean Karnazes’ UltraMarathon Man.

The book tells the story of Lisa Tamati, a New Zealander who discovered ultra running by accident. An injury which resulted in a broken back and her doctors telling her she would never run again was followed by cycling through 20 countries in Europe, rafting down the Yukon and hiking through the Arabian Desert…you could say she’s a bit tenacious!

The running side came with her entering and completing some pretty tough races including The Desert Cup a 168km non-stop in Jordan, two stints at Marathon Des Sables; 242km in Morocco and two finishes at Badwater 135.

As you would expect there is plenty of adversity, troubling times, tears, blisters and snot and large portion of joy, laughter and success. She’s not a winner but she’s a finisher and I think this is the appeal of the book. You can empathize and sympathize, it’s written to be read without looking for the hidden meaning and simply to be enjoyed. She loves and lives life’s challenges.

So here’s the giveaway…I have one copy, my copy, to give away (my wife is on a Kindle bender) to one lucky reader. To win simply answer the following question and I will put all the correct entries in a hat and draw one next Wednesday.

The question is; by what nickname are New Zealanders often known?

Teaser post…

Well this will be the final post of October so I thought it might be fun to whet your whistle with a little bit of a teaser of some upcoming giveaways…

New Clif Shot gels and Seasonal Clif Bars

Running Hot…a damn good read

Entry into the 13.1 Los Angeles for next January

And I have a few others up my sleeve!

Lot’s of fun stuff…

Review; Clif Crunch

A ways back, I wrote to Clif asking them for a free sample of Clif Shot for a hydration review (to follow) not only did they send me some Shot they threw in a bunch of Crunch bars in various flavors. Having eaten my way through them, if you have been following my Daily Food Photo Diary you will have seen me post my fair share of them, it’s time to post a review and better yet give some away!

So in time honored fashion from Clif’s website:

CLIF CRUNCH ® is a new line of crunchy granola bars offering classic and original flavors made with all-natural and organic ingredients.

In addition to classic Peanut Butter and Honey Oat flavors, CLIF CRUNCH ® is first to make crunchy granola bars with creamy chips, and is bringing two all-new flavors -- Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut to the crunchy granola bar category.

I am sure you must have heard of Clif I am not going to get into a long description about Clif, you can find a ton of information on their website here and fellow Blogger Donald from Running and Rambling has actually been to Clif HQ in sunny Emmeryville, specifically to Crunch there is an excellent FAQ section on Clif’s website.

And so on with the review…it’s probably best to start with the entry level flavors and work our way up.

Honey Oat;. This is crunchy, naturally sweet with a really nice texture kind of flaky but with a hearty oaty taste, they actually go down really well dunked in tea (British tea that is)!

Peanut Butter; this is very similar to the oat flavor but has a distinct peanutty flavor, I am not a fan of things made to taste of other things, so peanut butter is ok and peanut butter flavor less so, but that’s my issue

Chocolate Chip; Similar to the Honey Oat bars taste this is sweetened by the chocolate chips rather than the honey, a nice compliment and a little bit of luxury

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut; if Chocolate Chip was a little bit of luxury then this one is a truckload! Simply delicious and without going overboard this is really, really good!

Nutrition wise they do vary from bar to bar, this is driven, obviously by the ingredients, this is a nutritional label from the Honey Oat bar:

Available in boxes of 6 through Clif for $3.49 or from other on line sources, I have seem the in Whole Foods and I am sure you’ll be seeing them permeate out into the marketplace in due course.

Now for the giveaway I have two boxes of mixed bars, that is one of each flavor to give away.

This is a nice easy win for someone and it’s simple to enter. So all you have to do is follow the following and you’ll be in the running for the prize which I will draw next Friday, there are several ways to enter and the more you do the better the odds:

Like, follow, become a fan of or whatever they’re calling it this week on Facebook of Clif

Follow them on Twitter gets you one entry

Leave a comment on this post gets you one entry, tell me you have done the above will get you one or two more, that’s three so far.

Finally all you folks on Twitter tweet the following will get you one more entry per day, this contest runs for a week so between now and next Thursday, that’s seven more for a possible total of nine, I will pick a winner.

I just entered the win a box of @clifbar Crunch giveaway on the @quadrathon blog

Pretty simple really, watcha waiting for? Oh and after you’ve eaten them all, why not write a review…that seems only fair right?!?

These products were provided free of charge by Clif. See previous gear reviews in the sidebar on the right. If you have a product you’d like reviewed, contact me at quadrathon@gmail.com.

Sole entry…he’ll win!

Pardon the extreme punning!

Here are the results for the Toe Juice giveaway or should I say here is the winning entry from Josh.  Josh’s tired dogs look like they really need some lovin’. Not surprising really he’s has just piled on a 300 mile month, was pacing at Badwater the past few days and will be toeing the line at AC100 this August!

Seriously in need of some lovin’, a good pedi and a angle grinder!

So I have been using Toe Juice for the last two weeks, a fairly easy regimen, evenings before bed and after a shower, so that’s up to three times a day in total, just dabbed on with cotton wool, easy peasy!

And so for the results, drum roll please…

Before 14 days of treatment on the left and the after on the right

As you can see there is a significant improvement, the cracks have healed/repaired , there’s definitely more moisture and less dryness and an improvement overall, so I would say a success.

Josh email me your mailing address and I’ll hook you up!

A big thankyou to Toe Juice for providing the goodies! Check ‘em out and you could have hush puppies rather than rough dogs in two weeks too!

Off the beaten track…ultra cool shirts!

So if you’ve followed my blog for any time you’ll know that the Sunday or Monday post is usually a write up of my gallivanting from the weekend, usually along with some photos or video. This week I thought I would do something a bit different.

There’s a quintessential look that a trail or ultra runner’s shirt has; capped sleeves often with the name of an “outdoor” brand; Patagonia, Montrail, Sportiva or the ever popular Auburn Running Company. Conversely your typical road running has a look, Asics, Nike, Adidas and the like, often matching top and bottom, with some subtle trimming. I am not looking to stereotype anyone, these are just the facts, check out a copy of Runner’s World or UltraRunning and you’ll see.

So there’s a gap here for some out of the box thinking, allow me to introduce you to some folks that are filling it!

First up Atayne. I first heard about Atayne from Paige’s blog. Occupying unique space Atayne’s shirts are made from recycled plastic bottles! There’s a whole bunch of sciency stuff on their website. Eco friendly their mission is “One with People, One with Planet, and One with Performance.” Essentially the end product is an awesome technical shirt that works, they’re a little bit thicker and a little more fitted than you might be used so and they have a raglan sleeve which is also a little unusual. WRC offers several styles in addition to they’re own logo’d version all of which tie in the outdoors, running and recycling, Atayne have a few more available on their website for cyclists and triatheletes.

Second on the docket is Ink-n-Burn.com. They produce a line of tech shirts that appeal to the more outgoing runner someone who doesn’t mind saying LOOK AT ME and also someone who takes their running seriously but doesn’t take themselves too seriously! Their shirts have; from their website “unique slogans and designs are heat transferred (BURNED) directly into the fabric….graphics add no weight, attract no heat and don't wear off before a shirt is retired”. A traditional cut, their technical shirts work and if you want to get you psych on pre race, they offer many in a cotton versions too. With big graphics, smart designs and a technical shirt that does the job…what’s not to like!

Lastly and by no means least is PunkRockRacing. If like me you grew up in the 70’s you’ll remember the punk rock thing, now combine that with endurance sports; running, cycling and triathletes…you see what I mean. A brash start up from Northern CA, these fly in the face of convention with some catchy graphics with a big attitude! Their stated manifesto; The Punk Rock Racing revolution is simple: Like-minded people pushing the envelope against gravity today with the understanding that—win, lose or draw—they will be back tomorrow…They’re currently offering a few tech shirts with more promised in June as well as a line of non sports clothing, hoodies, hats and the like! Again a great tech shirt that does exactly what it’s supposed to!

Now with all of you in mind and ‘cos I am brash enough to ask! I managed to get a freebie from each company, I am going to spare you the join this, follow that hoopla, although if you want to they’re all on FaceBook, Twitter and the like. Nope this is a simple draw. One entry per person, state you name and tell me which one you fancy; I have shirts from Atayne via the good folks at Wilderness Running Company and Ink-n-Burn and a Hoodie from PunkRockRacing; it’s a large and is a bit small for me. I draw out names on Saturday.

So there you have it, three alternatives to take you off the beaten track!

Oh and if you like the shirt in the very first photo that’s a one off from my friend here…sorry!

Does this make my ears look big?

So a while ago I posted a competition that RaceVine was holding, post some race reviews and you get entered into a draw and you could win some pretty cool swag including race entries, nutrition products, clothing and the like. Never one to say no to swag, I wrote up three reviews and submitted them, a few weeks later I got an email telling me I had won….woot! I was to be the proud owner of a BondiBand! WTF are Bondibands I thought? Turns out that they are pretty cool head/sweat bands, the problem is is that my noggin is not really suited to these, you need a pretty regular sized head and lots of hair, me, well on a good day I look a bit like a wing nut! Check out Billy, now he can rock a BondiBand!

Anyways. I have eight to give away, so here’s the deal first eight to leave a “I want” comment gets one, first come first served oh and you’ll need to send me a stamped addressed envelope too…that seems only fair!

Ready steady go!