Minute 1: Fastest & wettest mile of the year
One of our favorite races every year is the New Balance 5th Avenue Mile and yesterday’s edition did not disappoint. 7,000 soggy runners tore slightly downhill across 20 city blocks bordering Central Park. American Jenny Simpson won her 6th consecutive title in 4:18, only 2 seconds off her course record. Scotsman Jake Wightman led the men’s pack with a 3:53, 6 seconds off the record set by Sydney Maree in the inaugural race in 1981. Race sponsor New Balance must have loved the fact that Jenny and Jake were both kitted out in their gear. One cool twist to the race is that the leader at the halfway point receives a $1,000 bonus – provided they finish in under 4:00. American Sam Parsons collected that prize. The video recaps of the men’s and women’s races prove that distance running can actually make for good TV.
#15MPH #wet&wild #bucketlist
Minute 2: Nike online sales up 31% after Kaepernick ad
Plenty of people are ripping Nike for its new ad campaign. In particular, many military families are upset about Colin Kaepernick’s use of the phrase “sacrificing everything.” The widow of Chris Kyle, the American Sniper, has been a poignant advocate for celebrating role models other than Kaepernick. Nike supporters include some military folks as well as Tiger Woods and Lebron. Whether they’re making friends or enemies, no one disagrees that Nike is making money. CNBC now reports that Nike’s online sales since launching the ad have spiked 31%.
#controversysells
Minute 3: Turning Lululemons into lemonade
Nike isn’t the only athletic apparel company running up big profits. In case you were worried that Whole Foods Moms and Soul Cycle Somethings would start wearing shorts to go for a run, Lululemon just reported record earnings. Yoga pants are here to stay, apparently. Lululemon’s stock has tripled over the past year and was up 30% in August alone. Founder Chip Wilson is now one of the 500 wealthiest people on the planet. So what does a company worth $20 billion do with its new-found wealth? It starts giving stuff away. Lululemon is now providing vending machines stocked with running accessories in New York and Chicago for people training for those fall marathons. No need to smooth out your dollar bills to feed the machine; all of the items are free as long as you’re willing to show a little love on social media for the brand.
#stretchingabuck #doesthisstockmakemywalletlookfat?
Minute 4: America’s most popular brands
OK, last story about brands, we promise. We were fascinated to see a new survey released a few days ago documenting the 100 most popular brandsamong millennials. There are some stereotypical brands on the list like Hollister (#53) and American Eagle (#29). Tech companies Google (#7) and Apple (#2) also set millennial hearts aflutter. But some of the most popular brands are those associated with health and fitness. Adidas (#10), Under Armour (#23) and Patagonia (#100) all scored among this demographic. The most popular brand across all categories was Nike (#1).
#forthewin
Minute 5: Tor des Geants
Here’s a quick shout out to one of our co-founders who is currently on course on the legendary Tor des Geants in the Italian Alps. The race covers 205 miles with nearly 80,000 feet of elevation gain. That’s like running up and down Vail Mountain 23 times. Dieselsan, as he is known on the trail, is 61 years old but has been cheerfully passing runners half his age for more than a decade. Dieselsan needs to finish the course in 150 hours to earn his finisher prize. The winners typically finish in about three days and few runners manage more than an hour or two of sleep per night. An excellent account by a female finisher is here and a male finisher is here.
#pastafeed #moltobene #dieselsan
Minute 6: Daily Inspiration
“What would be ugly in a garden constitutes beauty in a mountain.” – Victor Hugo