New Balance back in the running for Singapore Marathon

When the estimated 17,000 runners start off on their 42.1km marathon tomorrow, another chapter in the battle between running shoe brands for market supremacy will also take place.

Running brand New Balance is back in as a sponsor of the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, replacing adidas. Rivals adidas had replaced them as a sponsor in 2005 and subsequently went on to sponsor the next three editions.

It is a development that the New Balance team in Singapore is happy with.

“From the brand point of view it is actually a good run for us because the brand is about running. Running is in our blood and running is what we are good at,” said Mr Patrick Wong, the New Balance country representative.

“So to be part of the premier running event is something we have always wanted and it will push the profile of the brand up a little bit as compared to the last few years.”

As for previous sponsors, adidas – who still have the adidas Sundown Marathon on their calendar – their focus on running has taken on a different form.

“The decision [to pull out of the Singapore Marathon] has been largely due to a shift in terms of our Sports Marketing focus for the year,” said Janice Lee Fang, brand manager for adidas Singapore. “This year, for example, we launched a new brand specific initiative, our island-wide running community effort called the adiNation of Runners – a club which seeks to provide runners with a closer touch point with the brand.

“adidas has had an excellent relationship with the organizers of both events over the year and we’re confident that there will be opportunities for us to work together again in the future,” she added.

The foray of New Balance into the Singapore Marathon is meant to complement and not replace the REAL Run, the brand’s other sponsorship vehicle.

“We are not going to replace the REAL Run. REAL Run will always still be with us,” reassured Wong. “The marathon is more for the elite while the REAL Run is more for mass participation. This is not the end of our sponsorships. We do have some plans for next year.”

Although there are marathons in different parts of South East Asia, the Singapore sponsorship is not part of a regional plan, confirmed Wong.

“It’s not a regional plan. In different countries, the StanChart Marathon is owned by different organisations and so it’s quite hard for us to do a regional agreement. But we try to make sure we get the other countries involved as well. Unofficially, we are working with StanChart for most of the races,” added Wong.

New Balance remains a strong brand of choice for consumers, Wong confirmed.

“In terms of running, depending on how you look at it, we are probably the number one brand. In running, we are very strong on the male side. At most of the races, we do a shoe count, we are either first or number two,” said Wong. “We are weak in the female side because the shoe doesn’t look flattering on the female feet.”

In recent years, the retail scene has seen a proliferation of retail stores set up by Nike, adidas, Fila and Asics. Nike has 14 stores while adidas has four. New Balance too has made their presence felt with four retail stores.

The stores are a necessary part of the brand’s strategy to educate consumers, said Wong.

“Our retail shops are meant to show a complete picture of what the brand offers. The retailers have limited space and they have to cater to all the brands. To a certain extent, they can only present part of the range and so it’s not a true representation of the brand. And because they don’t sell much apparel, they don’t present the apparel story as well,” said Wong.

“In terms of education, in our stores we can afford to give a longer time for consultation. This is something that consumers are coming back to our shops for because we give proper consultation and advice. This is something that we can’t force the retailer to do. It’s dollars and cents and everybody understands that.

“But it’s good, because when we educate them, maybe they will subsequently go to the retailers shop to buy. To us, it’s left pocket, right pocket,” added Wong.

Wong acknowledged that regular retailers initially felt the brand was competing with them for business.

Said Wong: “In the beginning they did [treat our shops as competition], but after awhile they realised the advantage of having us because we do educate the consumers on shoes so that when they go to the retailers shop, they know exactly what to buy and that translates to less time for the retailers to convince them to buy. So that’s the good part.”

Despite the economic crisis earlier in the year, New Balance is doing well.

“I’m glad to say that the brand is doing well. We’ve exceeded our sales targets and so it’s a good year for us,” said Wong.

“Our sponsorships, our retail shops, our consultation, helps us to project a more professional image of the brand. So people do want to stay with the brand. We are an accountable brand, reasonably priced and we do make good shoes and so even in an economic crisis like this, people are still coming back to us,” said Wong.

“We are up from last year around 10% [in terms of market share] while the rest are either flat or declining. Basically we are gaining from others. In terms of market share for running, we are around 22%. Asics is around 20 to 22%. They are on par with us,” added Wong.

Source: Les Tan/Red Sports

RP triathletes advance to Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Florida

Part of New Balance’s global commitment to the sports is to support professional and everyday athletes. In the Philippines, New Balance has proudly supported triathlon and particularly the team that hails from Clark, Pampanga, known as Tri Clark.

The group photo shows Tri Clark team with Planet Sports president Anton Gonzalez.

In the recently concluded Ironman 70.3 Philippines in Camarines Sur, all 16 members of the Tri Clark team successfully completed the race with five of them advancing to the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater, Florida. Tri Clark athletes training for the Ironman World Championships are: Rene Ricardo "Abe" Tayag, Jose Antonio Narciso, Michael Mandap, Adonis Edwin Co and Jose Raphael Zapata.

"We are very proud of how the athletes of Tri Clark performed at the Ironman 70.3 Philippines. With five of the team members qualifying to the Clearwater, Florida, Ironman competition it only proves that Filipinos are world-class athletes. New Balance is proud to be supporting these athletes," said Bing Buenaventura, brand manager of New Balance.

Tri Clark’s Tayag started his engagement in sports at the age of seven playing tennis and won local and international competitions. Later on he tried his hand at playing golf where he became a two-time club champion at the Mimosa golf and country club. His love for sports led him to eventually try triathlon in 2005.

Since then Tayag became a regular participant in the National Triathlon Championship, National Duathlon in Clark, Subic International Triathlon (2005-2009), Whiterock Long Distance Triathlon (2005-2008) and Ironman Malaysia 2007-2009, where he was the top Filipino finisher for 2008 and 2009.

"Sport is a passion that I have, even as a young boy. Excelling in my current sport and trying a new sport later on is something that came naturally. In triathlon, I want to enjoy as much race as I can and proudly wear the Philippine colors in international competitions," shares Tayag.

After his success at the Ironman 70.3 Philippine in Camarines Sur, Tayag and the rest of the Tri Clark team are on their 10-week training program to prepare them for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships on Nov. 14.

As Tayag and the rest of Tri Clark train for their next triathlon race, New Balance will support the team to help them stay in form and elevate their performance.

Source: bworldonline.com (November 09, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES)

Run for Education brings in $125,000 for district programs

Sunday's Run for Education to benefit a pair of key school initiatives was called a success, with $125,000 raised in corporate sponsorships and donations and perhaps more as a final tally of money raised by race registration will not be available until later this week, according to race organizers.
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Members of the public were shuttled on seven buses from the RC Willey parking lot to Damonte Ranch High School where the races were held. Students from many Washoe County schools were bussed in from their campuses and hundreds of parents and teachers and between 250 to 300 volunteers were on hand for the event, race director Eric Lerude said Monday.

Through the Education Alliance of Washoe County, the funds will benefit the Washoe County School District's Kids in Motion Program, which promotes and provides health and fitness programs at elementary schools where there are no formal fitness programs, and the Passport Program, which assists K-12 students who need additional assistance to help them meet educational goals.

"This event is vital to those programs, there's no doubt about it," said Lerude, who has directed the 5-year-old event the past two years. "This event has become very popular in this community, and it's obviously for a good cause."

The Kids in Motion program provides money to participating schools in the form of grants to help purchase fitness equipment, such as basketballs, soccer balls and jump ropes, fund field days, support running teams or provide formal physical education instruction.

The Passport Program helps fund tutoring, summer school and has helped nearly 2,000 students in the last four years.

Lerude said company sponsorships and other contributions this year raised about $125,000 for the two programs. Last year, the sponsor donations and registrations totaled approximately $188,000.

"We are still totaling the runner registration entry dollars," Lerude said "That number as of (Monday) is $30,000, but we are not finished processing checks. We'll have that part figured out within days."

Source: rgj.com (BY MICHAEL MARTINEZ • October 21, 2009)

At 75, George Hirsch Will Run New York City Once More

George Hirsch, a founder and publisher of running magazines, told his wife that he was retiring from marathons two years ago.

Old habits die hard.

George Hirsch is 75. He is the founding publisher of New York magazine, he ran for Congress in 1986, and he has a personal-best marathon time of 2 hours 38 minutes (Boston, 1979). A founder and publisher of running magazines, Hirsch helped Fred Lebow plan the first five-borough New York City Marathon, in 1976, and is now chairman of the New York Road Runners, the race’s organizer. He has run more than 30 marathons over four decades.

On Nov. 1, Hirsch plans to be at the starting line of the New York City Marathon on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. His friends are hoping for the best. Some of them also worry.

“The last few times George has raced marathons, he literally came out looking like a welterweight boxer who had been T.K.O.’d in the eighth round,” said Amby Burfoot, a longtime editor at Runner’s World.

At the Chicago Marathon in 2003, Hirsch, then 69, collapsed 50 yards from the finish and fell on his face. He lost part of two front teeth. At the Mesa Falls Marathon in Idaho in 2007, Hirsch, then 73, fell on his face again. His sunglasses smashed and he was left with a black eye.

Two months later, Hirsch was on pace to run a 3:27 marathon in Albany when he lost his balance running downhill after the 20th mile. He was bleeding, but he picked himself up and took off again. His back soon seized up. Two police officers on bicycles escorted him the rest of the way. He refused their requeststo go to a hospital.

Bart Yasso, who has run more than 1,000 races, described Hirsch as the “most mentally tough runner I have ever met.” But in Albany, Hirsch’s wife, Shay, watched her bloodied husband shuffle into the finishers’ gate and decided they should talk.

“I said, ‘This has got to be it, George,’ ” she said. “ ‘You’ve run your marathons. You’ve put it out there and you know what you can do, but this is not good.’ ”

Hirsch is not the only septuagenarian who has found it difficult to give up marathoning. Ed Whitlock, a Canadian athlete, was 73 when he ran a 2:54 marathon; this month, at 78, he ran a 1:37 half-marathon. Last year, 174 finishers of the New York City Marathon were 70 or older, and 15 were in their 80s.

Hirsch, razor thin with a warm smile, had always longed to be good at some athletic endeavor. “I had no natural gifts,” he said.

Growing up in New Rochelle, N.Y., he set up a high-jump pit in his parents’ backyard and spent hours trying to clear the bar, even though “there isn’t a single high-jump gene in there,” Shay Hirsch said. In his 30s, he took up distance running — a sport in which “you can improve a lot just on persistence,” Hirsch said.

His grit served him as well in life as in running. Hirsch built The Runner and Runner’s World into popular magazines that conveyed his enthusiasm and broadened the sport’s appeal. Then, in 1988, Hirsch was working at an exposition for the New Jersey Waterfront Marathon when he met Shay Scrivner, then 40, a brunette with kind eyes.

Hirsch asked her to dinner that night, but she refused. He was so taken with her, however, that he showed up at the starting line the next day — for a race that he never intended to run. He surveyed the crowd but still had not found her when the gun went off.

“I waited for every person to cross the starting line,” Hirsch said. “And then I started to jog. I kept looking left and right, and looking and running and jogging and looking, and at five miles, there she was up ahead of me. I came up next to her and said, ‘Hi, how are you?’ She said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And I said, ‘Looking for you.’ ”

They ran the remaining 21 miles together and shared their life stories, including their failed first marriages, and wed the next year.

Hirsch loves his wife more than running, so when she suggested after the Albany race that it was time to stop doing marathons, he agreed. He even seemed relieved. He e-mailed his close friends, including the four-time Boston and New York City winner Bill Rodgers and the Olympic champions Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson.

“I’m retiring from marathoning,” he wrote. “Yes, this time for good. I really do mean it.”

Mary Wittenberg, the president and chief executive of New York Road Runners, remembered receiving that message. “I never accepted or believed that resignation,” she said.

In early August, Hirsch went for a long run and made it 17 miles. He began to see some significance in numbers. It was the year of his 20th wedding anniversary and the 40th running of the New York City Marathon, which he last ran in 1994. As he took longer runs, Shay asked, “Are you training for anything in particular?” He kept saying no.

In September, though, Hirsch told her that he wanted to run one last marathon in New York. She agreed.

Hirsch intended to run only part of the Chicago Marathon this month as his final long training run. He told friends he would go no farther than 20 miles. At Mile 20, he felt good and decided to jog in the last six miles. He finished in 3:58 without injury.

Hirsch’s friends have mobilized to help him through the finish line in New York. Germán Silva, the 1994 and ’95 winner, will run the early miles with Hirsch. Rodgers, who is fighting plantar fasciitis, will run the last few miles with him.

Shorter, the 1972 Olympic champion, said he received a cortisone shot in his damaged left hip so he could join Hirsch and Rodgers. But he realized last week that he would not be healthy enough.

“George is whipping Frank and me,” said Rodgers, who has been friends with Hirsch since 1976. “We’re 15 years younger than him. We’re struggling a little.”

Shay Hirsch will be waiting at the finish. Her husband is running for a charity that benefits research into multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that she is battling. When she was recovering from a stem-cell transplant three years ago, he rarely left her bedside for months.

“He is very tenacious,” she said. “He doesn’t give up on people, either.”

Source: nytimes

New Balance slides into snowboarding (Introducing 686 Times New Balance)

New Balance Athletic Shoe is jumping into action sports with the launch of a snowboarding line.

The Boston company known primarily for its running shoes has partnered with California snowboarding brand 686 on the “686 Times New Balance” collection of snowboard boots, sneakers, jackets and T-shirts.

SHOE-IN: The 580 Times New Balance Snowboard Boot sells for about $300.

New Balance will debut the collection locally tomorrow night at the Concepts sneaker store in Cambridge’s Harvard Square.

The partnership with 686, a company owned and operated by snowboard riders, allows New Balance to “add freshness” to one of its classic sneakers and introduce it to a new sport, according to product manager Jen Lynch.

The collection’s footwear includes two adaptations of New Balance’s 580 trail-running sneaker introduced in the mid-1990s.

The 580 Times New Balance Snowboard Boot, which retails for $300, incorporates New Balance’s patented Rollbar stability and Abzorb cushioning technology and other features typical of snowboarding boots.

“The outcome is that you get this really high-tech boot that fits and feels like a sneaker,” Lynch said.

New Balance also has customized a 580 sneaker for the collection using leather and yarn-dyed plaid panels. It will retail for $100.

Concepts will carry the 686 Times New Balance boots and sneakers, both of which come in black and white.

The collection’s outerwear is available at Eastern Boarder in Nashua, N.H., and North of the Boarder in Salem, N.H.

Source: Donna Goodison

Detroit Marathon Deaths: Three Deaths Not Normal

Three men collapsed and died on Sunday October 18 while running the half marathon portion of the 2009 Detroit Marathon. The three deaths occurred within 16 minutes of each other, a stunning rarity for marathon running. At ages 26, 36 and 65, all three men were reported to be in excellent health and properly trained to tackle the long distance.

Deaths during distance events are not the norm; Dr. William Roberts of the University of Minnesota says that people are more likely to be struck by lightning golfing! In fact, only 1 in 200,000 people die on average during exercise, and the fitter you are, the lesser the chance. The deaths this weekend seem to be related to freak cardiac arrest as all men had no problematic medical history and must have had some unknown and untreated heart problem. The 65 year old man reportedly collapsed around the 11 or 12 mile mark, hitting his head on the pavement and succumbing to the suffered blow. The 26 and 36 year old runners died at the hospital after collapsing, but autopsies are scheduled to uncover more detailed information.

This weekend's Detroit Marathon had ideal long distance running weather and the air quality in the city was not at any sort of elevated level. The three deaths seem more disturbing as in recent weeks other marathon-related deaths have occurred: two people died at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Jose, CA and a Boston man died at the Baltimore Marathon.

These deaths should not deter runners from racing hard, long distances. When training for a marathon, make sure to build up your total mileage tolerance and ensure your body is ready to cover the distance. About 50 to 70 miles a week is adequate for more serious recreational runners, and including speed work and core training is a beneficial way to prepare your bones for the beating.

Proper nutrition and especially adequate hydration is essential for completing a marathon successfully. The color of your urine post-run will let you know your hydration levels: the darker the urine, the more you need to drink. You can also weigh yourself before and after you run to see how much water weight you lost. Try not to overhydrate, but make sure to replace the lost liquids with water and electrolyte drinks such as Gatorade. Pre-race, don't drink or do anything that could promote dehydration: consume excess caffeine, alcohol or soak in a hot tub. Eat plenty of calcium-rich foods during training and take a multi-vitamin and vitamin D plus calcium supplement to ensure bone health.

A great way to build up your heat tolerance is to do some of your runs-- especially faster tempo runs-- on a treadmill. Treadmills are a great way to teach your body how to handle the heat and cool down with natural sweat regulation. Most importantly, do not ignore any warning signs--heartburn, chest tightness, arm tightness-- no matter how insignificant they may seem.

Three die at the 2009 Detroit Marathon

Source: Examiner.com

New Balance Maintains Significant Domestic Footwear Production

BOSTON—New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc. is unique in the footwear industry.

Shoe businesses began downsizing in the U.S. more than a decade ago. New Balance expanded.

Its competitors fled from the U.S. in search of cheaper manufacturing offshore. New Balance continued to build its base in America.

Why? “We made our first pair of running shoes in 1938 and have never wavered in our commitment to domestic manufacturing,” said Rob DeMartini, CEO of the Boston-based manufacturer.

“Our New Bal- ance associates have pro¼ven that high-quality athletic foot¼wear can be produced com¼pet¼i¼tively in A¼merica.”

The company, which also produces athletic ac- cessories and apparel, prides itself on being the only domestic manufacturer of athletic foot-wear in the U.S.

About a quarter of the firm’s athletic footwear production is made or assembled each year at its plants in Boston; Lawrence, Mass.; and Norway, Norridgewock and Skowhegan, Maine, a company spokeswoman said.

New Balance also operates a manufacturing facility in Flimby, England. It does have supplier/partners in China and Vietnam that make products for the company, she said, but the firm’s manufacturing base has always been in the U.S.

Building U.S. presence

Despite the poor economy, Boston-headquartered New Ba-lance continues to build its base in America, where it has about 2,600 employees.

The firm’s most recent expansion came in September 2008 when it opened a 3,000-sq.-ft. facility, called Sports Research Lab, at its Lawrence manufacturing complex.

The laboratory’s goal is to design and develop new products and innovations “through the study of athletes, biomechanics and sport,” according to Edith Harmon, vice president of advanced products for New Balance.

It houses state-of-the-art biomechanics equipment, office space, a 120-foot running track, a 30-foot by 30-foot court, a smash lab and a variety of equipment used for testing.

The 103-year-old firm has consistently gained ground in the marketplace because it follows the same principles it was founded upon: superior customer service, a commitment to domestic manufacturing and leadership in technological innovation, the company said. It also prides itself in the lean manufacturing techniques it uses to keep prices down.

Much of the credit for the success of New Balance’s five-plant U.S. operation goes to the company’s employees, who are committed to their work and the products the company manufactures, DeMartini said.

New Balance recently came out with an online documentary as part of an awareness campaign that highlights the craftsmanship of its domestic manufacturing work force.

“During this tough economic time, we are proud to showcase the powerful unity of our American work force and their local community,” DeMartini said. “This documentary highlights Skowhegan as our first Maine factory, but tells the success story of all New Balance manufacturing facilities and associates.”

It can be viewed on the firm’s Web site at www.newbalance.com/USA.

However, the firm’s focus on building a strong U.S. base hasn’t prevented New Balance from growing globally during the last decade. The privately held company, which had global sales of about $1.64 billion in 2008, has expanded its international footprint regularly during that span, the spokeswoman said, with about 4,000 employees now operating in more than 120 countries.

It has wholly owned subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, the United King- dom, Germany, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, France, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Brazil and South Africa, making it one of the largest athletic footwear and apparel businesses in the world.

Humble beginnings

That’s quite a leap from the tiny business that William J. Riley, a 33-year-old English immigrant, launched in 1906 as New Balance Arch Co. It initially produced arch supports and prescription footwear for customers with problem feet. After operating out of his home for three years, Riley opened his first office as the firm slowly grew.

New Balance, with annual sales in the $20,000 range at the time, incorporated in 1931 and rented space at a door factory in Cambridge, Mass. But in the midst of the Great Depression, sales plummeted almost 75 percent.

In need of capital, Riley’s top salesman, Arthur Hall, became his partner, and the business survived as other footwear makers toppled. Riley designed and made the first New Balance running shoe in 1938, and by 1941 the company was designing and manufacturing custom sports shoes for running, baseball, basketball, tennis and boxing.

Riley and Hill sold the business in 1953 to Hill’s daughter and son-in-law, Eleanor and Paul Kidd, who brought new ideas and more energy to the firm.

They changed its name to New Balance Orthopedic Laboratory in 1956 and introduced the Trackster, the world’s first performance running shoe made in multiple widths, in 1960.

In 1970, the company became New Balance Athletic Shoe Inc., with annual sales of $100,000.

During the Boston Marathon in 1972, New Balance’s current owner, Jim Davis, purchased the business from the Kidds. Under his leadership, the firm expanded throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, both at home and abroad.

Davis and his wife Anne played key roles in turning the company into a billion-dollar operation with a long global reach during the last 37 years.

Expansions included: a manufacturing facility in Ireland; the production sites in Maine and Massachusetts; relocating the factory in Ireland to a bigger plant in England; and numerous acquisitions in the last decade.

By 2000, the company reached the $1 billion sales mark and has continued to grow since then.

Through it all, New Balance has never strayed from its roots with good reason, DeMartini said. “Our associates have passion and pride in their craftsmanship, and their dedication to their work is why we are able to withstand economic challenges and remain strong.”

source: By Mike McNulty Rubber & Plastics News Staff