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ISSUE 1626July 1, 2016
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
2 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 3
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Editorial DirectorDavid Clucas
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The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
ISSUE 1626July 1, 2016
TEAM BUSINESS
6 One-On-One with Jim Pisani,President, VF Corporation's Licensed Sports Group & Majestic Athletic
9 Baseball Built For YouNew rules, needs and tastes churn out more tailored diamond sports gear
FOOTWEAR BUSINESS | INDUSTRY EVENT
13 One-On-One with Jeff Phillips,CEO, Fleet Feet Sports Celebrates 40th Anniversary at its annual conference
16 SGB Congratulates Fleet Feet Sports on its 40th Anniversary
OUTDOOR BUSINESS
20 One-On-One with Zac Gleason,Laboratory Manager, MSRThe science behind water filters
GIVING BACK
21 MSR Global HealthDelivers clean water beyond the backcountry
VENDOR PROFILE
22 Ultimate DirectionComes back to lead specialty through hydration depression
PRODUCT FOCUS
24 Hydration Runneth OverFor active lifestyle consumers on the go, quick and easy hydration is a must
INDUSTRY VOICES
26 How I HydrateDon Reichelt, Ultra Distance Runner finds success with a solid plan to stay hydrated through every race
29 INDUSTRY CALENDAR
Cover photo courtesy Nathan
18Hydration Runneth Over
Photo courtesy LifeStraw Mission
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 5
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
SGB Weekly Transitions to SGB Today
If you’re a follower of SGB, you’ve probably noticed some changes to our digital home, which now resides at sgbonline.com.
We’re excited to unveil the next generation of SGB, which brings together all of our media content to a central hub. Sgbonline.com is now the industry’s go-to source for the latest news from SGB Updates, original features from SGB Today, and in-depth analysis and insight from SGB Executive (formerly Sports Executive Weekly and The B.O.S.S. Report).
In today’s fast-moving business world, we recognize (and see the data) that more readers are consuming our content on a variety of devices — from desktop to mobile — so these sites are fully-optimized to adjust and fit whichever screen your using. Along with those advances, new templates and interactive design features allow us to deliver more engaging digital and responsive articles and advertising that aren’t limited by a static PDF.
With these new capabilities we’ve made the decision to transition our digital PDF magazine, SGB Weekly, to its fully digital sibling SGB Today. Already, many of you have made the switch —choosing to consume the same quality content from SGB Weekly on a daily basis in SGB Today. Over the past year, SGB Today has grown to attract more than three times the traffic of SGB Weekly. SGB Today is also easier to search and share with friends on social media.
Finally, SGB Today is a better experience on your mobile device. No more zooming in to read a paragraph on a PDF. It all sizes automatically to your screen. And when you’re done reading a story, easily find past stories or jump over to SGB Updates for the latest industry news.
As always, we welcome any comments, feedback or story ideas. You can reach our team at [email protected].
David ClucasEditorial DirectorSGB [email protected]
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Jim Pisani, President, VF Corporation's
Licensed Sports Group & Majestic AthleticThe man who holds team sports on his shoulders.
By Jahla Seppanen
While Jim Pisani was selling sodas at PepsiCo as VP of Customer Development and Mac and Cheese at Kraft General Foods as Regional Sales Manager, he used his down time to play sports. The college soccer player turned coach grew up on the field, court and diamond, suiting up for everything from soccer, basketball and baseball.
So, after more than 11 years at PepsiCo, Pisani took to the mound of a more familiar position — leading VF Corporation’s Licensed Sports Group, including its best-known brand Majestic Athletic, the on-field provider for the MLB. The group holds other sports apparel agreements with the NFL, NBA and more. Pisani also sits on the board of the Sports and Fitness Industry As-sociation (SFIA), the University of South Florida Sport & Entertainment MBA Advisory Board, the Positive Coaching Alliance, and more.
“Sports and competition is in my blood,” he said… and we believe it. SGB sat down with Pisani to talk teams, jerseys and the business of baseball.
How is the sports jersey business doing? The Majestic MLB jersey business is very healthy, es-pecially for the past two years. We have seen an increase of more than 50 percent in sales of jer-seys during that time (2015/16) and the retail-ers not only love the product, but the marketing has been terrific, including player ambassadors from the 30 MLB teams and a 360-degree mar-keting approach which includes digital, social, in-store, in-stadium activation, micro films and brand films. We introduced a new cool base jersey that players and fans love for it's perfor-mance, comfort and style — we utilized fan and player insights to create the best jersey — and in 2016 we launched a new on-field jersey for all 30 MLB teams designed to maximize on-field per-formance. This jersey was in development for more years and is built with player insights and innovation from the best designers in the busi-ness at Majestic.
“WE ENJOY BEING THE UNDERDOG, HUNGRY, HUMBLE AND PREPARED FOR
THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY.” —JIM PISANI
TEAM BUSINESS ONE-ON-ONE
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 7
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Sounds like a busy couple years. What has been your favorite Majestic partnership to-date? We have been very fortunate to have some outstanding, long-term partnerships with the professional sports leagues including the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL. We also have enjoyed a successful license with Harley Davidson providing apparel to the many Harley Davidson enthusiasts. Plus, our growing interna-tional business includes International soccer, the Nippon professional Japanese baseball league and Australian Cricket. These relationships have been built by more than 1,600 associates at VF Licensed Sports Group who consistently deliver craveable product, first class service and a passion for the business that keeps us on top of the licensed sports apparel business. These partnerships have been in place for more than 30 years.
What’s your go-to team you’ll always root for? We like all of our teams across the leagues and give them 100-percent effort regardless of the size of the market. This is what separates us from the competition.
Outside of the office what’s your favorite team? I grew up in St. Louis, my wife grew up in Chicago, and we spent 15 years in Chicago, so we certainly enjoy those teams.
Not a lot of people know that Majestic invented the batting practice jer-sey. What are some other fun facts about the company? We make every Major League Baseball uniform (all 30 clubs) in Easton, PA. We take great pride in the fact that an American worker crafts every uniform. Made in America is important to MLB and Majestic.
That sounds like a lot of jerseys. We sell more than 1 million jerseys on an annual basis and our Easton, PA associates along with our associates in Tampa, FL (decoration facility in Tampa) allows us to service our league partners and retailers faster and more efficiently.
There’s word VF is looking to sell the business. What type of new owner are you looking for? As for VF exploring strategic alternatives that is ex-actly what is taking place right now. We will explore and make a decision; which is in the best interest of our League partners, associates and share-holders. All I can say is the process is fluid.
For young people entering the industry hoping one day to reach a posi-tion like yours, what advice would you give them? The best advice I can give anyone is to believe in yourself and never stop listening and learning. My father Angelo Pisani always taught me to work hard, listen, learn and give 100 percent no matter the circumstances.
I have been very lucky to be surrounded by great people who make my job easy. In both my professional and personal life, I have been blessed to have friends and family that support and believe in me including my wife that I have spent 25 wonderful years with and my three children.
Some day in the future when you depart Majestic, what do you hope to leave behind? My hope is that the passion, drive and will to win contin-ues for many more years to come. We enjoy being the underdog, hungry, humble and prepared for the next opportunity. I hope that the customers, associates and people say they give 100 percent at Majestic, care about us and do things the right way with integrity and honesty.
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Baseball is a team sport, but its gear is becoming highly individualistic.
As the next generation of athletes hits the field, they’ve grown accustomed to custom products. Their size … their color … their personality. They expect no different in baseball and brands are responding. SGB takes a look at the trends, what the new rules mean for bats and what the little leaguers are eyeing in the pros.
New Rules Mean New BatsA change in bat standards by USA Baseball and Little League will create a new wave of youth bats by September 2017, though some brands will come to market before then. The rule changes to bats are intended to create “wood-like performance,” which will help reduce sharp line drives as well as prevent kids from learning hitting techniques that don’t translate at higher levels of play. By 2018, bats must meet these new
standards, and brands may thin their lineups and sit out some innovation while they deplete their inventories in 2017.
Of course not all bats must meet thEse requirements, but most brands offer BBCOR options — the standardization for high school and collegiate players — in their top sellers.
Known for its softball bats, DeMarini’s carbon fiber (CF) lineup of baseball bats continues to win fans. In what would be the CF9 (there have been name changes through the brand’s lineup) the 2017 BBCOR DeMarini CF Insane -3 is a two-piece composite bat that is end-loaded, with a big sweet spot on its 2 5/8 inch barrel. DeMarini claims its new Paraflex composite is 22 percent stronger than its previous materials. The fat knob and handle should reduce vibrations.
Bat makers are taking stock of the consumer’s response to recent technology, like torque handles, and increased consumer expectations
that there’s a bat just right for them. Scrappy contact hitters gravitate to balanced bats, while big loop boppers prefer end-loaded bats.
Todd Harman, Easton’s executive vice president said the company focused on simplifying its range of bats. Its latest Power Brigade lineup will focus on an all-new Mako Beast. Easton brings both composite and carbon to market to meet demands of more sophisticated consumers, and different player types, Harman said.
Louisville Slugger added similar movement technology to its three-piece composite bats like the Prime 916 BBCOR. The handle movement is said to also reduce the sting of poorly hit balls – designed to maximize the sweet spot. Louisville Slugger will also release a premium line of MLB-level bats, like the MLB Prime, with wood twice as hard as its other bats. A new finish called Exoarmor coats the wood and an ink-dot assures
Baseball Built for YouNew rules, needs and tastes churn out more tailored diamond sport gear.
By M.T. Elliott
The Louisville Slugger baseball bat line is a collection of three designs - Prime 916, Select 716, and Omaha 516. Photo courtesy Louisville Slugger
2017 BBCOR DeMarini CF Insane -3
10 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
customers the bat meets the grain standards of professional bats.
Rawlings sped up its Velo series of bats, in part, by using lighter composite materials in the end caps and thinner walls.
How You Like ItCustom or personalized gear, from build-your-own mitts to stylized bats, is surging. Several ball glove companies offer online customization, which ranges from picking a base model and changing its colors to a more tailored choice of glove depth and styles of leather.
Wilson’s customization found a receptive audience among baseball and softball players. “Many of the athletes we talk to, at every age and level of play, see their equipment as an extension of who they are. Further, they want and expect their equipment to be optimized for their capabilities,” said Kristina Peterson-Lohman, a spokesperson for Wilson Sporting Goods.
If other sectors are any indication, customers seek unique specs and enjoy tailoring an item to what they think will work best for them. Nike saw this with certain shoes, as did Eddie Bauer’s success with its Microtherm jackets. Custom bats, mostly wood, are also gaining traction.
Retailers may fret about the direct-to-consumer model, but they can still stock a variety of colors and designs at retail at prices below custom models. Perhaps the hottest color is white, an available option for just about every piece of equipment. Easton’s Z-Core Whiteout
Baseball Bat is a limited-edition color on this fat-barreled balanced bat — a one-piece alloy stick with a longer sweet spot. The color ties back with a backpack and batting gloves.
Smaller customization add-ons in the category include colored glove laces, bat grips and tapes.
Custom is also about comfort and fit. Easton went with a redesign for its new Mako Legacy gloves, complete with soft kip leather, but no less durable. That creates a nice hand feel, but the practical result is a glove that’s closer to broken in. A sheepskin lining put softness inside the glove, too. Available options include traditional infield, pitcher/infield hybrid, outfield, first base and a catcher’s mitt.
Kids Are The FutureBy the time Derek Jeter retired, most shortstops could jump from grass and throw
Rawlings Velo Seris BBCOR Bats Photo courtesy Rawlings
Easton’s Z-Core Whiteout Baseball Bat Photo courtesy Easton
Mako Legacy Gloves Photo courtesy Mako
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 11
out a runner at first. That could be in part because many of those infielders grew up watching and imitating him.
The effect of major leaguers on young amateurs is something diamond sports companies’ bank on. Wilson cites the trend of 11.5” or 11.75” length gloves among major leaguers who want a little extra reach, yet ask for shallower pockets to ease transition to the throwing hand. A good example is Wilson’s A2K DP15 GM middle infield glove, which isn’t the longest option at 11.5”, but its finger stalls are spread out to create a flatter pocket for a faster field and throw. Like its predecessors, the glove is broken in at the factory. The brand said it anticipates young players will follow suit in their desires to flash leather like the pros.
Easton has seen growth in its youth ball gloves and bolstered its presence at the Little League World Series as a sponsor. Retailers may want to consider this new popularity in the youth glove market if they’ve been ordering on autopilot in past years. Next year, keep an eye out for the white leather look in fast-pitch mitts to cross over into baseball gloves.
Easton Mako Legacy Glove Photo courtesy Easton
Wilson’s A2K DP15 GM Middle Infield Glove Photo courtesy Wilson
12 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
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FOOTWEAR BUSINESSINDUSTRY EVENT
Fleet Feet Sports celebrated its 40th anniversary at its annual conference June 21-24. Since opening its first store in Sacramento, CA in 1976, the
retailer has become one of the nation’s most successful franchisees, even ramping up its expansion efforts in recent years.
Yet the anniversary comes at a challenging time for the run specialty channel that is generally seeing flat to declining sales after nearly two de-cades of steady strong growth. The blame for the pullback has been placed on everything from heightened competition from online and non-tradi-tional retailers, a rocky shift to digital retailing, and even concerns about the dwindling appeal of the activity of running.
But Fleet Feet Sports continues to outperform the channel, even deliv-ering a positive comp last year. And with the event’s theme, “We Run As One,” Fleet Feet Sports CEO Jeff Phillips believes the company’s owner-ship-centric model will continue to pave the way for success in the future.
“The theme wasn’t a reaction to what’s going on but I think it’s appropri-ate to circle the wagons a little bit,” Phillips said at this year’s conference. “Our franchisees coming here and spending time with each other talking about business challenges and business ideas and learning from each other, that’s the power of the brand. It’s bringing all that collective experience and knowledge that exists out there in our system together and leveraging it.”
Taking some time to sit down with SGB, Phillips discussed the newest challenges facing the run specialty channel, its distinctive business model and its franchisees’ embrace of the digital consumer.
How would you assess what’s happening in run these days? I think what we’re going through right now is natural and to be expected. The running industry went through a 20-year growth cycle, which is unprecedented. It was due for a reset. We would have possibly seen a reset in 2010 if mini-mal hadn’t fallen out of the sky and propelled the industry for a few more years. I think we were overdue for a reset because categories always cycle and performance running as a category had undergone an unprecedented cycle. And you need resets to gather yourself and figure out how you need to evolve and change for the next push upward.
What are some of the newer challenges facing run specialty? Certainly with everything that’s going on at the retail level with bankruptcies and liq-uidations, there’s a lot of product out there, most of which is not being sold at suggested retail. The proliferation of distribution had been a challenge
for several years and now we have mass liquidation of product. It’s going to take a while for that to flush through the system. Long term, I think we’re positioned well when we come out the other side of it.
Are there too many run specialty stores? There are certainly markets where there are too many running stores. But beyond the question of too many running stores, the bigger issue is there are too many places to buy running shoes – period. Performance running product has been pushed into channels of retail where historically you wouldn’t necessarily find a lot of performance product. I don’t think that running specialty as a whole is going to be unscathed by what’s going on. We will lose some running specialty retailers in the environment we’re in right now. But again, I think that’s a natural process. When you get over-retailed or over extend, the market will correct itself and we’re going through that now.
Running USA recently reported that overall race participation declined for the second straight year. Is participation the problem? There are still a lot of people running and the people who aren’t running much still wear running shoes. But the simple fact is there’s a lot of competition for mind share with the running customer with fitness boxes such as Orangethe-ory and the Flywheel where runners are going into those environments a couple times a week in lieu of going for a run. But they’re still running. We’ve also gone through a cycle where there were a lot of new events like color runs, and those types of events are probably a little bit on the down-side for now. But it doesn’t concern me greatly because there are still are a lot of people running for a lot of different reasons such as health and fitness and wellness.
Have MAP policies reduced the online challenges? No. It’s something we look to control and obviously it’s a topic we talk about a lot. But MAP policy is really a result of over-distribution. Unfortunately, vendors are playing ‘whack a mole’ with MAP policy, which doesn't really address the root cause.
How is your e-commerce push going? We launched our e-commerce site about a year-and-a-half ago. We’ve had great adoption from our franchi-sees and we’re building it in the right way. We do fulfillment from our stores. We launched local inventory visibility on our website about three weeks ago and we had over 10,000 click-throughs on the check-your-local
Fleet Feet CEO on Specialty Run Glut,Omni-channel and 40 More Years
By Thomas J. Ryan
ONE-ON-ONE
14 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
Jeff Phillips, CEO, Fleet Feet Sports Photo courtesy Fleet Feet Sports
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 15
inventory button in the first three weeks. So we’re really integrating every-thing that we’re doing digitally into what we’re doing locally in the stores. Next on the list is buy-online, pick-up in-store and prior to the holiday shopping season, we plan to integrate gift cards into our online site. Not surprisingly, online sales are growing like crazy right now, but we don’t simply look at online from a ‘how many transactions we can create point of view.’ For us it’s more about how we can keep customers in our ecosystem by eliminating dead ends. If a customer goes into a store and the product they want, in the color they want is not there on that day, we can direct them online and get the product to them quickly. Using our stores as ful-fillment centers truly gives us an endless aisle of product because we’re able to leverage inventory across the entire system.
Was it a challenge to get franchises to buy into the online push? It really wasn’t. Our owners are smart. Change is always hard, right? Introducing new concepts is hard. It’s a process you go through but our owners know we need to be there. And I think they appreciate the approach we take which is to make the local owner and local stores a big part of the solu-tion by using them as fulfillment centers and driving the customers to the stores. We’ve had really good success in terms of adoption. The owners know that we have to play in this space because our customers expect it.
What are your key priorities on the digital side? We just completed de-velopment of a centralized customer data hub. This will allow us to con-solidate customer data from over 160 local point-of-sale systems to create a singular view of the customer. This will ultimately allow us to segment and target markets to customers based on their purchase history, training program and event participation, online activity, etc.
What are some other priorities? We’re doing a lot of blocking and tack-ling and we’re doubling down on our in-store experience. As I said, there’s a lot of places to buy running shoes, including online. So when a customer walks into one of our doors, if that interaction doesn't go well, the mar-gin for error is zero. We’re hyper-focused on creating a great in-store ex-perience because that’s where most retailers struggle and it plays to our strengths because it’s what we’re really good at.
How about marketing? We just completed a comprehensive customer study and we’re in the process of a major refresh in terms of our brand positioning and consumer facing messaging. Our ability to create national campaigns that can be executed at the local level is unique and powerful.
What’s been the cornerstone to Fleet Feet’s longevity? I think one of the most important decisions was made by Tom Raynor when he decided that he wasn’t going to have any investor-absentee owners, which is not how most franchising models work. All of our owners work in the stores, They’re involved in day-to-day operations, they’re involved with their employees, with the vendor community, and most importantly they’re involved with customers and the community. This has allowed us to be a strong national brand that is really good at being hyper-local and the magic dust in our model is that engaged owner operator at the local level that guides everything. This is something that we have always embraced. It’s not necessarily the fastest growth strategy but it’s been incredibly suc-cessful because we’ve had very few store failures over the years.
How else has Fleet Feet stood out? Ten years ago, we crafted a brand po-sitioning of inclusiveness and belonging and that was all about really em-bracing a larger group of runners, not just the fast runners, but runners of every pace and ability level. I attribute that positioning to driving sales growth for us over the last decade. We’re never going to shift away from our core focus on running. But being inclusive to customers and reaching new customers through an in-store environment that isn’t intimidating for any level of runner, that’s been a cornerstone of our model for a decade and that’s not going to change.
How is Fleet Feet doing? We’re doing well. We comped positive last year and I don’t know many retailers in any channel of distribution that can say they comped positively. It wasn’t by a lot but we comped positively. And through May of this year we were still comping positively. But it’s hard work. I look at the industry trends and see performance running as a category down 15 to 20 percent. I’ve also seen stats that show run specialty as a retail channel also down double-digits. We’re never satisfied because we’re accustomed to growth. But when you look at what’s going on, you have to feel pretty good about how you’re performing compared to the rest of the industry.
What do you attribute that to? Our owner-centric model. As I said, we have the ability to leverage the knowledge and experience and successes and failures of a lot of different people and it gives us an advantage. Sec-ondly, I would say the things we’re doing digitally. We have size and scale that allows us to do some things that smaller retailers in the channel sim-ply can’t do.
Can you discuss your expansion efforts? After spending the first 36 years as basically a franchise-only company and primarily a single-store owner/operator model, we’re going on four years of really strong growth expand-ing our footprint. Over the past three years we’ve averaged adding 20 lo-cations a year and we’ll add around 14 or 15 this year. The biggest driver for growth has come from existing franchisees opening a second, third or fourth location. We also added company-owned stores through acquisi-tions. Another way we’ve grown is through independents that have con-verted to Fleet Feet. Finally, we’ve opened a handful of company-owned stores from scratch. What’s really neat about our company-owned stores is they’re franchiseable. We have an operating partner program that puts some of our best employees on a path to ownership. That allows us to not deviate from our model, which is having everything very local in terms of execution.
What’s the key to keeping Fleet Feet humming for the next 40 years? I think at the end of the day it’s really simple. You have to raise your focus on your customer, understanding what they value and evolving to be able to deliver what they want. The reality is that as recently as five or six years ago, run specialty had a reasonable amount of control over their relationship with their customer. Now, the customer is in complete con-trol because technology has brought the customer access to everything. Our keynote speaker, Lee Peterson of W.D. Partners said, “Customers don’t have to come to stores,” and it’s true. We have to stay focused on reasons why our customers want to come to our stores, and if we’ll do that we’ll be fine.
16 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
2016 Annual Conference and 40th Anniversary Celebration
SportsOneSource congratulates Fleet Feet Sports on its 40th Anniversary!
1075 E. South Boulder Road • Suite 300 • Louisville • CO • 80027SportsOneSource.com | 303.997.7302
Former Fleet Feet Inc. CEO, President, and Chairman Tom Raynor (left) with current
Fleet Feet Inc. CEO and President Jeff Phillips.
Fred Doyle, who kicked off the conference with a history and retrospective of the running industry, with his wife Joy.
Rebecca Kowalski, the recipient of Fleet Feet Sports’ first Customer Inspiration Award, gives a moving speech at the
brand’s awards banquet.
Co-masters of ceremony John Garcia of ABC 7 Chicago and Kyung Lah,
national correspondent for CNN Los Angeles, lead the awards banquet.
J.D. Denton, co-owner of the Fleet Feet Sports in Davis, CA,
addresses the audience about the store’s 20th anniversary as his wife and
store co-owner Chris looks on.
Close to 800 people attended Fleet Feet Sports’ annual National
Franchise Conference, which culminated in the brand’s awards banquet. 37 Fleet Feet Inc. staff members attended the conference.
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 17
2016 Annual Conference and 40th Anniversary Celebration
In late June, Fleet Feet Sports celebrated its 40th anniversary as one of the most successful franchises in the nation at its annual National
Franchise Conference in Huntington Beach, CA.The chain stands out for its locally-owned-and-operated model,
its commitment to fit, community activation, the passion of its wide range of franchise owners, as well as many more intangibles when the goal is delivering top-notch customer-service on a daily basis. But the organization also differentiates itself through its strong partnerships with vendors. SGB reached out to vendors to explore Fleet Feet’s success.
Chris Bevin, vice president, specialty retail sales for Implus, which owns Balega, TriggerPoint, Sof Sole and FuelBelt, said an obvious key for Fleet Feet is that even though the retailer is a national franchise company, they strive to keep the relationship of the store owner, staff and initiatives locally tied to the specific community. Observed Bevin, “They are not a national organization that puts consumer-facing blanket procedures across the system, thereby recognizing that each store is a market specific to itself.”
What Makes Fleet Feet Tick?Vendors speak out on why Fleet Feet has thrived for 40 years.
By Thomas J. Ryan
Photo courtesy Fleet Feet Sports
18 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
Second, a deep knowledge of how run specialty retail operates has helped the franchisor develop a bank of best practices from an operational standpoint that allows a new store owner the best chance of success. Bevin added, “Many of these best practices are back-of-the-house systems that the consumer would never see, which allows the store owner to concentrate much more on building consumer relationships in the store.”
“Probably most importantly,” Bevin added, “is the willingness to listen and learn and pass on … that is where the best practices originate.”
Bert Pictor, senior vice president, specialty, Implus, added that the quality of people Fleet Feet is able to attract to become franchisees continues to impress.
“The passion of both the Fleet Feet Inc. people and the franchisees, their business acumen and new ideas they bring to the entire organization is amazing,” Pictor said. “Fleet Feet Inc. really engages and spends a lot of time listening and learning from their store owners on how they can
create a better brand every day.” Unlike many other stores, Fleet Feet also looks to vendor relationships
as an integral element of their success. Added Pictor, “When they develop a relationship with a vendor, it tends to be a true partnership instead of an exercise in how much we can leverage a vendor.”
“It starts with their people,” said Fred Doyle, a long-time run specialty exec who had worked for Saucony and Nike. “They are knowledgeable, passionate, have a love of running, and their service mentality all make the Fleet Feet stores an integral part of the running community. Even though they have 163 stores, because the owner/operator is so involved, it makes each store unique and a resource for all things involving running. Races, training groups, clinics, fit sessions, and injury treatment and prevention are all part of the menu of services that they provide.”
Doyle believes one key to Fleet Feet’s success is the ability of each franchised store to utilize 162 other stores when they have a question, need information, or are just looking for new ideas. A dedicated staff in the corporate office also serves as a quality resource.
“The CFO-in-a-Box program is one example of how they provide help in an area that may not be a strength to someone who loves the marketing, sales and service aspects of the business,” added Doyle. He also pointed to “Fitlosophy” and Fleet Feet’s sophisticated inventory management tools as two other programs provided by corporate that have supported the franchisees over the years.
David Shelbourne, channel manager for running specialty at New Balance, credited the job Fleet Feet does identifying, recruiting and hiring top talent. He added, “Many franchise owners and operating managers coming from a wide range of professional backgrounds, which gives them a broad perspective and fresh approach to their business.”
But he credited Fleet Feet Inc. for providing the strategic vision and direction to its franchisees while giving their team the flexibility to be
entrepreneurial. Shelbourne added, “Fleet Feet provides their stores with extensive back-end support and ‘retailing 101’ expertise, which makes it easier for their franchise owners and operating managers to create an impact within their local communities.”
Shelbourne likewise sees their vendor partnerships as a source of strength.
“They are humble and treat their vendors with genuine respect,” Shelbourne
added. “They sincerely believe in a two-way street and work deliberately to develop partnerships that are good for their vendors as much as they are for them. They have bright, professional people throughout their organization and are a pleasure to do business with.”
Rick Wilhelm, vice president of specialty retail at Brooks, said he has almost an “incestuous” relationship with Fleet Feet, noting that Jeff Phillips, Fleet Feet’s CEO and a former Brooks executive, first hired him to work at Brooks in 1997. While there, he also worked under Luke Rowe, now Fleet Feet’s vice president of business development overseeing its vendor relationship programs.
“Luke and I have a real trust with each other,” said Wilhelm. “We have great relationships with many stores. That’s the beauty of doing just run. But Luke and I go way back and we can get right to the point if there’s any issues.”
Wilhelm also believes Fleet Feet has remained open to new ideas despite its expanding size from vendors as well as internally. He noted that ten years ago, Fleet Feet found an e-commerce website wasn’t important to their customer but they’ve recently launched a sophisticated e-commerce platform that supports its many franchise owners. Said Wilhelm, “It’s all about finding ways to create value.”
He further credited Fleet Feet’s commitment to co-marketing efforts as well as their commitment to service and community building at the store level. Added Wilhelm, “They’re the experts at providing the service level that the runner wants.”
Jeff Gray, director of outreach and fit for Superfeet, believes a key differentiator for Fleet Feet over the years has been “Fitlosophy,” the franchisor’s fit program that Gray helped develop over the years.
“Nobody was taking the time to measure runners seated so that’s what made them different and helped them survive over the years,” Gray added. He believes placing such high importance on fit helps the store staff address other needs.
“You go to a Fleet Feet store and you get answers to your question –– and you get answers to questions you didn’t know you had,” Gray said. “They educate and care about the customer and have absolutely maintained their service model. You can’t get any of that on the Internet.”
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 19
Gray said that although other stores have since developed their own in-house fit systems, one reason Fleet Feet’s remains at a comparatively higher level than many is because staff turnover is generally less. Gray believes that’s in part because of the franchisor’s succession efforts with many stores associates over the years stepping up to store managers and then store owners. Said Gray, “They take care of their employees and find employees that have the passion to help people get healthy and love the running lifestyle.”
June Angus, president and co-founder of Amphipod, a manufacturer of hydration belts, water bottle carriers, reflective gear and a number of other accessories, believes Fleet Feet’s success is centered around high expectations and standards, personal accountability and local ownership. The organization has established a dedicated team of owners, managers and store associates “that over years of hard work have created incredible local hubs in their communities that support health, fitness, wellness education, confidence building, and community.”
Finally, she said, Fleet Feet franchisees have built a strong reputation for supporting new products with a store staff that “do a great job of helping customers find the best personalized product solutions to fit their needs and help them enjoy the experience, and results of running.”
Angus sees it all stemming from Fleet Feet Sports successful business building tools, critical peer support, education and community for their franchisees that they treat like family. She added, “In parity, they’re successfully providing the same sort of critical community, education and support to their franchisees that the local stores offer to their own customers and communities.”
Keith Willows, Amphipod’s other co-founder, added that the model seems to attract “smart industrious people who want to change their own lives, by helping others, while making a living.” Most franchise owners are also committed to embracing change.
“There’s a willingness for so many individual stores and people to step outside of the status quo on the kind of products, service they offer and the community they create,” Willows added. “Their collective humility is also very encouraging and impressive.”
“Many companies talk about putting people first but Fleet Feet really does it,” agreed Brent Hollowell, vice president of marketing at Nathan Sports. “From the way they serve their customers, to how they go about hiring and training every single person in the company, the culture is focused on the community of people in and around their stores. The fact that they are able to achieve this consistency across a large group of geographically dispersed
stores is truly impressive and is their ‘secret sauce’.”For vendors, a big benefit is often being invited to take part in the
Fleet Feet community through training groups, in-store events, and many different outreach programs. Added Hollowell, “Fleet Feet is as important to helping many of us run-specific companies to building our brands as almost anything else we do. That’s just one reason we so highly value our partnership with them.”
“Fleet Feet’s success isn’t a freak accident,” noted David Shoemaker, national sales manager, fitness & outdoor, Garmin. “It is from the synergy of all the things that they do well, at every level, which provide a world class experience without all the big egos.”
Shoemaker added, “I attribute our success to theirs because we are in complete alignment with our energy and passion for the sport, our desire to provide the very best products and services, and to have our shared customers enjoy a wonderful experience along the way.”
Victor Yang, founder of Addaday, the massage tool brand, believes the longevity comes down to the “trust” the Fleet Feet brand has built in the communities they serve.
“This trust came from 40 years of community service delivered with love and care,” said Addaday. “And Fleet Feet also entrusts in us vendors as ‘partners’ to also deliver the highest level of care to their communities. We are held to a high standard. We should be. It’s a privilege –– period.”
Jeff Rodgers, CEO at Pro-Tec Athletics, the specialist in sports medicine braces, supports, hot/cold and massage therapy products, called out the consistent platform the franchisor offers all stores to work off.
“Fleet Feet has mastered the combination of a successful business model that each store can base their structure on yet still allows the individual store a certain level of independence and flexibility,” Rodgers said. “You walk intocany Fleet Feet store
and experience a high level of customer service in a clean, well organized environment.”
Having said that, Rodgers noted that each store is not exactly the same as the owners, for example, some have freedom to carry the brands they deem most relevant to their own local running community.
Added Rodgers, “Another clear benefit that Fleet Feet demonstrates is their connection and engagement in the local community as fun runs, medical nights and various events contribute to a specialty environment. We at Pro-Tec Athletics are honored to be a key supplier to the Fleet Feet retailers as specialty run has always and will remain our core focus.”
Jim Monahan, president of 361 USA, believes the openness of the members of the Fleet Feet team through the years has helped his own knowledge of the mechanics of the industry. But what impresses him is they’re committed to working overtime with their franchised partners to help them understand what it takes to succeed in run specialty.
“Their obsession with the end consumer and their obsession with who and what Fleet Feet represents is unwavering,” said Monahan.
20 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
OUTDOOR BUSINESS | HYDRATION
• The micro filter is typically about 0.2 microns in pore size and is capable of removing everything the pre-filter does plus bacteria. Some manufacturers play games with claiming their pore size is better — 0.1 micron or absolute versus nominal — but what you really want to look at is was it tested with bacteria and achieved greater than 6.0 log reduction (99.9999%) in both clean water and EPA/NSF P231 GTW3 water. These filters are the most widely used and are great for relatively pristine backcountry environments (United States, Canada, most of Europe, Australia and New Zealand).
• The purifier filter is less than 0.02 microns in pore size and is capable of removing everything the micro filter does plus viruses. The same story applies here in terms of pore size games... look for test results showing greater than 4 log viral reduction (99.99%) in both clean water and EPA/NSF P231 GTW3 water. These filters do it all, which usually comes with a higher price point but if you are traveling in the developing world or in areas that are heavily trafficked by humans, this is what you want.
Where do you see the most growth in water filter customers — is it the backcountry hiker, the survivalist or international traveler? I’m not a sales guy, but the feel I get is that the biggest growth is in the area of the more casual day hiker or weekend warrior type. People who don’t want to carry all the water they need, but typically only take in the great outdoors in smaller doses. That said, I think all areas have been steadily growing as people discover the wonder of the world outside the city and learn about their own favorite way to enjoy it.
OK, so a consumer buys a top-of-the-line filter — but there’s still the potential to catch something because of human error. What do you think is the number one mistake that customers make when collecting water and how can they prevent it? Hah, well ... everyone has heard it before countless times but … WASH YOUR HANDS!
Off of the bustling Cascade Designs factory floor in Seattle, WA— where they make Therm-a-Rest sleeping pads and MSR water filters
and stoves — lays a quieter setting where men and women in lab coats do real science.
It’s the MSR water laboratory run by Zac Gleason, a microbiologist continuously testing and tinkering with ways to keep bad stuff out of our water. On a recent visit by SGB, Gleason showed us live bacteria and viruses — fortunately he’s never gotten sick from his job — and how day-in and day-out, his team runs their products through a battery of tests.
We ask Gleason what’s the difference between all of the filters consumers see today on retail shelves, which work best in given situations, and why mom has the best advice for staying healthy.
In what way have portable water filters improved the most during the past five years? The increase in total available, non-chemical-related options has been significant, but the biggest change is probably in both flow rate and over all filter capacity, especially if you consider the volume that filters can treat between cleanings.
Consumers see water filter options from $35 to $350. What are the different levels of water filters and who needs what type? The Summit Register (MSR’s blog) has a great explanation of this and the different technologies available if you want more details, but briefly there are three types of true filters (that physically remove contaminants) — pre-filters, micro filters and purifier filters.
• The pre-filter is usually greater than 1 micron in pore size and is capable of removing silt and some large organisms like amoeba and/or protozoa (crypto/giardia). It is critical to read the packaging to make sure you know what your pre-filter can do, as many only remove silt. This is great for people who are going to use tablets or liquid chlorine to treat their water because it improves aesthetics and reduces protozoa concerns.
Zac Gleason, Laboratory Manager, MSR
The science behind water filters, plus advice from mom.
By David Clucas
ONE-ON-ONE
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 21
Zac Gleason, Laboratory Manager, MSR
The science behind water filters, plus advice from mom.
By David Clucas
GIVING BACK
Most of us take clean water for granted. Open the tap, and it’s there. It’s only
usually when we head to the backcountry that we have to take extra precautions.
Elsewhere in the world, it’s a different story. Clean water isn’t always a given, especially following a natural disaster.
When a major Tsunami hit Southeast Asia in 2004, MSR sprung to action, delivering thousands of water-treatment devices in the largest product donation in the company’s history.
Along with the good deed came a good idea — portable water-treatment advances shouldn’t just benefit hikers and adventure travelers. Entire populations need help.
“MSR is unique in that we are technology agnostic,” said Zac Gleason, laboratory manager for MSR. “We work to find the best solution to whatever user/use scenario we are trying to serve. We realized that we could be leveraging
MSR Global Health Delivers Clean Water Beyond The Backcountry
By David Clucas
Photo courtesy PATH
“This all started with my mentor Tim Oriard’s vision and hard work to build meaningful partnerships,” Gleason said.
The first of those partnerships was with safe water nonprofit PATH, which MSR helped run head-to-head comparisons of low-cost household treatment options available in India under funding from the Gates Foundation. From there, the project has grown into what it is now under the leadership of Laura McLaughlin at MSR Global Health and the division’s first product in 2015, the MSR Community Chlorine Maker.
The kit produces chlorine from just salt and water and electricity from a battery. The chlorine can then be used to disinfect and create clean water.
“The products need to be affordable, effective, usable, and desirable in order to bring change,” Gleason said.
And just like outdoor products, they’re already working on the next, better model.
what we know to make a real difference for those that need it most.”
Hence the birth of MSR Global Health, the philanthropic division of the company now dedicated to improving access to food, water, shelter and mobility.
MSR Global Health Community Chlorine Maker Photo courtesy MSR
22 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
VENDOR PROFILE
You know that moment on a long run when your knees start to grind and the sloshing
in your hydration pack quiets? Out of gas and time to panic — this is the tipping point that separates the wolves from the slobbering pups. Most small to mid-sized outdoor brands don’t make it past the hump, retiring to the kennel for more grassroots fundraising or selling out to big-box for a little slice if cheese.
Not Ultimate Direction. The brand that invented the hydration pack
was on its last breath in 2012 when the messiah of trail running, Buzz Burrell, was brought onboard with the job description to “manage the future of Ultimate Direction.” Another way of putting it — Bring Ultimate Direction back from the dead.
“Everything was grey, burlap and carpet,” Burrell told SGB during a run and roundtable at our home office in Colorado. “Packs were
Core To The BoneUltimate Direction comes back from the dead to lead specialty through the hydration depression.
By Jahla Seppanen
outdated, not relevant on the scene… the same old stuff for 10 years. Ultimate Direction was stuck.”
Can I Have Your Signature? Burrell scoured through his experience owning the outdoor store Mountain Sports for 13 years, managing the La Sportiva Running Team, founding the Boulder Outdoor Coalition and Boulder Trail Runners, winning the Teva Mountain Games Everest Award and spending his life doing what Ultimate Direction consumers do, ahem, running! If it were anyone else, Ultimate Direction may have ceased to exist today, and for those who call themselves “core outdoor,” that would be a bullet to the heart.
Like the beaming view of a long downhill stretch, Burrell saw a way to resuscitate the brand by reinventing its stale product assortment. He called the new collection The Signature Series
and hired ultramarathon stud Anton Krupicka to co-design a vest — not a pack, a vest — backing the brand with the power of athletes. A domino of big-name runners followed, joining Ultimate Direction to create their own Signature packs, including Scott Jurek, his wife Jenny Jurek, Timmy Olson and Peter Bawkin.
And this was before the popularity of ultra running hit stride.
“We called it the Signature Series because we put their actual signatures on the Nylon,” Burrell added, “and it just blew up.”
Burrell’s Signature Series changed the category of hydration from an accessories division to something that was pre-seasoned.
Stayin’ AliveAlthough Ultimate Direction made a comeback for the books, the overarching hydration category is on the decline. This is the result of brick-and-mortar
The messiah of trail running, Buzz Burrell
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 23
leaving the sale of hydration to online and direct-to-consumer sources. For many of the specialty retailers, Ultimate Direction sells through, the stores themselves express doing lousy in the category, while online sales for those states in which the same retailers are located show off-the-charts performance. So what gives?
“The retailers see themselves as shoe stores and say, ‘we’re already making the money we need on shoes, and don’t want to take the risk on hydration,’” Burrell said. “But the good dealers are totally down with it.” Despite the challenge in transferring online sales to brick-and-mortar, there are a couple perks to staying core, one of them being specialty doesn’t get hit as hard by recessions, he said.
“Get laid off from your job and the runner says ‘great, more time to run,’” Burrell said. “People who shop at specialty have a different relationship to the activity.” He believes brick-and-mortar is key to bringing the category back to its glory, as retailers are the ones actively bringing more people to the sport. “It’s our lifeblood, but they need to step it up or else the money will go online.”
The EU BunfightIn the United States, brands like Ultimate Direction have an even better opportunity to support specialty due to minimum advertised
pricing (MAP) policies. In Europe, MAP is illegal and Burrell said the brand’s U.K. distributor refers to the scene as a discount war, or “bunfight.” Ultimate Direction currently does about 45 percent of its sales outside of the U.S. and while it can rejoice in the strong dollar, worldwide sales are taking a punch.
In the U.S., the biggest retail problem across all of hydration is excess inventory, which makes prices fall for the mass market (Amazon’s wet dream). This is why big box is quick to fall, and Ultimate Direction is set on securing its line in the sand. “We strongly enforce MAP, which means Amazon can’t out-bid our retailers,” Burrell said. “If everyone holds the line, Amazon holds the line.”
In specialty, MAP is a topic constantly at the forefront, but Burrell and Ultimate Direction believe core consumers, dealers and brands are in the position to jointly work together to grow the sport, lending to a giant win-win-win.
Soccer Mom and BBQ BobThere’s a clear (and growing) gap between hydration in specialty and big box and Burrell attested, “it’s hard to straddle.” But Ultimate Direction is not a Target or Walmart brand. They’re all about specialty and don’t want to cover the entire running industry.
That being said, Ultimate Direction has mass
appeal. The brand is currently sold in REI (its largest retailer) but it’s not a major avenue for sales, and from SGB’s talk with Burrell, the brand won’t be pressing to expand that presence any time soon. “If you’re trying to go for the soccer mom and barbeque Bob, you’re drawn just to the numbers.” It’s not Ultimate Direction’s goal to use core athlete credibility to sell book-bags to college students.
“Our next product development cycle is going to be selling more things to the same people,” Burrell teased, “Instead of the same thing to different people, and our dealers like that— they don’t want to see us in Dick’s.”
Fearless LeaderDeveloped and tested by some of the most elite outdoor athletes, it’s almost comical to call the Ultimate Direction product a vest — maybe superhero cape is more suiting to the caliber of its wearer.
As athlete Anton Krupicka put it, “we’re not in marketing, we’re in product.” He said having Burrell at the helm is an inspiration — a guy who will make prototype changes, despite the expense of using superior fabrics or scrupulous remodeling. He’s one of the pack, not just another corporate suit.
And in today’s world of business, that’s refreshing.
Buzz Burrell hired ultramarathoner Anton Krupicka (pictured here) to co-design a vest for Burrell's Signature Series of vests
24 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
PRODUCT FOCUS
Hydration Runneth Over
For active lifestyle consumers on the go, quick and easy hydration for the trail, ride and work is a must.
By M.T. Elliott
Bringing water with you has never been easier, nor has collecting more along the way.
Hydration-pack brands are working with new mesh materials to add stretch and lessen loads, while the reservoirs inside will get makeovers. Filtration systems are becoming smaller, lighter and easier to clean.
It’s all to serve an increasingly mobile and active lifestyle consumer who needs their hydration on the go and on demand — fitting in weekday runs between meetings, Crossfit after work, or a bike-commute to and from the office.
At the campsite or in the backyard, drinkware has seen more imitation than innovation. Pick a portion size and it is available in steel or insulated steel from more brands than last year. The stalwart screw-top water bottles have new looks and designs on the way, and the focus here is better leak-proof and insulated lids, some even sold separately — a quick upgrade if the container is still in good shape.
Hand-FilteredWater filtration is following the compact designs of hand-held hydration.
Filter companies now offer small, soft-sided pouches that roll up around the filter mouthpiece. LifeStraw’s steel filter is as compact as they come, but requires hovering over the water source. That’s not much to ask in an emergency scenario, or even among hardcore backpackers opting for the ultimate in weight savings.
Most backpackers will still want a capture-and-carry option, and new soft-sided pouches and microfilters from Vapur or Katadyn’s BeFree can do the trick. Or at basecamp, the LifeStraw Mission employs a 5- or 12-liter roll-top pouch, which, when hung from a tree, lets gravity pull water through its carbon cartridge filter. The filter includes taps for clean and dirty water, which can be cleaned by squeezing a backflush bulb and draining the dirty water. Each filter has a lifetime of 8,000 liters.
With the wave of new products also comes a debate of how well these smaller and lighter filters perform in their primary role — keeping the user from getting sick. Not all filters are alike, and some education is slipping through the cracks, brand officials noted.
Ultra Performance The growing ranks of high-performance ultra runners are pushing for their water-carry solutions to weigh less, slosh less and breathe more. Hydration packs and vests are still settling on a sweet spot between size and weight, and as gear shrinks, so too will they. But, they can’t go too small.
LifeStraw Mission employs a 5- or 12-liter roll-top pouch, which, when hung from a tree, lets gravity pull water through its carbon cartridge filter.
Vapur Cararobbins
CLICK TO PLAY
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 25
“The Jaws 10 is a little small for ultra-events,” said Matt Kemp, Montane’s lead pack designer. “14 to 15 liters has become a perfect size for ultra-events.”
At FuelBelt, a redesign of its products made some tweaks to stabilize bottles and improve flow for the ultra-running consumer, but another big emphasis is trickling down those technologies to the run/walk crowd as well, officials said.
At CamelBak, its redesigned 100-ounce Crux reservoir has a new shape and cap, but its biggest innovation is the bump in water flow, which the brand cites as allowing 20 percent more. A new tab handle makes the reservoir easier to hold in one hand while it fills, and a new on/off valve helps prevent leakage.
And coming this winter, we’ll see more hydration options for endurance and backcountry skiers. Ultimate Direction brings its hydration designs to the slopes with its SkiMO packs, which hold much more than their minimalist running vests.
Pretty Metal VesselsThe drinkware category represents the biggest crossover item in hydration.
Insulated pint cups and metal koozies available in a rainbow of colors are filling retail shelves, and just as quickly leaving those shelves. Consumers love cold beverages, and retailers love the margins and fun items to brighten up store displays. But there are just so many. Brands are fighting to include that one extra feature that will set a product apart from the overcrowded market.
Among insulated bottles, HydroFlask’s new insulated caps are also
Montane Razor 15
leak-proof. And along with Klean Kanteen both brands have new colors and sizes. Avex added a skid-proof bottom and adjustable grips inside its insulated Lounger koozie so it can hold bottles or cans, unlike previous entries.
Work desks and car consoles are filling up with all this steel drinkware and retailers can expect to see more than the backpacking crowd searching for new mugs, cups and bottles.
Ultimate Direction Skimo 28 Backpack
CamelBak redesigned 100-ounce Crux reservoirPhoto courtesy CamelBak
26 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
INDUSTRY VOICES
How I HydrateWhat the @#$% to drink when you run 100 miles
By Don Reichelt
Don running the 2016 Bighorn Trail 100 Mile Ultra RacePhotos courtesy Don Reichelt
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 27
There’s an old saying in ultrarunning that should clue participants into the challenges ahead:
“If you’re feeling good in an ultra … don’t worry, it will pass.”A lot of things can go wrong when someone commits to running
100 miles, and even the best plans will likely go awry at some point. The best you can hope for is to create a plan that delays those issues for as long as possible. The most important aspect of that plan for me is hydration.
I’ve learned that the hard way that when I fail with my hydration, the rest of my day quickly unravels with it. Without adequate hydration I lose the desire to eat, the motivation to combat negative thinking and I drastically slow down as a result of the lack of calories and fluids.
On June 17, 2016, I toed the starting line of the Bighorn Trail 100 Mile ultra race — a rugged and mountainous track coving 100 miles through the Little Bighorn —Tongue River areas of the Bighorn National Forest with roughly 36,000 feet of elevation change. With a 34-hour time limit to finish the event, temperatures during the day were expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit during the day in the canyons, while the night would bring a polar dip into the 30s. Having had some serious dehydration issues at a 50-mile race the month prior, I knew hydration was going to make or break my performance.
Sweaty BeastLeading into the race, I relied upon a sweat test I took by Precision Hydration. The test involved a device that electrically fired up my sweat glands. I got a shocking wake-up call. I was sweating at a rate much higher than I was fueling for. I was losing approximately 1535mg of sodium per liter of sweat.
Knowing what I would face at Bighorn Trail, and on a recommendation from my coach, I turned to Skratch Labs for a new hydration strategy. Before switching to Skratch Labs, I was using an entirely liquid calorie method focused solely on calories consumed, and it was restricting my fluid and sodium intake. Making the switch away from liquid calories allowed me to focus my attention on the appropriate amount of fluids
and electrolytes my body needed to sustain an endurance run. Bonus: it allowed me to eat more tasty foods along the way!
Skratch Labs Hyper, which features an astounding 1700mg of sodium per packet, replaces all the sodium I was about to lose through sweat. As their campaign says, its “for when you’re about to spend some serious time and energy in the pain cave.”
My new strategy heading into the 100-mile race was to chug down a bottle of Hyper 30 minutes before the start of the race and then drink 32 ounces of their exercise hydration mix every hour thereafter.
Using this strategy the month leading up to race, I had some of the most successful training runs to date. I planned all of my long runs to be lap runs, so I could reload my fluids at my car every hour while relying on my Ultimate Direction vest to hold my fluids during the laps. With this new strategy, I had confidence heading into the Bighorn 100.
Let The Games BeginIt was 11:00 a.m on June 17 and the race was on.
For the first half of the race, I nailed my nutrition strategy of two bottles of Hyper per hour while running and at least one glass of water per aid station. The weatherman was right about the 100-plus degree heat and because of it, I was working in an extra bottle of Hyper every hour to replace what I was putting out. My body felt good.
Midway though the race, it was getting dark and cold when I finally picked up a pacer. For the next 34.5 miles my pacer, Leo, knew how important my hydration strategy would be, so he set his watch alarm to go off every 15 minutes. A simple reminder that no matter how much I hurt, I needed to replenish my fluids regularly.
The strategy worked well through the night but I was still hurting a bit. Fast forward a few hours and the sun was rising. The heat followed quickly — another scorching day. My mind was exhausted from running through the night (at this point I’m around mile 70), and I began to stop drinking. Leo’s alarm would sound off, and I’d only take a small sip. It wasn’t enough to keep my momentum.
Don and his pacer, Leo
Over the next hour, I stopped sweating completely (not a good sign). My skin was pale and cool to the touch. We had one big, final climb until Leo’s final stop and the last big aid station before the last 18-mile stretch to the finish line. At the aid station an EMT pulled me to discuss my lack of sweating… oh, and the sheet-white skin!
25 Hours Later…To safely finish the race, the EMT recommended that I drink 20oz of Hyper and eat a fatty snack (avocado) and gave my new pacer, Nicole, signs to watch for to keep my safe. Off we went!
Within an hour, I felt better. I was drinking fluids again and Nicole was cracking the whip. We took off down the final decent, stopping only briefly to refill water bottles at the aid stations, and passing five or six other competitors as we flew down the canyon and onto the road marking five miles to the finish. It was at this aid station that I drank a glass of beer (SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS) and committed to suffering through the final push.
Leo and my Mom rode bikes alongside Nicole and me for the last leg. And I finished 30th in 25 hours and 13 minutes!
This Big Horn 100 was a challenge for several reasons: the course was brutal, and the heat was brutal. But I found success not because of willpower or running shoes, not my pacers or the rocky track. I found
success because I had a solid plan to stay hydrated throughout the entire race. Hydration is the key to racing success.
Don Reichelt grew up in Iowa, and after graduating from University of Iowa, dabbled in triathlon, including a handful of Ironman finishes. When he made a dream move to Boulder, CO, Don began running more in the mountains and discovered his true passion for running countless miles through the backcountry.
Nicole, Don and LeoMy thumbs up was a lie. I was miserable and not sweating coming up this hill.
JULY 1, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com 29
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS BUYING GROUPS
Athletic Dealers of America1395 Highland AvenueMelbourne, FL 32935t 321.254.0091athleticdealersofamerica.com
National Shooting Sports FoundationFlintlock Ridge Office Center11 Mile Hill RoadNewtown, CT 06470t 203.426.1320 nssf.org
National Sporting Goods Association1601 Feehanville Drive I Suite 300Mount Prospect, IL 60056t 847.296.6742nsga.org
Nation’s Best Sports4216 Hahn Blvd.Ft. Worth, TX 76117t 817.788.0034nbs.com
Outdoor Industry Association4909 Pearl East Circle I Suite 300Boulder, CO 80301t 303.444.3353outdoorindustry.org
Sports & Fitness Industry Association8505 Fenton Street I Suite 211Silver Spring, MD 20910t 301.495.6321sfia.org
Snow Sports Industries America8377-B Greensboro DriveMcLean, VA 22102t 703.556.9020snowsports.org
Snowsports Merchandising Corp.235 Cadwell DriveSpringfield, MA 01104t 413.739.7331Snowsportsmerchandising.com
Sports, Inc.333 2nd Avenue NorthLewistown, MT 59457t 406.538.3496sportsinc.com
Sports Specialists Ltd.590 Fishers Station Drive I Suite 110Victor, NY 14564t 585.742.1010sportsspecialistsltd.com
Tennis Industry Association1 Corpus Christi Place I Suite 117Hilton Head Island, SC 29928t 843.686.3036tennisindustry.org
Worldwide 8211 South 194thKent, WA 98032t 253.872.8746wdi-wdi.com
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
SEPTEMBER1 Worldwide Fall Show Reno, NV
8-10 Imprinted Sportswear Show Orlando, FL
8-10 Surf Expo Orlando, FL
14-15 SFIA Industry Leaders Summit Denver, CO
21-23 Interbike Las Vegas, NV
25-28 NBS Fall Market Ft. Worth, TX
26-28 OIA Rendezvous Denver, CO
26-28 Shop.org Digital Summit 2016 Dallas, TX
OCTOBER6-8 Imprinted Sportswear Show
13-14 The Retailing Summit Dallas, TX
27-30 NASGW Annual Meeting & Expo New Orleans, LA
27-30 ADA Fall Buying Show Glendale, AZ
NOVEMBER7-11 Grassroots Fall Summit & Connect Knoxville, TN
14-16 NBS Fall Athletic Show
17-19 Athletic Business Conference & Expo Orlando, FL
20-22 Sports Inc. Fall Team Dealers Show Las Vegas, NV
29-2 The Running Event Orlando, FL
DECEMBER1-2 The Running Event Orlando, FL
JUNE9-10 Womens Running and Fitness Event Chicago, IL
13-17 Grassroots Spring Summit & Connect Albuquerque, NM
23-25 Sports Inc. Athletic Show Minneapolis, MN
JULY
13-17 IDEA World Fitness Convention Los Angeles, CA
14-17 ADA Spring Show Orlando, FL
12-15 ASA-ICAST International Fishing Expo Orlando, FL
13-16 European Outdoor Trade Fair Friedrichshafen, Germany 17-19 Project New York NY, NY
AUGUST2-4 FFANY
2 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Open Air Demo Salt Lake City, UT
3-6 Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Salt Lake City, UT
11-13 Sports Inc. Outdoor Show Minneapolis, MN
15-17 EORA Greenville Summer Show Greenville, SC
15-17 MAGIC Show Las Vegas, NV
15-17 Agenda Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV
23-25 EORA Summer Market Killington, VT
28-1 Worldwide Fall Show Reno, NV 30-2 NBS Fall Semi-Annual Market
30-4 Eurobike Friedrichshafen, Germany
29 SGBWeekly.com | JUNE 13, 2016
30 SGBWeekly.com | JULY 1, 2016
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