Happy Rainbow

With Yimei & Alvin

Invitation: A couple of days ago, my running buddy, Yimei, got me an invitation to join a presentation to launch “Blog with Brooks” contest held at the Curve, Damansara. Since it involved two of my favourite past-times of running & blogging, I accepted the invitation out of curiosity. On hindsight, I was glad I did go because it gave me a chance to catch-up with some of my running buddies during tea-break. My reputation seemed to have superceded me because a couple of my friends did ask me, “Did you cycle here?”.

BROOKS Vision & Mission: Headed by the affable, Mr. Chia, the friendly staff at Brooks Malaysia gave us, the 20 over bloggers, a presentation on Brooks Mission/Vision & the mechanics of the “Blog with Brooks” contest which will run from 1st to 30th September 2012.

An Overview of BROOKS Business: BROOKS worldwide is a USD200 million business with the USA and the International market split being 53% & 47% respectively. BROOKS started to specialise only in running shoes since the 1980’s and their business has grown steadily year-to-year since 2002. Today,  they have surpassed ASICS as USA leadingsupplier of running shoes.

BROOKS current and future success hinges significantly on their following key principles:- (1) Give the consumers what they want such as a wide range of shoe choice; shoes with better feel to cater for the minimalists; shoes with plenty of padding for a floating run (a gel which BROOKS call DNA); shoes with less protection (giving more freedom) or more protection depending on a runner’s feet arches. (2) Promote Running Happy by giving every kind of runner a perfect stride for every ride. (3) Go Green by making shoes 50 times more biodegradable using their MOGO technology. Normal shoes would take 1,000 years to degrade in an active landfill but with MOGO, it takes shoes only 20 years to breakdown. The best part is that BROOKS is actually sharing their MOGO Technology with their competitors for the sake of the environment.

MY VERDICT: On the one hand, it’s great to have a gazillion type of shoes to cater for every different kind of stride, terrain, feel, and taste. On the other hand, too many choices can make shoe buying a very complex decision, especially for the newbies. Many newcomers to running end-up playing it safe and buying a pair of well-known household brands such as ADIDAS or NIKE for their first pair. However, like a friend of mine found-out the hard way, the wrong kind of running shoe, no matter how good the brand is, can lead to serious injuries. To be fair, we, runners, never know whether a new and untried pair of shoes are the right ones until we hit the tracks with them on. Hopefully, before long, I can get my hands on a pair of BROOKS to “test-drive” and feel the difference for myself.

For more information on Brooks shoes, CLICK HERE.