THE BROOKS BLOG

Hey Runners/Brooks Enthusiasts!

You can now follow Brooks (@brooksrunning) on Twitter. In 140 characters or less, we’ll update you on Brooks happenings and events–or maybe just send you kudos for a good run, a new PR, or wish you good luck on an upcoming race. Twt 2 u l8r.

Don’t miss your last chance to enter (and possibly win) Brooks’ Run Happy Place Contest! The contest ends Tuesday, March 31 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.

What, exactly, are you winning? Awesome prizes, dude! A super cool Modern Cabana structure filled with a ProForm treadmill, a Samsung 40″ Flat Panel LCD TV, a home theater stereo system–even a water cooler. Eyeball all of it right here.

Even if you don’t win the Grand Prize, you might win one of our daily prizes. So get on it! Go running, then come back and enter the contest. What do you have to lose? (Answer: Nothing.)

The award-winning infiniti 2

Go, Brooks! We recently learned we won two awards from Shape magazine:

• The Infiniti 2 won the “Best for Distance” Award in the Spring 2009 shoe guide. Shape’s bi-annual Shoe Award selection process uses 260+ women who test shoes from 20 athletic companies in the running, trail running, walking, and training categories.

• Brooks, the brand, won a 2009 Green Living Award for the Trance™ 8. New for 2009, the Shape Green Living Award honors people, places, companies, and products that successfully blend fashion and practicality with eco-friendliness.

As you probably already know, the Trance™ 8 is no longer the only shoe with Brooks’ biodegradable BioMoGo midsole. BioMoGo is now also available in the Adrenaline™ GTS 9, Glycerin® 7, Cascadia 4, and the above-named Infiniti 2.

Both distinctions appear in the popular women’s fitness magazine’s April issue, on newsstands NOW!

Hip, hip, hooray! For the second year in a row, the Brooks Cascadia 4 won “Editor’s Choice” Award in Runner’s World’s Spring 2009 Trail Shoe Guide! The Cascadia 4 received best overall marks after rigorous testing by Runner’s World editors and wear-testers, and being flexed, pounded and prodded at their independent Shoe Lab testing facility.

What makes this shoe so great?

The secret sauce is that the Cascadia 4 is a pure trail running shoe designed from the ground up. Neither a stripped-down hiking shoe nor a glorified road shoe, it combines the best attributes of both. Using our “pivot post construction,” the Cascadia 4 adjusts to undulation in terrain which allows the foot to stay neutral on a multitude of surfaces. Runner’s World also summed it up by saying “The Cascadia offers dependable traction for technical trails, yet is cushy enough so that running short distances on roads won’t beat up your legs.”

This latest version of the Cascadia 4 also offers an assymetrical lacing system (which allows the overlays in the forefoot to be relaxed for wider feet, or snugged up tighter for narrower feet), as well as Brooks’ biodegradable midsole BioMoGo.

The Cascadia 4 is geared for neutral runners with biomechanically efficient strides. Stabilty-seeking trail runners should check out the Brooks Adrenaline ASR 5.

Now go hit the trails!

Congratulations to Brooks I.D. athlete Diane Groff, who won two divisions at the competitive 3K Snowshoe race at the Romp to Stomp Breast Cancer event on March 7th in Frisco, Colorado! Diane won both the survivor division, (by several minutes) and the 50+ age division (by three seconds).

Among other accomplishments, Diane is a two-time cancer survivor and a 46 minute 10K runner. She was named “Most Inspirational Colorado Female Athlete” of 2007 by the Sportswomen of Colorado… and overall kicks some major booty.

While on her latest adventure Diane wore the new Brooks Cascadia 4 trail shoes and the Brooks for Her Hat. (A portion of sales from the Brooks for Her Hat goes to support breast-cancer related causes, see www.brooksrunning.com/bfh for more information.)

Great work Diane!

Diane Groff

Caught in their Run Happy onesies, young Natalie and Kate were recently identified as Brooks’ Youngest Fans!

Besides taking care of very cute babies, their moms Dawn and Jenni keep Brooks’ Customer Service department humming by day. No word on how they got their hands on those cool onesies, but apparently they have the inside track.

From March 7 to 14, 2009, buy any Brooks shoe (Men’s/Women’s/Kid’s) and receive a free Run Happy® Mesh Hat absolutely free—while supplies last. See details.

Run Happy!

Enter the Brooks “Win Your Run Happy® Place” Promotion today for a chance to win the grand prize (a decked out cabana filled with cool running stuff) as well as today’s random prize: one of 5 Run Happy “Swag Bags” which include a cool Run Happy® Hat, water bottle, magnets and a tote bag.

Enter every day till March 31 for a chance to win the daily prize, and for another entry to win the grand prize!

Brooks is excited to announce the Brooks For Her apparel collection!

Containing seven snazzy pieces of cause-conscious running gear, Brooks For Her was created to help support the fight against breast cancer. For each BFH piece purchased from March through December 2009, Brooks will donate 6.25% of the suggested retail price to three organizations that research and support those affected by breast cancer: The Young Survival Coalition, Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation, and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, earmarked for breast cancer research.

Even cooler? Your vote at www.brooksrunning.com/bfh between March 1, and December 31, 2009, determines how much of the total donation each group gets. No purchase necessary to vote.