THE BROOKS BLOG

Former Hansons-Brooks runners Nick Cordes and Leigh Daniel, now Brooks athletes, are racing three other couples to the altar on NBC’s “TODAY Throws a Wedding.”

You can help them win their dream wedding by voting for them: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30370935/. But hurry, voting ends Friday!

One online vote not enough to convey your best wishes for Nick and Leigh? Text the number 4 to 46833. Standard text messaging rates apply.

A quick recap of our very fun Run Happy® Place Promotion, which happily and successfully concluded on March 31, 2009.

There were 152,196 online entries in the running for a chance to win Brooks’ awesome Run Happy® Place—a Modern Cabana outfitted with treadmill, flat-screen HDTV, stereo system, and water cooler. And, while there were daily random prize winners of Brooks gear and other nifty schwag, only one person won the big enchilada.

Congratulations Barbara G., Jacksonville, FL, the Grand Prize Winner of our Run Happy® Place Promotion! We imagine she’s definitely running very happy these days.

Running shops and other U.S. specialty retailers who sell Brooks shoes and apparel were eligible to enter our Run Happy® Display Contest in March.

The Columbus Running Company of Columbus, OH, was named Grand Prize Winner for its video and song. Their prize? A brand-new treadmill for the store. Congratulations!

The Display Contest had two First Place Winners: Luke’s Locker of Plano, TX, pictured above; and Fleet Feet Nashville in Nashville, TN, pictured below. Each store won Tienkin II Jackets for everyone on its staff.

Finally, The Running Center of Tampa, FL, was the winner of the Bonus Code Retail Store Contest. A grand total of 66,656 store bonus codes were redeemed online. The Running Center led the way with 1,743 online bonus codes redemptions.

Congratulations to all for helping to spread the Run Happy® in March.

Thanks to everyone who entered our impromptu #Run_Happy® contest on Twitter yesterday. We asked runners to tell us “What Makes You Run Happy®?” The prize? A limited-edition Run Happy® Mesh Cap to the top four entries—as deemed by our panel of judges. As you will see, it was tough to pick just four. Congratulations to all of the winners! Each is definitely worth following on Twitter, as are we: @brooksrunning.

The Top 3 Vote-Winning Run Happy® Tweets (Winners 1-3):

@amlemus: #Run_Happy is finding peace on a 10 miler when your world is in chaos. That and eating pizza whenever I want.

@TheHappyRunner: #Run_Happy — Just getting outside and running hard, enjoying what my body is capable of, makes me happy!

@disneyrunner: I run because every stride I can take , like every breath and every day, is a gift not to be wasted

A 3-Way Tie for Run Happy® Tweet Winner 4:

@jeherv: when all the pain goes away and it’s just me and the street and that wonderful feeling of moving

@jboeve: #Run_Happy Running in the Dunes until I get lost. Running until I find my way back is one of the most empowering things I do.

@mitchmajeski: #Run_Happy “Lazy Me” lives on a path of least resistance. When I run, he loses & that makes me happy

A Trio of Run Happy® Tweet Honorable Mentions:

@ahanu: min or miles gritting your teeth in antic of moment all pain ebbs & reach perfect stride and u feel u can accomplish anything

@mudsweatbeers: The moment when feet that’ve been pounding in a slowly-building rhythm suddenly… disappear. Http://bit.ly/UV2EA

@npjohnson: I’m not giving birth this year so I decided to train for a half marathon.

Winners and Honorable Mentions need to send or DM me their name and shipping address. Your cap should arrive within 2-3 weeks (probably sooner).

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.)

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 just launched its coolest contest yet — Win Your Run Happy Place!

The grand prize: a 10×12 foot cabana, built in your backyard, that includes a ProForm Treadmill, Samsung 40” LCD Flat Panel HDTV, Samsung Home Theater Stereo System, Avanti Water Cooler/Dispenser, and 25 gallons of water!

Lots of other cool stuff, like Brooks shoes, hats, swag bags, and more are being given away every day. Go to http://www.runhappyplace.com/ for full details and to enter.

Contest runs March 1, 2009 to March 31, 2009 - and you can enter to win once each day.

Good luck!

It was a great weekend in Landover, MD for high school running! Brooks is the official footwear and apparel sponsor of the Maryland Indoor Track & Field Championships and we are always looking for fun and exciting ways to reward these outstanding individuals.

This year www.flotrack.org came to town to cover the meet and also launched our new “mugshot’ contest. Check out http://www.flotrack.org/brooks/mug_shot_view_photo/258861

We also had a graphic artist at the event to “tag” Brooks Podium shirts for a few lucky athletes!  See you at in Baltimore for the Outdoor Championships!  Check out all meet footage-  http://www.flotrack.org/videos/coverage/view/234514-maryland-state-indoor-champs

Now that December has just started it’s time for another round of Brooks Run Happy Prize Challenges! Log your workouts in December, and you’re eligible to win prizes like free Brooks running shoes, NightLife gear, and more! Prizes go to the most miles run, the most calories burned, the most hours exercised…. plus random weekly prizes to anybody who logs a workout.

Run Happy!

Hey, Brooks fans: we’re psyched to announce the launch of the new Brooks Run Happy Group!

Working with our friends over at Seattle-based fitness community site Sweat365, we’ve created the Brooks Run Happy Group as a place where you can connect with other runners and Brooks fans, blog about what makes you Run Happy, easily track your workouts, and join challenges for prizes!

Starting tomorrow (November 1), we’ll be offering monthly prizes of Brooks running shoes and apparel for the most miles run, the most calories burned, and the most hours exercised. (Yes, you’re on the honor system. But as Marion Jones reminded us on Oprah yesterday, cheaters never win!)

We hope you join us, and let us know what else you’d like to see. We’ll be launching more features and fun stuff soon.

Run Happy!