TRE 2015 Recap

Every year, The Running Event comes to Austin, Texas to showcase the newest shoes, apparel, products, and snacks in the world of running. Big brands like Nike and Under Armour to bootstrapped newcomers gather to show off everything that has yet to hit store shelves. This exclusive event, open only to media and buyers, is such a tease because very few products are available for purchase. However, the AFM team put together a composite of our favorite items so you can look forward to finding them in the spring and fall of 2016.

Dr. Cool Wraps and Chilling Towels

There's cool and then there's cool. In Austin, we spend most of our time trying to be both. On those hot days with no reprieve in sight, the all-new Dr. Cool Chill Sport Cooling Towel could be the ultimate solution for a long-lasting cooling effect during or after a tough session of training. It's perfect for runners, CrossFitters, and those who work and play outdoors. Manufactured by Coolcore, the global leader in thermoregulation fabrics, the Cooling Towel and other

Dr. Cool products are also lightweight and easy to transport in gym bags, suitcases and even purses. 

Simply wet the towel, wring it out, and place it around your neck or other points that need some heat relief and prepare to have your core cooled instantaneously! There's also have a line of ankle and wrist wraps that are easily stored in a freezer, giving both compression and cooling for 30–40 minutes at a time. No more clunky ice packs or smelly old bags of peas. The Dr. Cool towels and wraps are reusable, flexible, and incredibly versatile. 

This innovative and light product also just received an award for “Best Innovation for Sports and Outdoor Apparel” from the ITMA Future Materials Awards, so in addition to keeping you cool, it's also officially one heck of a cool product! 

Run Gum

Are you constantly on the run both literally and figuratively? 

Concepted and created by 2008 and 2012 Olympian, Nick Symmonds, Run Gum seeks to give athletes a quick and convenient competitive edge with a proprietary formula of stimulants that include caffeine, taurine and B vitamins. Nick and Co-Founder, Coach Sam Lapray, discovered that utilizing chewing gum as a vehicle for stimulants to the human body allowed for faster uptake through sublingual absorption. Furthermore, this lightweight, convenient, zero calorie option would allow an athlete to run free without the unwanted liquids around in the stomachs. Truly, the smarter caffeine kick had been found and consumers now get to try it in three different flavors: mint, fruit and the all-new cinnamon flavor!

Chew and Go! It's that easy. Just five minutes of chewing run gum is all it takes to maximize your performance. What’s even better is that five cents of every pack sold goes to sponsor professional athletes. 

Diadora

The Italian athletic wear brand has revamped its line to stand out in 2016. Their latest innovations include a reversible windstopper jacket with lycra inserts and an aluminum isothermal layer, along with new running shoes designed with a Michelin special compound to keep you stable on slickest terrain.

Pearl Izumi

Nearly the entire staff was impressed with the new apparel by Pearl Izumi. We were fascinated by their new maximalist running shoe line. One of their trail shoes actually contains a plate under the ball/sole of your foot, providing more protection from rocks and rougher elements. Trail N3 shoe available in March 2016.

They’ve also refreshed their designs, with careful consideration to preserve functionality while maintaining a look that veers in the direction of the lifestyle/athleisure trend. 

Sport Suds

Our normal name brand detergent more or less masks and clumps up the masking agents in detergent on our clothes and consequently our lightweight athletic wear becomes heavier. Sports Suds removes that and actually keeps your clothes fresher longer after use.

All Sport Suds products are readily biodegradable, non-toxic, hypoallergenic, and fragrance free. The detergent removes the deepest dirt and odors without compromising the integrity of your clothes’ material.

ZR8 Zero Runner

When you live in a glorious city like Austin, where the weather draws you outdoors year-round, it’s a no-brainer to choose a running trail over a treadmill. However, the Zero Runner is a machine that could be a game-changer. 

One of the most exciting breakthroughs resulting from this creative engineering is that the Zero Runner has found a way to let you enjoy the exercise of running without the high-impact that often leads to injuries. That’s right. If you’ve been out of the running game because your knees ache in the first mile, this could be the machine that brings you out of retirement. 

It feels strange at first (partially because there’s no motor propelling you), and takes a few minutes to find your stride, but once you’re in motion it feels like running on air.