Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Melbourne Outlet team member Aleisha Leonard competed in the Melbourne Marathon on Sunday 14 October with her fiancée Harriet. The girls were decked out in Icebreaker from head-to-toe to complete the race in comfort! (that’s 11 pieces of Icebreaker worn between them)

After months of hard training they crossed the line in a time of 4hrs7min, under their goal of 4hrs15mins (and a 45min PB from Aleisha’s 1st marathon last year.) Aleisha was happy to be up and moving at work the next day, a much quicker recovery compared to the week of pain after completing her first marathon last year! She reported back that they used the 4+hrs to count 25 runners wearing Icebreaker tops (and one beanie) as they passed them!

“Anyone who says Icebreaker can’t be worn for exercise needs to try it.

To train for the marathon we ran 6 nights a week through the freezing Melbourne winter, through wind rain and hail! The same outfit would be worn for days before washing. I can’t imagine having to do all that training AND having to wash stinky synthetic gear every day. We did 3hr+ runs on weekends starting in the dark, sometimes runs in the midday sun… always keeping warm or cool whatever the temperature, and never stinky!

I think I’ll become a spartan (10+ Melbourne marathons) and will of course be wearing head to toe Icebreaker merino in all of them!”

Shardonnay Bliss - Melbourne Outlet Store Manager

During a 2 year partnership with the Conservation Alliance, our Portland office had a chance to participate in many events, but the one they look forward to the most is the Backyard Collective. It’s a wonderful experience to get outside and help maintain the local parks and trails that all of the team at our US headquarters use during our time away from the office.

This year our Icebreaker US team headed to Forest Park, just a few blocks from the office, to spend the morning pulling invasive ivy from the areas near the trails. It was tough work, but the team said it was really satisfying, especially when they were able to see the positive changes previous Backyard Collective efforts have made on the surrounding areas. It’s a constant battle to remove the non-native plant that destroys trees, but thanks to the folks at the Conservation Alliance and the Forest Park Conservancy, the battle is being won – as of May, 33 acres of the park were declared free of invasive plants!

The team had a great time working with their fellow Conservation Alliance members (and neighbours) Keen, Columbia, REI, and Merrell and they can’t wait for the next Backyard Collective!

A couple of weekends ago, a few of us from the US office and our Woodburn outlet took part in our first Spartan Race. For those of you unfamiliar with Spartan, they’re a series of races that range from a 3+mile Sprint with obstacles, to a 48-hour Death Race that only 10% of participants finish. We opted for the Sprint.

As our team drove the winding roads to Washougal, WA, we were all looking forward to the race, but there was a certain amount of dread mixed in with our anticipation. Our fear was based on the Spartan’s waiver, which very clearly lays out the fact that you may die. In fact, that’s the URL of the Death Race – www.youmaydie.com! I usually just skim the standard run waiver, but then most waivers don’t mention the fact that you could suffer “animal bites or scratches.” I read every last line of that Spartan waiver. A few times. Many of us are experienced runners and have participated in mud runs before, but this was no normal mud run. We knew next to nothing about the course, but based on the videos we watched, we expected ourselves to be challenged both physically and mentally.

And those expectations were correct! The race started off with a rousing speech from a Spartan, and then, to the strains of The Dropkick Murphy’s “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” we were off! Now I’m not going to ruin the Spartan for those of you crazy enough to try one, so I’ll skip the detailed description of each obstacle. Let’s just say you will get a chance to lift and carry heavy objects, climb walls and ropes, run through the woods, and get so muddy that even after multiple showers, days later, you’re still a little dirty. You will crawl under hundreds of yards of barbed wire, sometimes uphill (probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done).  And you will do lots and lots of burpees.  If you like burpees, which are the official penalty exercise of the Spartan (30 for each failed obstacle, 200, yes that’s right, 200, for dropping out of the uphill barbed wire crawl), then you will love this race!

Immediately after the race, shaking and covered in mud and blood from my damaged knees and elbows, I could only think of rest and relaxation. But now, a few days removed from the race, I’m already planning for next years’ race. I think I may even do a few burpees this evening.

Matt Hazel, US Marketing Coordinator