Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Last Saturday, on one of the sunniest days of the year, the very first Icebreaker Dragon Boat team hit the Wellington Harbour to compete in the NZCT Dragon Boat Festival.  Dressed in their green IcebreakerGT Tees, they redefined what it meant to stand out in the crowd.

Consistency was their strongest asset – placing THIRD out of five in all five races – always within a metre or, in the case of the Social Grand Final, 0.03 secs of the top placing teams. Not only did their crew improve in each race, but they shaved seconds off their personal best time too. Beating Piri Weepu (an All Black) in a race was a highlight also.

As a virgin team, up against corporate teams with 10 years or more to boast in the sport, Team Icebreaker did (to quote Trevor our IS Manager), ‘Bloody well.’ Bronze medals now line respective mantelpieces and the team is already dreaming of next year.

From the Icebreaker Dragon Boating 2011 Crew, we hope you will join us next year!

My name is Alex Asher and many people think I’m a little crazy running near 2,400km of road, rock and sand around the entire east coast of New Zealand’s North Island this summer, but it will be a hell of a good adventure.

I am starting this December and running an average of 40km a day, 6 days a week, which will take me almost 2 1/2 months to get around the coast.  Fortunately, I have a fantastic tag team of friends and family to support me along the way that will pass some stunning parts of NZ such as North Cape, Coromandel Peninsula, swimming Waitamata harbour, East Cape and running through friendly farms on the Wairarapa coast.

I’ve got to come clear: I was lucky enough to work with Icebreaker over the last 4 years – so I know the company inside and out.  One of my favourite stories about Icebreaker is that i’ve run, tramped and played hard in Icebreaker socks during that entire time and have never had a blister.  I look forward to putting them through a real wear test this summer, and I’ll be wearing some of the new IcebreakerGT range along the way too!

Now with this challenge only 2 weeks away, I am rounding off my intense training to focus on my cause.  I am running to raise awareness to protect our unique coastlines and oceans from unsustainable fishing practices, pollution and plastic; threats that I noticed especially after spending some time overseas.  That is why I am supporting and raising money for two fantastic homegrown charities that work hard to keep our coastlines and oceans alive and healthy: Sustainable Coastlines and NZ Forest & Bird.

I hope to keep you updated, not only on the Icebreaker blog, but also through my website and facebook site: www.capetostrait.org.nz

Here you can keep an eye on my progress and help me: donate, become of member, choose sustainably caught fish and stop that next piece of rubbish on the ground from reaching the sea.  Go on…I dare ya!

10/10/10 marked the date for many Marathons across the world, including the Portland Marathon in Portland, OR- home of the US Icebreaker office. It was also my first Marathon and one of the rainiest days of the last few months in Portland! I’ve been training for 4 months (through the heat of the Summer), so the weather was definitely not something I was prepared for. But as a native Oregonian, I sucked it up and braved the weather along 15,000 other runners!

The last thing you want to worry about during a Marathon is what you’re wearing, so luckily for me I was outfitted almost head to toe in Icebreaker – the most effortless and breathable clothing in the world! I started out the race wearing Icebreaker GT150 Dash Tank, an IcebreakerGT200 LS Chase Zip, waterproof shell, leggings and Icebreaker Run Ultralite Lowcut Socks. About 2 miles in, I had to shed my waterproof shell because it was so un-breathable and trapped all the heat underneath. That left me with the Dash Tank and Chase Zip as my main layers and they kept me the perfect temperature for all 26.2 miles! It was truly amazing. Despite being soaked to the bone by the end of the race, by body temperature stayed comfortable – not too cold, not too hot.

It helped so much to have a group of amazing supporters along the way, including friends, family and Icebreaker co-workers cheering me on. Halina Fuller, Icebreaker Graphic Developer, ran the race too and we ran most of the way together. It was great to have her there throughout the race as well as a support and training partner for the last few months.

I can’t wait for my next big race, Hood to Coast in August 2011. Plus, Icebreaker’s Run collection will be available then in the US, with so many cool, new run styles to choose from.

Click here to view a video montage of Portland Marathon. You’ll see a clip of my family holding up a sign “Go Emily” about halfway through and me running by.

- Emily Schumacher, Icebreaker eCom Consumer Fulfillment Coordinator