Icebreaker - Pure Merino

Due to the success of ‘Team Ariki in the 2010 edition of the Hood to Coast relay race, we are back running this weekend for our second attempt at claiming glory.  Last year we were the third placed team overall so gained automatic entry into a race that often has to turn away close to 1,000 teams.  If Bob Foote the founder of Hood to Coast is to be believed, the secret of our success last year was the Portland beer and girls.

The Hood to Coast is a 197 mile running relay race with over a thousand teams competing.  The race is based around the city and surrounding areas of Portland in the United States.  The race starts half way up Mount Hood and finishes on the coast at Seaside.  Each team has 12 runners and these runners complete 3 legs each.  The relay see us run over a variety of terrains, weather conditions and times of day, which will once again test us both mentally and physically.

Our team is made up of runners who specialise in variety of distances ranging from 800m to marathons.  Most of us have run for the Ariki Club which is based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand (close to the birth place of Icebreaker) during our running careers. Due to us being a New Zealand team, Icebreaker felt it was only right that we wear their merino.  Team Ariki is honoured to be supplied by Icebreaker, there is a compelling logic to this combination/partnership as Icebreaker will be represented at the worlds largest relay by a group of first class runners from the same region, equally hardy and resilient as the raw materials from Icebreaker’s products.  We are determined to perform well for both Icebreaker and our supporters back home.

- Alastair Chisnall, Team Ariki Captain

Running a relay race from Montreal to New York City is no picnic, but a group of Icebreaker-sponsored athletes recently met this awesome challenge.

Our Montreal Touch_Lab_ sponsored 10 athletes and two coaches from ‘Esprit de Corps’ to compete in the 617k race. The relay involved running 10k six times, which was especially tough for those athletes who hadn’t done any endurance running before.

Sonia Laboursodiere, a member of group, feared her injuries would prevent her from running her part of the relay.  Despite thinking that the race was “a bit insane”, Sonia decided to go ahead to prove to her four sons “that when you really want something in life, you can achieve it”.

It was a hard slog, but Sonia and her fellow runners successfully completed the race in about 65 hours. All the athletes were running to raise funds for a summer camp for underprivileged children.

“Life sometimes bringing us at a point where we need to make a decision about what we want to accomplish.  This challenge has made me realize that I am able to do more than I thought,” says Sonia.

“I feel much strong and more confident than I did before the race.”

The team all wore Icebreaker_GT tops and caps. Later, they said the fit and style of their Velocity Crewe tops were amazing, very comfortable, and didn’t stink.

Rejean Roussy – Montreal Touch_Lab Manager