starting lines , continued
Flywire, ice vests, rice husks, and HydroFlow highlight
Olympic running gear in Beijing.
W
hen the world’s best track
& field athletes line up in
Beijing for the Olympics, the
gear worn will be among the
lightest, most durable, and breathable
pieces of equipment designed for the hot
and humid conditions they’ll encounter.
Some of its sounds exotic, and maybe it
is, but you may be wearing some of this
stuff for your local 5K as well before too
long!
For the major manufacturers, the
Olympics are the ultimate stage to test
and showcase their product to the world.
Nike enters Beijing with Flywire
technology on the uppers of its shoes for
its athletes.
Flywire is a series of high-strength
threads made of Vectan, a material
stronger than Kevlar, that work like ca-
bles on a suspension bridge with support
engineered precisely where a foot needs
it. Flywire spikes are under 100g—a
weight never before achieved—without
compromising on durability or integrity
and support.
The custom made Nike spikes Michael
12 N o r t h w e s t R u nn e r SE P T 2 0 0 8
The author (right) and
Johnson wore to win two
a company rep show off
gold medals in Atlanta
the new Beijing-special
weighed 112 grams. Two dis-
cooling vests.
tance spikes for the Olympics
available to the public late
this year—the Zoom Vic-
tory for the 800 meter and
1500 meter, and the Zoom
Matumbo for the 5000 meter
and 10,000 meter—weigh
around 95 grams!
Flywire technology will be
used in marathoner Dathan
Ritzenhein’s racing flats, and
shoes for a variety of Olym-
pic sports.
Besides Flywire, most U.S.
Olympic team members,
irregardless of sponsorship
deals, will be issued Nike-
designed cooling vests, made
of recycled shoe components.
Think of a runner insulated
like a thermos; this vest,
filled with water and frozen
the night before, then worn
one hour before competition,
helps athletes keep their core body tem-
peratures down during their warm-up.
American marathoners Deena Kastor
and Ryan Hall are turning to ground
rice husks for traction through the
streets of Beijing, which include slightly
wet surfaces approaching water and
misting stations, marble-like roads dur-
ing a four-mile stretch of the marathon
course, and slick concrete and asphalt
surfaces caused by humidity.
Asics will mix rice husks on its rubber
outsoles, based on technology used by
Japanese tire makers to prevent sliding
during winter driving. If a husk becomes
dislodged, the resulting tiny crater sucks
up water and provides a reliable grip on
the road surface.
Hall and Kastor’s shoes are designed
by Asics craftsman Hitoshi Mimura,
the mastermind behind the footwear
worn by Naoko Takahashi (Sydney) and
Mizuki Noguchi (Athens) of Japan and
Stefano Baldini of Italy (Athens) to win
three of the four Olympic marathon
titles this century.
Mimura said that the rice-husk soles
will be combined with a polyester upper
layer for ventilation while resisting dust
or sand that could irritate a runner’s
feet. “Samurai cannot fight without their
swords,” Mimura said. “It is the same for
Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce
1-800-4CHELAN, www.LakeChelan.com
runners and their shoes.”
A locally-designed racing shoe will
play a role in the success of Brian Sell in
the Olympic marathon, as our own local
shoe company, Bothell-based Brooks,
updates its highly successful T5 rac-
ing shoe for Beijing.
Brooks’ sports marketing man-
ager Jesse Williams
said that Sell’s
not too picky
with the shoes
he wears, other
than the third
place finisher at
last November’s
Olympic Trials
likes to race with-
out socks.
Brooks improved the
sockliner, kept the highly success-
ful HydroFlow cushioning system intact,
eliminated forefoot seams, and used The Brooks T5 racing shoe has been
more mesh to account for the humidity, upgraded for the Olympics
while making the shoe lighter than the Marathon.
current 5.9 ounces in the T5 shoe.
To honor Sell’s club, the Hansons- American flag and nickname—“Sell-
Brooks Distance Project, the shoe is bo”—on the tongue.
trimmed with black and gold (“the gold This shoe, which Brooks will name the
signifies what the goal of every athlete T6 Racer, will be available to the public
competing at the Olympics are,” said next spring.
Williams), and Sell’s shoes will have an —Paul Merca
Lake Chelan • Shore-To-Shore Runs • Sept. 20, 2008
This certified marathon course is among the most scenic in Washington.
The course is predominantly flat and rolling with two half mile inclines
in the full marathon.
E-mail events@lakechelan.com www.runlakechelan.com
www.lakechelan.com • Phone (509) 682-3503 or
1-800-4CHELAN
Online Registration: www.active.com
Proceeds to benefit
Lake Chelan Community Enrichment Fund
SE P T 2 0 0 8 N o r t h w e s t R u nn e r 13