Epix Gear Expands Into Performance Tri Wear

By Steve | Published: February 3, 2010

Based in South Carolina, Epix Gear designs and produces cycling, triathlon, and running apparel. The company is developing a strong brand image as a provider of custom teamwear, and is now entering the retail apparel market. Epix is the official apparel sponsor of the Setup Events Triathlon Series, and also sponsors a team of amateur athletes in Xterra off-road triathlons.

mens-performance-2-piece webUntil now, Epix has focused on niche products which feature unique designs, such as a full sublimation-printed triathlon “muscle suit”, as well as custom-designed teamwear. Epix outfits collegiate teams such as USC Gamecock Cycling, and Texas A&M Triathlon Team (one of the largest collegiate teams in the US), as well as numerous amateur clubs.

”Fueled by the increasing popularity of triathlon, we have seen strong growth over the past 2 years and have decided to enter into the retail apparel market” says Jarek Barc- company founder. “Our goal is to bring cutting-edge design and high-end materials at a reasonable price, and I believe we have achieved that in our 2010 Performance Tri Apparel line.”  The new products feature large, moisture-wicking panels and a medical-grade anti-microbial, tri-specific chamois.

Epix products are currently available for sale online through their web site (www.epixgear.com) and will soon be available in retailers.

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Inside Vancouver

By Steve | Published: February 1, 2010

I found this little diddy and thought it was interesting.

In the final days before the 2010 Olympic Winter Games begin, we’re taking you behind the scenes to show you what’s up in Vancouver. From fun facts to athletes to watch, we’ve got everything you’ll need to enjoy the action in February!

By the Numbers

* 80+ countries, approximately 2,500 total athletes, including about 220 U.S. athletes.
* 7 sports and 86 medal events will be contested in 4 locations: Vancouver, Whistler, Richmond and West Vancouver, at 9 venues.
* Heavy Medals: More than 600 gold, silver and bronze medals have been cast. Each one weighs over 1 pound and no 2 are alike.
* Green Games: An estimated 85% of waste from the Olympic Games will be diverted from landfills and reused, recycled or converted to energy.
* Carrying a Torch: The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is the longest relay ever held within the borders of the host country. The Olympic Flame is visiting more than 1,000 communities as 12,000 torchbearers carry it on its nearly 28,000-mile journey.
* B.C. Hosts: The 2010 Olympic Winter Games are the 1st held by the province of British Columbia.
* Current Events: Ski cross was added as a winter sport to be contested for the 1st time at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
* Medal Count: At the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, the U.S. Olympic Team won a total of 25 medals: 9 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze.
* Curling First: The relatively unknown sport of curling saw its 1st U.S. medal in 2006 when Pete Fenson led his team to bronze in Torino.
* Duality: The 2 official languages of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games are English and French – also the 2 official languages of the International Olympic Committee.
* Reduced Rink: The hockey rink at Canada Hockey Place will be the first National Hockey League-sized rink used in Olympic competition, measuring at 200 feet × 85 feet, as opposed to the international size of 200 feet × 98.5 feet.
* First and Last: The 1st medals won at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be awarded in men’s ski jumping on February 13. The last will be handed out in men’s hockey on February 28.

About the Host City:

Vancouver is the third largest Canadian city, after Toronto and Montreal, and the largest port city on the North American West Coast. The city is surrounded by water on three sides, and the mountains of the Coast Mountain Range. Vancouver has the mildest winters of any Olympic host city, but has ample snowfall at its Olympic ski venues Whistler Mountain and Cypress Mountain. The city was selected Host City for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games by a vote of the International Olympic Committee in July 2003, winning by three votes.

Vancouver Venues:

Canada Hockey Place
Sports Contested: Ice hockey
Venue Capacity: 19,300

Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre
Sports Contested: Curling
Venue Capacity: 5,600

The Pacific Coliseum
Sports Contested: Figure skating, short track speedskating
Venue Capacity: 14,200

The University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbird Arena
Sports Contested: Ice hockey
Venue Capacity: 6,800

Whistler Sliding Centre
Sports Contested: Luge, bobsled, skeleton
Venue Capacity: 12,000

Whistler Creekside
Sports Contested: Alpine skiing
Venue Capacity: 7,700

Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park
Sports Contested: Biathlon, cross-country skiing, nordic combined, ski jumping
Venue Capacity: 12,000 in each of three stadiums

Richmond Olympic Oval
Sports Contested: Speedskating
Venue Capacity: 7,600

Cypress Mountain
Sports Contested: Freestyle skiing, snowboarding
Venue Capacity: 12,000

BC Place
Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies
Venue Capacity: 55,000

Athletes to Watch:

Lindsey Vonn
After a horrific crash during a practice run at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, Lindsey Vonn checked herself out of the hospital to race in her events, showing a pluck and grit that won her the Olympic Spirit award. Vonn, the most successful American woman skier in World Cup history, has added quite a few titles in the intervening years: two-time World Cup overall winner (2008 and 2009) and two-time World Championship gold medalist.

Shaun White
Coming off of an Olympic gold medal in 2006, the spotlight continued to shine on Shaun White. He shredded through the 2007 season taking podiums across the world, claiming snowboarding’s highest honors in 2007 with victories at the Winter X Games (superpipe), as well as the Burton Global Open Championship and the TTR Tour Championship. With another sweeping performance at the 2009 Winter X Games, he added two more gold medals to his pile in superpipe and slopestyle.

Apolo Anton Ohno
Apolo Anton Ohno is one of the most recognizable current American winter Olympians and perhaps of all time, thanks in part to his trademark soul patch, his victory on the television show Dancing with the Stars and, most importantly, his Olympic pedigree. Ohno is expected to add to his stash of medals from the last two Olympic Winter Games (five total) as he leads a strong U.S. Short Track Speedskating Team. He has won an Olympic medal in every distance, and with one more medal, he will join Bonnie Blair as the most decorated winter Olympians in U.S. history.

Erin Hamlin
Three years after finishing 12th in women’s singles in Torino, Erin Hamlin showed the German-dominated world of luge that she was just warming up. At the 2009 World Luge Championships in Lake Placid, N.Y., she won the gold medal in the women’s singles event – the first time in 99 international competitions that a German woman didn’t take home gold. Her gold medal was also the first won by an American female luger at the World Championship level.

Want to tune into your favorite events of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games? You’ll find a detailed schedule of all the competitions here. Enjoy the drama and the excitement as you cheer on your favorite team. Go USA!

Source – 2010 UNITED STATES OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

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We Remember

By Steve | Published: January 30, 2010

It is January 30th, and today marks the 8th year of the tragic killing of Upper Darby Police Officer Dennis McNamara. This year, Dennis was again remembered with a brief memorial service at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill PA. Of course we had to stop by and we saw the usual faces….cop friends, detective buddies, local politicians, a reporter that we have become friendly with, and of course Dennis’ widow and two kids were all there not to mourn, but to remember, embrace, and celebrate a life.

The below poem was read today and although I have seen it before, it seemed to resonate a little deeper and louder with me today. I like this poem. I like the message. I think all of the things that I have been talking about for the last several years are nicely summarized in these words. So, I am passing it along.

You can also click HERE to see more of my thoughts on Officer Dennis McNamara, the father, the husband, the cop, and the hero.

IF

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on”;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man my son!

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TriTown USA Launches Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon

By Steve | Published: January 29, 2010

Sunday, June 20, 2010 Race in the Nation’s Capital Features Sprint and Olympic Distance Courses; Registration Opens February 1st

dctriWASHINGTON, DC — Washington, DC, now home to two major triathlons, is known as TriTown USA. The Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon joins The Nation’s Triathlon to Benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, now in its 5th year, as two of the country’s most distinctive races in one of the world’s most distinctive capital cities.

Recently named the fittest city in America, and boasting the nation’s first triathlete Mayor, Adrian Fenty, Washington, DC welcomes athletes from all over the world to the nation’s capital to compete in The Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon on June 20th, 2010.  The race will feature Sprint and Olympic distance courses that wind through DC’s monumental corridors with a spectacular finish along Pennsylvania Avenue – America’s Main Street – in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol Building.  Registration for the race opens at 9 AM EST on February 1st, 2010.  Those interested in registering for the race should go to www.DCTri.com.

A USAT-sanctioned race, the races will start in West Potomac Park along the banks of the Potomac River and will finish on Pennsylvania Avenue and 3rd Streets, NW.  The Sprint distance course includes a .8k swim, 20k bike and 6.7k run.  The Olympic distance course includes a 1.5k swim in the Potomac River, 40k bike course along DC’s most scenic parkways and a 10k run through Washington’s monumental corridor.

The sponsors for the Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon include:  Champion Systems, Official Apparel Sponsor; Vida Fitness, Official Health Club Sponsor; Georgetown Running Company, Official Retailer; The Bike Rack, Official Bike Retailer; and ZipVit, Official Gel and Bar Sponsor.

About the Washington DC Triathlon (www.DCTri.com)
The Washington DC Triathlon, brought to you by the producers of The Nation’s Triathlon, offers a Sprint and Olympic distance course set against the historic backdrop of Washington, DC – TriTown USA – and its magnificent monuments and national treasures.

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Racing for Recovery

By Steve | Published: January 29, 2010

I want to introduce you all to a friend of mine. Todd Crandell and I met several years ago when I interviewed him for a piece for Transitiontimes.com. That interview bloomed into a good friendship which brought him to Philly to race the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon.

I cannot do his story any justice. But I encourage you to please take a few minutes and watch THIS.

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Hold Nothing Back

By Steve | Published: January 27, 2010

I don’t ever want to find myself at the end of my days saying I should have done something or said something. To use the sport analogy, I want to make sure I leave EVERYTHING I have on the field, so that when my time here is up, I know I am completely spent. Not sure why I felt the need to say that but it’s what I thought about on my run during lunch.

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Brad Schoener Memorial 5K & Music Marathon Registration Now Open

By Steve | Published: January 23, 2010

Registration is now open for the Brad Schoener Memorial 5K and Music Marathon. More details and a link to register can be found by clicking HERE!

You do not want to miss this great tribute to a great man. Read more of his story HERE.

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Criminal Behavior

By Steve | Published: January 21, 2010

Perhaps the title of this post is a bit bold but I have always said it’s criminal if people have the means and ability to give back and make a difference, and don’t do anything. For years I have watched the salaries of professional athletes skyrocket to the point of ridiculous, obscene, and yes – criminal. I am a big sports fan and I understand that professional sports is both a business and entertainment, but where do we draw the line?  It is hard to watch the back to back news stories which talk about a crises such as what we are seeing in Haiti followed by a story about salary arbitration between the millionaires (the athletes) and the billionaires (the franchise owners).

I’m sure there are many examples of athletes and owners using their fortunes in ways that really are making a difference. Philadelphia 76er Sammy Dalembert is a perfect example of someone reaching deep into his own pockets to aid the crises in Haiti. There are others, some are public about their efforts to give, some very private. But there are others. This rub isn’t against every athlete and every owner, but it is about the lack of a general standard of giving or expectation by the owners that their players and organizations need to step up and do more.

Many larger organizations have a certain expectation of their executive management team. And that expectation is that they will donate a portion of their very generous salaries to those not so fortunate. I have always hoped that there might be a similar expectation amongst professional athletes. Last night I asked that very question of a guy with nine years of NFL playing experience under his belt and the answer that he gave me made me a little nauseas. Sadly, there is no such expectation of the multi million dollar athletes who are being paid to play the games that they love so much.

In fairness, what he also said was that in times of a true crises, such as Katrina, or Haiti, etc. players will often band together and chip in a charitable donation to a relief effort. That’s great and very commendable. But this is typically done only in the time of a disaster and may only be a few thousand dollars from each player who may earn mega millions. There is no standard set by the owners, or the players unions to encourage players to use their resources in ways that really matter. Why? Who knows. And more importantly, I wonder if we change this.

Although the guy that I talked to last night was only speaking first hand about the NFL, he felt pretty comfortable that the same situation exists among most teams across all of the major sports. I would like nothing more than to be wrong on this, but unfortunately I think I am dead on. Purely out of morbid curiosity, there are a few more people associated with the four major sports organizations (MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL) that I will have similar conversations with, but I think I already have my answer.

So, here is my plea to the players and owners out there who have bankrolled their future for generations to come. And I mean no disrespect to those who are making a difference. But we need greater involvement.

You guys are role models and hold in your hands the keys to be able to make a significantly huge difference in this world. There is crises and need all around you. Some of you practically have to step over the homeless sleeping on the streets to get to the stadium. Please don’t look the other way. Please don’t leave behind a legacy measured only in yardage, points, rebounds, or home runs. Leave behind a legacy that is measured by the lives that you saved, the people that you have reached, and the opportunities that you have provided to others. Use what you have in ways that really matter. Pay it forward. Make a difference.

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Greatness Personified

By Steve | Published: January 19, 2010

On January 18th, I attended a funeral service for the father of a good college buddy. It is no surprise and no act of irony or coincidence that this celebration of life took place on the very day that we  also celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Edwin “Mr. C.” Collins passed peacefully with his family by his side on January 11th. His eldest son Chris and I were good college friends in the early 1980s and have remained so through the years. 

Having known Chris for so many years, and having met Mr. and Mrs. C. on so many occasions, I was well aware of just how amazing this couple was…or at least I thought I was aware. Mr. C., along with his wife of 53 years embraced and embodied education. Mr. C. was born and raised in Chester and graduated from Chester High School. He completed his undergraduate studies at Lincoln University in Chester County and Cheyney State College, where he also earned his master’s degree.

Mr. C. was the classic example of giving back. Chris spoke often of their work having piloted Swarthmore College’s year-round Upward Bound program, for more than 30 years. Mr. C. also taught African American studies at Swarthmore College, was vice principal of Douglas Junior High School, director of the Chester Upland School District summer science camps and was a social studies teacher at Showalter Junior High School in Chester. Like I said, his life WAS education.

I knew all of this simply through my relationship with Chris and from the pride and enthusiasm in which he often spoke of his family. But until yesterday, my comprehension of their greatness was really limited to what I had heard from others.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to witness greatness first hand as I sat in the service and saw the powerful result of the four way intersection between humanity, opportunity, dedication, and love. I sat amidst men and women of the cloth, doctors, lawyers, and a room full of standup good people. All of whom became who they are today because of the opportunities given to them by Mr. C.  I sat in a room full of living and thriving examples of the passion that was Mr. Collins. I looked around the room and felt both fortunate and blessed to even be seated and a part of his celebration of life.

I realized too that Mr. C.’s character is the stuff that legends and legacies are made of. So, as much as he will be missed, there is no doubt in my mind that the legacy of Ed Collins will be carried on for generations to come. His spirit and his mission will continue to thrive through the countless people whose lives he has touched….and will continue to touch.

I, like many others, left that church in Chester yesterday wanting to do more, and wanting to be more.

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Welcome XTERRA Wetsuits

By Steve | Published: January 14, 2010

vendetta_lp1Just a quick word to welcome XTERRA Wetsuits as a 2010 sponsor. I have been hooked on XTERRA since getting the Vector Pro five years ago and am looking forward to checking out some of their new suits.

I am able to pass along great discounts that are far below retail prices to the athletes that I work with. If anyone is interested, you can click HERE and enter the login code CO-BROWN to snatch a great deal.

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"Be the change you wish to see in the world " - Gandhi
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