CO 2011 - Newton Retail Summit, Tuesday

CO 2011 in Photos....

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |

Tuesday morning.

We ran on group run on Boulder Creek trail, about 6 miles.

RS2011 Group runs meet in front of the hotel every morning.

Somehow we ended up running with Danny... (was he sick of us yet?) I can't think of any other shoe companies where I can casually go for a run with the CEO, can you? 

Got in a quick lift in sweet fitness room and had an a-maaaazing hotel breakfast.

Ben and Danny on the creek trail

On the way back we dropped behind the group and just took some for-fun photos.

Camera trick. I mean, I'm wearing racing flats, haha!

King of the Mountain!

In the session, there was the retailer panel, then breakout sessions where we discussed Newton marketing suggestions.

We took home boxed lunches, and said goodbye to everyone boarding shuttles to the airport. Fritz looked so depressed to be going home and leaving the beautiful mountains and scenery and trails and clean air and DRY air...

Anyway, next up: we walked to Newton Lab/store.

Newton Lab

Cool vignette

Newton R&D: Where Danny cuts up shoes

Nice window display!

The place was pretty decked out, it is very bright and urban -  designed just like a colorful Newton shoe! Bright sofas and walls, local artwork, cool chairs...great feel for a running store.

Not gonna lie, we were so interested and intrigued by everything we learned about natural running this week, it was like a Christmas-is-over feeling of disappointment when the retail summit was over and we were off on our way.  Want to see more of the Retail Summit 2011 and see the goods? Like Newton Running on Facebook and check out their photos (warning: this site contains "shoe porn" -- click only if you are a shoe geek)!!

I learned that you can get certified to be a natural running coach. I really want to do this!! I'll share the other links and notes I took in a later post.

The rest of the day went like this:

Caught dinner at Half Fast Subs near the CU Boulder campus hanging out with my Ohio State Industrial Engineering buddy Mike around Pearl Street.

We talked triathlon, played some Deer Hunter (you know - like video arcade duck hunt!), drank some fresh Coors Light, and got a pizza at Old Chicago. Majorly fun night (why didn't we hang out more in college??)! Mike's starting the MBA program at CU, which is getting the grad school wheels turning.........

CO 2011 - Newton Retail Summit, Monday

Colorado trip 2011 in Photos!

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |

08-08-2011: Ben & Steph's three year anniversary AND day 2 of the retail summit. Some might think we're insane for spending our anniversary working, but I hardly consider this work. How can I do this all the time??

Of course, at any running function, there must be group runs! At 7am, I ran with the 8:30 pace group up Mt. Flagstaff while Fritz & Ben went up Sanitas -- both very "rikey" runs (rike = run + hike). On the run I made a couple of friends, one from a Florida store another from the Northeast (which I deduced only by her use of the phrase "wicked slow" to describe her downhill running pace). Also, I realized later that I was running with Ian Adamson. I don't keep up on running "celebs," so it wasn't until his introduction later in the day that I realized he was kind of a big deal, so it was pretty cool that he waited and ran with me. Besides that, the three of us retailers really wanted to get to the peak of Flagstaff, but with a 9:15 start time, we only made it up 75% to the top. We were pretty late coming back, but quick enough to get some gooood breakfast at the hotel.

 Monday Morning was the true beginning of the retail summit. There were about 200+ retailers in attendance and lots of big-name guest speakers.

Great speakers and topics: Blaise Dubois was the keynote speaker. Then, there was the expert panel (Danny Abshire, Blaise DuBois, Dr. Peter Larson, Dr. Ivo Waerlop, Frank Shorter.). Other sessions included: Using social media, and a presentation on the science of barefoot running by Ian Adamson.

A couple of pointers on natural running... we took a picture of nearly every slide.

Taken during our lunch break!

Lunch was awesome... on the terrace.

Some more pointers...

And then, the big reveal of the 2012 Newton line.

Shoe porn

Danny showing us the MV-squared, Newton's first racing flat. I have a pair! I love them so far.

Here's an illustration of high vs. low drop in a shoe and how they can potentially stress the body

Ian Adamson, the guy I ran with earlier. People know him... he's kind of a big deal. He is a 7-time adventure race world champion. And he waited up for me on the trail! :)

Afternoon: Form clinic with a WV family doc/store owner who carries ONLY natural running shoes in his Shepherdstown, WV store - we learned some diagnostic tests for determining if a person is equipped for barefoot running.

Then, evening festivities....

"Welcome Newton Running 2011 Retail Summit" at the Boulder Theater

Beautiful theater... this light thing is such a good idea! We ate hors d'heuvres and chatted while we waited for the awards show to start. Ben, Ftiz, and I sat with Frank Shorter during dinner and asked him a bunch of questions about his all-time favorite shoe, "stirring the pot," and legal questions (he's trained as a lawyer). How many chances do you get to ask an gold-medal Olympian whatever you want?!

Everyone took a photo on the red carpet. (cell phone shot)

Who are those hottttt celebs here on the red carpet?!

Happy three years, babe, I love you! <3

Awards show. Danny Abshire and Jerry Lee, owners, co-founders, CEOs of Newton Running Company. Yes, Jerry is wearing bike shorts with his sport coat! This was possibly the more tame of the outfits we saw that night.

After the awards show, we celebrated our anniversary by getting some Wendy's Frostys and enjoying them on our hotel room balcony... so exhausted! What a great day.



CO 2011 - Newton Retail Summit, Sunday

CO2011

Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |

What have we been up to the last couple of days? We've been at the Newton Running Company Retail Summit, a gathering of retail store managers, owners, buyers, and associates who are there to discuss, learn, and experience Newton and natural running.

Sunday looked something like this...

Checked in at the Newton Retail Summit registration and got some free stuff!

Newton hats, tech shirt, Yankz laces, the BRAND NEW Newton racing flats, nutritional stuff, and Danny Abshire's book, "Natural Running." (of course we got signed copies)

Ben, in front of the poster with his lanyard on

People picking up their goodies & getting fitted in the new flats.

After that, we checked into our hotel room at the St. Julien Hotel in downtown Boulder. High class! (Read: I can't get used to staying in places like this, it's only going to be bad news)

Pretty sure I've never seen a four-poster at the Fairfield Inns I usually hit.

I love lamp! The wall was made of cork!

Love me some round mirrors.

The view from our balcony...

Another sweet lamp and framed print.

The MINI BAR!!! Check out the stuffed prairie dog behind the cookies.

I wanted this prairie dog so bad...

Best hotel fitness room ever!!!

Lap pool... is this heaven?

Can you believe this is the whirlpool?

After check-in there was a group run and form clinic, which we attended (the form clinic). Danny commandeered our instructor's session, so from the expert himself, we got a small group instruction session on natural running form drills and how to run for maximum energy return --> energy-efficient running.

There was a Sunday evening welcome dinner at the delicious rib place across from the Newton Lab.

Oh! And we ran into Andrew Fritz, who works at the Runner's Forum in Indy/Carmel.

He was fun to hang out with in Boulder... we know him from NIRCA, since he was the president of the Ball State Running Club back in the day.

More shots of the shindig

If I was getting married again, THIS would be my table centerpiece!
(Maybe not in the high-viz orange)

As we were getting ready to leave, we witnessed a crazy scene: we watched a police car race by with lights on, then come back with about 3 other police cars. We heard a big "thud," then a bunch of cops jumped out of their cars and drew their weapons on a guy standing on the sidewalk. Ben says he was a homeless guy who dropped his backpack when the cops came by. A few minutes later, a fire truck and ambulance came and they ended up taking a guy away on a stretcher. VERY random... and still makes no sense. It got everybody out of their seats from dinner though!

....End Sunday. On to Monday!