The Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Expo

Published by www.sportstrader.co.za

Adidas – official technical sponsor of the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon – had an enormous stand at the Two Oceans Expo held from 16-18 April.  With demarcated areas for visitors to test their running gait, view their MiCoach fitness app, touch and feel their Boost foam technology, etc. adidas offered visitors a mini show in itself.

They had a large variety of clothing, footwear, accessories, etc. for visitors to test and buy at their main stand, as well as from a smaller stand near the exit as visitors were leaving.

 Visitors could touch adidas’ Climachill t-shirts that were on display.

The biomechanical men formed part of adidas’ many displays.

The displays were eye-catching with biomechanical ‘running men’ store dummies showing off clothing and their Boost running footwear, and Climachill t-shirt ice sculptures where the t-shirts were frozen in the ice. Visitors could touch and feel the garments through a hole. Sport scientist Dr Ross Tucker was on the stand to give advice and also featured on the adidas Two Oceans Marathon running blog where he introduced viewers to the race routes and offered advice on what to do throughout the run.

 Dr Ross Tucker was on the adidas stand giving visitors advice.

Brand ID’s Mizuno, Skins and Nathan brands were exhibited on a stand that featured biokineticist Sima Lunga. He offered visitors 360^o foot scans to help give an idea of shoes that would best fit the runner’s style, and to advise on how to prevent injury that may be caused by a particular running style, as well as how to take care of injury if it has already occurred.

Biokineticist Sima Lunga, offered visitors 360^o foot scans and advice.

New Balance promoted their Fresh Foam 980 shoes as well as their Comrades Marathon shoe. The Fresh Foam 980 had a centre podium where visitors could view the brightly coloured shoe and its unique spray-paint finish, while there were smaller stands along the edges with the Comrades Marathon shoe in the colours of the South African flag. New Balance is the official sponsor of the Comrades, which will be run on June 1 this year.

 The New Balance stand highlighted their Fresh Foam 980 and Comrades Marathon shoes.

Distributors Michelle and Clive Chowles and their Western Cape agent Bradley Player were on the Brooks stand, where they explained the differences between their Float (Core) and Feel (PureGrit) ranges to visitors, which was also the theme of their stand.

  Distributors Michelle (right) and Clive Chowles (middle) and their Western Cape agent Bradley Player (left) happily explained the difference between their float and feel ranges.

Puma offered visitors free wi-fi to download their Pumatrac app at their stand and had podiatrist Carlo Longano assessing visitors’ gait, which helped them select a shoe suited to their running style.

Free Wi-Fi to download the Pumatrac app at the Puma stand attracted visitors.

Donovan van Gelder from Rebel Elite Fitness was on the Inov-8 stand, which featured their Trailroc range and triathlon running shoes, as well as other items, such as the Spibelt, which runners find useful for storing items during a run.

Rebel Elite Fitness’s Donovan van Gelder welcomed visitors at the Innov-8 stand.

Retailers such as Sportsmans Warehouse and Cape Union Mart were among the stores offering visitors discounts on products at their stands. The Sweat Shop had a wide variety of brands such as adidas, Asics, Salomon, etc. as well as a wall dedicated to Saucony footwear with Mia Goslett on the stand that featured the tag: “stable and supportive. The shoe mom would want you to date, if she wanted you to date a shoe.”

TomTom GPS watches were selling very fast during the expo, said Chantal Grobler, who confirmed that the watches generated phenomenal interest and surpassed expectations on the first day. They were available at the TomTom and Cape Union Mart stands.

Chantal Grobler was on the TomTom stand where their watches sold beyond expectation.

Salomon had their hydration packs, running shoes, pure trail shoes and water proof jackets on display. One of the products that stood out from their stand is their advanced skin hydration packs.

The Salomon stand featured various mannequins dressed in their gear.

The Osprey running packs and Buff technical scarves that offer shade on the neck and head as well as moisture management properties, generated plenty of interest on the Adventure Inc. stand, which also featured their many other running-related brands.

The Adventure Inc. team: (from left to right) Leo Rust, Cameron Vinokur, Chris Kimmerling, Brandon Wheeler and Morne Strydom were at the Adventure Inc. Stand.

Asics not only introduced their latest running shoe, clothing and accessory ranges on their stand, but also inspired runners visiting the stand with their global marathon campaign.

The Asics stand featured their logo lit up above the stand.

Reebok’s open plan rustic stand invited runners to sit and try on their latest running offerings. Boxed sand and gravel helped them demonstrate how their running shoes can “conquer any obstacle.”

 The Reebok stand showed off their shoes’ ability to conquer any obstacle.

South African clothing brand Second Skins attracted visitors interested in their running clothing, including the “South African branded” t-shirts that offered international runners a unique reminder of their visit and participation in the “world’s most beautiful marathon”.

The Second Skins stand was packed with a variety of products.

The annual Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Expo usually attracts more than 45 000 visitors in the three days before the marathon – figures for this year’s show were not yet available at the time of publication.