Nike hosted the 8th annual Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco two weekends ago, where over 25,000 women conquered the hills to commemorate the 28th anniversary of Joan Benoit Samuelson’s historic gold-medal in the first women’s marathon at the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. Since it’s inception, the program has partnered with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and its Team in Training program to raise money to benefit blood cancer research and patient services.
While I’ve always entertained the idea of trying my hand at a 5k or 10k, running is far from my forte. Basketball (and volleyball) are far more conducive to high intensity interval training – which helps when, if you’re like me, the attention span of a pre-schooler precedes yours. But since conquering the Insanity program a few months ago, running has been a tad more enjoyable (read: easier) and a fantastic way to take in the sights around NYC. Besides, with the launch of Nike’s Flyknit Racer, it’s almost blasphemous to consider myself an athlete and NOT run in them.

The folks at the swoosh have always done it so well; few things are more motivating than well-executed technical gear, great marketing & fresh sneakers. And while these Nike Women’s Marathon Dunk Sky Highs aren’t exactly made for sprinting through SF’s notoriously inclined terrain, they were designed exclusively for the race and only available at Niketown SF in extremely limited quantities. I never bought into the Marant hype so these are the first wedge sneakers I own… we’ll see how they withstand the test of travel as I hit the road (again) for SEMA next week!

By sheer coincidence, I stopped by 21Mercer this weekend while on the hunt for a pair of Inneva Woven Frees and came across the Nike x Undercover Gyakusou collab. Again… technical gear + great marketing + new sneakers? I’m in. Maybe the marathon world is secretly calling my name?? Maybe I need a Fuelband for some further motivation! =)