#ashmeiambassador

[ultrarunuk]

Cracking morning with @ashmei_sportswear and all the #ashmeiambassador candidates. So many talented people, great fun and conversation. Really enjoyed it, many thanks all! #trailrunning (at Ivanhoe Beacon)

[ultrarunuk]

Lunchtime trail track session breaking in new shoes #laps #runnning #ashmeiambassador (at Hemingford Abbots)

[ultrarunuk]

When trail running meets mountain biking, fun is guaranteed! #ashmeiambassador (at Coniston, Cumbria)

[ultrarunuk]

Fenland Running #trailrunning #ashmeiambassador (at Little Thetford)

[ultrarunuk]

Fenland Runner #trailrunning #ultrarunning #ashmeiambassador (at Stretham)

[ultrarunuk]

That point when your long run turns into an adventure #ashmeiambassador #ultrarunning #fun

[outdoorguyuk]

Good things come to those who...

Probably don’t deserve it.

The last month has been a fantastic one for me.  Not only have I been on some great runs with friends old and new (a lovely run along the Thames Path from Canary Wharf to Richmond for beers, a quick run over the hills with the #AshmeiAmbassadors here where I made some fantastic new friends and a couple of 20+ mile runs in Epping Forest; one with Matt over at RideLiftRun)  but I've received a fair amount of kit to review.

First up was Suunto sending me their new Ambit3 Run to test - Previously, I’ve kept away from GPS watches.  I’m inherently cynical and was of the firm conclusion that my iPhone with an external battery and complete colour mapping functions, an app that tracks heart rate and plays music all in one would be superior.  How wrong was I.

Getting judged for bragging about my new push notifications.  Fair enough.

I’m discovering the beauty of an accurate pace display (rather than the huge range of random figures I was presented with before), the more convenient placing on my wrist and the surprisingly and enormously superior GPS route function.  Although I’m still very early in the testing phase of this watch, suffice to say my thoughts of GPS watches has changed considerably and I’ve turned into a bit of a fanboy.

Next up is a kind gesture from Salomon - they saw that I was a fan of their X-Screams (they’re currently my main go to shoe for road and hard trail) after their Switch event at the end of summer last year which you can read here, and asked if I’d like to check out their updated model, the Salomon X-Scream 3D.  Of course, I accepted gratefully and am keen on seeing how the changes affect the ride - hopefully these will be my new shoe of choice for the upcoming Calderdale Way Ultra 50.  They should be arriving any day now and I’m a little nervous - trying an updated model of a shoe I love always fills me full of dread in case the changes are bad ones and I have to panic buy all their old stock.  Only time will tell.

1000 Mile Socks have been kind enough to send me over two pairs; one of their compression socks and the other of their Fusion sock model.  The Fusion is quite unlike any sock I've ever run in; at first I wasn't sure as the double layer is really quite clear but after extensive trialing/punishment they’re holding up extremely well; as are my feet.  More on these to follow.

Nice socks, pasty legs - the horror

In an exciting twist, I had been speaking to someone about my newly found interest in packrafting and it’s potential applications for fastpacking trips (again, this is something I’ll be hopefully covering in more detail soon - so much to do!) and Ultimate Performance suggested that I might like to try their Thor backpack.  

The Thor backpack is essentially a drybag made into a high quality 28litre backpack/daysack.  It’s the perfect size for a fastpacking trip; it’s only 635 grams (as well as saving the weight of having to use additional dry bags) and from my estimation could also double up pretty well as a flotation device.  Exciting stuff!  

Finally, my Ashmei gear arrived.  I love this stuff.  It’s so pretty it makes me feel like Gollum.  I got a hoodie and running jersey, along with a new pair of socks.  So far, I’m thoroughly loving the fact that for my commute to work I can dry it in the hand dryer at the gym and run home in it without smelling as bad as I did before.  I hate myself for admitting I do that in a public forum.

So all in all, I’m feeling like the Gods of running are smiling on me at the moment.  Loads of gear to test and review, along with some great events and runs coming up.  

It’s nice to have support from big companies for my upcoming races, fastpacking trips and events throughout the year, but it’s also nice to get to trial gear so that you don’t have to.  I try and be as honest as I can about a product and if I don’t have anything good to say, I’d just not review it.  As my mum always said ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all’.

Plus, it’s starting to look a lot like summer.

Happy running everyone!