WOW!!!  What a trip!  I thought I was prepared for all the crowds and kiosks and companies and presentations and hotels and dinners and . . . and . . . and . . . that comprise The Running Event in Austin, Texas, but I was still amazed with the jaw-dropping magnitude of the event. 

On behalf of Runnerspace, I went to Austin to attend The Running Event and to kick off our Reviews section of this site.  My ultimate goal was to get between 50 and 100 product video reviews.  As people are still learning about Runnerspace, I spent much of my time educating the masses, one at a time, on the many applications and nuances of Runnerspace.  I met a ton of new people whom I enjoyed speaking with and picking their brains (I am, after all, a running gear nerd as well) and quickly realized that 100 reviews was a bit ambitious for the day and a half I was given to do it.  I ended up with about 60 and will begin posting them very soon.

I met so many awesome people whom I owe plugs to.  First off, I had to jet early when I hit the Portland Airport and didn't get to thank my new friends at ZLocks for giving me a ride to the airport and taking me out to lunch.  It was awesome to be around you guys and your energy for your product.  A ZLock is a way of attaching a small pretty hook to your shoelace and arranging your laces so that they simply hook together when you want to "tie" your shoes.  They have all sorts of colors and logos to match anyone's needs or style.  They're brand new and trust me, they're going to BLOW UP!

I want to thank Lia for the Zensah compression calf sleeves.  I wore them to bed after being on the plane and feel awesome today, that spot on my calf isn't bugging me anymore, and they look sweet!  Thank you Patrick for the Tifosi sunglasses, they fit like a dream and I can't wait to run in them.  Thank you everyone for all your awesome gifts, there are too many to remember.  Oh, and Laura from La Sportiva, I'm sending in my order form now, I decided on the Slingshot with red and yellow, they look awesome!  

I heard a lot of great stories and nabbed some pretty cool interviews of people who were hanging out there.  I regret that I didn't hunt down Dick Beardsley, but, as he's already a friend of the Eugene running community, I'm sure I'll get another chance.  I heard a great story from a guy at Icebug, who went out to a college campus and went down to the lake with the track team.  He gave his sole-studded running shoes to a girl he thought was a cross country runner and asked her to run across the ice.  She turned out to be a 200 meter runner and took off at a dead sprint and didn't slip once, even when she turned around to come back or when she stopped!  

Overall, the event was memorable and I look forward to keeping in touch with the people I met.  I hope to go to the event in Dallas next year and encourage everyone who has the opportunity to get down there and take part!  

Thank you, Mark Sullivan, for your time and your hospitality.  I hope we can help to spread the word of your event in at least a small way.