I must admit that I've never been a huge fan of Nike shoes & apparel. First off, their sizing chart is off by at least 1" in most sizes (when compared to Adidas, Reebok, etx) and I've just never really felt comfortable in their shoes.
However, I've recently begun to take part in the various running clubs that they run in the Los Angeles area and I've been very impressed. THE running club to attend is the Thursday night at Niketown in Beverly Hills. On any given night it attracts at least 100 runners and on the special nights where they have guests/giveaways, I've seen as many as 300 runners there. Since this is a run through residential Beverly Hills, it's also one of my favorite courses. The 3 mile is a quick jaunt and the 5-mile loop tests you early while providing a quick downhill run back.
I also recently attended the Sunday morning marathon training group that runs in West LA. Nike provides the organization, the pace leaders and they even have water/aid stops along the way to keep you going. It's a very well-run operation that is very impressive.
And the total cost for joining these clubs? It's free! Oh sure, they might have my mailing and e-mail address to send me promotional items. but other than that, I haven't had to pay anything to participate in these runs. While I'm sure that it's a relatively small expense for such a large company, the genius behind this type of marketing is amazing. My hat goes off to Nike for putting together such a well-run and fun series of events.
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