President's Letter

Dear Lone Star Runners Club runners,

At the beginning of this month, I reached out to the members to ask them to share some of their most favorite running products. As we wrap up the month of February, I am grateful to share the running gear they love.

UCAN Edge Energy Gels

“Fueling for your race or a long run is very important! I recently discovered UCAN Edge Energy Gels. These were highly recommended by many of my running friends, and I couldn’t agree more. UCAN gel’s texture is thin compared to many other gels and is easy on the stomach. With previous gels, my stomach would hurt after using a gel. With UCAN I do not feel that. These gels are long-lasting, with 75 minutes of fuel. Their flavors are delicious too, I recommend the pineapple or strawberry banana. They also have zero sugar and zero stimulants. I highly recommend giving UCAN gels a try.” – Colten Clemans

Coros Vertix 2

“I’ve been running consistently for over 20 years, but only recently began wearing a running watch. My Coros Vertix 2 has quickly become the one piece of running gear that I can’t live without. I wear it every single day, and sleep with it, too. It does all the typical GPS watch things like record my miles and routes, and links to Strava so I can prove the run happened. But it does a lot of other things, too. The Coros app is easy to use and allows for complete customization of the watch face and data display pages. I recently learned how to use the Basic Interval setting within the Run activity mode for 5 minute/2 minute run/walk training. It has a bunch of other activity settings, too for when I’m hiking or working out at the gym. I don’t ever kayak, but if I did, this watch could record it!

One of the things that sets the Coros Vertix 2 apart from other GPS watches, is its super long battery life. If you need a watch for an event that will last longer than 24 hours, like a 100 mile or multi-day race, you want to look into the Vertix 2. But this isn’t what I love most about my Coros. I’m a data junkie and have become strongly accustomed to analyzing my sleep and heart rate data each day. My watch tells me how much light sleep, REM, and deep sleep I get each night, my resting heart rate, heart rate variability, and even my stress level. While tracking my miles and running fitness has allowed me to optimize my training, tracking my sleep and stress has allowed me to optimize my life. I highly recommend the Coros Vertex 2!” – Celee Spidel

Brooks Launch

“Running is a fairly simple activity. It doesn’t take a lot of equipment on most days, depending on the temperature.

One thing that I find especially helpful is a good pair of shoes. My personal favorite over the last few years has been the Brooks Launch. It’s lightweight, ‘responsive’ (in Brooks sales’ terms) and has plenty of cushioning for medium to long runs.

But what really got me was that it comes in a lot of colors. I usually rotate through three or four pairs of shoes during my training weeks, depending on the workouts. I’ll also use this shoe for a lot of my races. With multiple colors, I can always remember which pairs of shoes I’ve used recently.

These are the shoes that are currently in my closet. One is the pair I wore on Antarctica. Another is the pair I wore when running my final Texas county.

Good shoes. Great memories. Keep on keeping on, folks.” – Mike Flores

Oiselle Long Roga Shorts

And for one of my own personal favorites, the Oiselle Long Roga Shorts. I reached out to my runner friends a few years back in search of shorts that do not chafe. I have often chosen to run in tights even in average or warmer weather just to prevent chafing or shorts riding up. Perhaps it has to do with my own body composition, but there was not enough anti chafe balm to save me from those angry red marks. Enter the Oiselle long Roga shorts, which is the first pair I have been able to run longer runs in without having to worry. Not only are they offered in many fashionable colors or patterns, but I find them to be both flattering and comfortable.

Thank you so much for the members that shared their favorites. It is always great to hear about new products to try. For the month of March, I would love to hear about any running products you consider to be “lucky” that you wear to races or runs, or any fun race/run rituals. If you would like to share, please send it to me. Happy Spring running!

Katie Rodriguez