Women's Only Events Perfect Time for Pampering and Girl Time

By: Stacey Farb

Nothing stops traffic faster than 40 fit women running across the road.

It was an empowering and somewhat intimidating sight for drivers and casual strollers in Boulder on a cool Wednesday night in March. "Wow, what a group of women!" commented one ogler as the ladies ran past him.

For 45 minutes, running kept pace with conversation on the Boulder Creek Path. The night's effort resulted in a five mile credit for each participant in the Ladies' Night Fun Runs toward free gear from Moving Comfort, the event's sponsor.

"The runs are for all levels of women athletes," said Sarah Chimileski, a Boulder Bolder coach who also leads the Ladies' run. "I always lead from the rear and provide motivation for new runners, which is one of the terrific things about these Wednesday night runs; we want to make women feel comfortable with their ability and pace."

Though the women's only runs have been a staple at Fleet Feet for the last several years, turnout was sparse at best. However, as a sponsored event, many women at the Wednesday night event said they would make the effort to reschedule their busy week to join.

Megan Phares and her mother, Nancy, said they were impressed with the turnout and camaraderie. "I've come to Fleet Feet runs in the past," said Megan, "but because of this group, I'll be coming each week to run. It's a great group and a good opportunity to meet new people."

Amanda McCracken, who couldn't make it early enough for the run said she didn't want to miss out on the fellowship of female athletes. She added that she hopes to make it on Wednesday nights, work permitting.

Following the inaugural run, Fleet Feet welcomed the ladies for a celebration of women event. "We wanted to celebrate women and women in business," said Fleet Feet Boulder store owner Kathy Hawk. "All the women who are here are independent business owners who promote health, fitness and fun."

Holding glasses of wine and plates of hors d'oeuvres, the crowd, swelled to 60, formed an aisle down the center of the store for one of the evening's main events: a fashion show.

Triathlete Nicole DeBoom premiered her TRIKS Skirt Sports line and received many nods of appreciation. TRIKS, which is "skirt" spelled backwards, emphasizes fashion and function. "We don't mind working out," said DeBoom, "we just want to look cute when we do it." The skirts fall smoothly over built-in running shorts or panties, depending on whether they are for marathon, triathlon or casual running sports. "And everybody's butt looks this good in this skirt," DeBoom added after each model took a twirl.

Of course, a ladies' night of running fun would be less than complete without discussing that one piece of running gear seldom seen but severely important: the jog bra. Professional bra fit consultant Kay Martin of Outside Industry Association talked about the emergence of women's running clothes and the newest technology in the jog bra department. "If you are a C cup or larger, and the average American woman is a 36 C, then you really need a jog bra that hooks in the back; none of these pull-over-your-head styles because ladies, over the long run, you're going to be tucking those babies into your pants of you don't get a good, supportive jog bra."

The Ladies' Night Fun Run also featured hand-blown glass bead jewelry from Holly Weise of Laughing Mango Design; Andrea Barela of All About You Skin Care was on hand to offer advise for calloused feet and leg care; Nutrition Consultant Angela Moore talked about how nutrition geared toward women could improve their athletic performance; Massage Therapists Sara Peterson and Elizabeth Wells were on hand to work out the kinks; and physical therapy consultant Sandy Bertrand of OrthoSport was available to answer questions about running related injuries and injury prevention.

"It's an amazing turnout," said Hawk as she looked around the room, a bit stunned with the success of the evening. "It's just amazing."

Fleet Feet Ladies' Night Fun Runs occur every Wednesday evening at 6 pm now through the end of the summer.

-----------------------

Boulder Running Company will be holding its 3rd Women's Night promissing to be bigger than ever. On March 9th from 6:30-8:30 the Boulder Running Company will offer free paraffin dips, free massage and 25% off all gear that night.

----------------------