Zeusblog

The idea is colour-coded running tops.  And like all ideas, it’s a combination of two existing things brought together in a new way. For example, Edison’s invention of the light bulb (the iconic symbol of a new idea) was a combination of the fact that wire heats up and becomes bright when an electric current is passed through it and the fact that nothing burns in a vacuum – put them together and Eureka! you have invented the light bulb.

At xempo.co.uk they’ve brought together the idea of runners being obsessed with their personal best (PB) times and how coloured belts are awarded for different levels of proficiency in martial arts to create colour coded running tops based on PBs. (They also have the time category printed on the shirts so you can also impress those who aren’t in the know.)

When you buy the kit, xempo verify your claimed time to check that you are entitled to wear the colour you’ve ordered. They currently apply to marathon and half marathon times. If you have completed either distance, you qualify for the white top, and then the other colours depend on which category your PB falls into.

There is, I think, only one flaw in their idea, because although I could order an orange marathon one or a green half marathon one now, I might delay purchase until I can get a better colour. I’m even looking for a half marathon to enter so I can get a blue one (I’ve hit the necessary time once before, but before 2008, which is xempo’s starting point).

But then I suppose more people will buy a top and then buy another one if they improve. If it’s caught other runners’ imaginations in the same way that it has caught mine, then they’re onto a winner.

“Pain is our friend”

That’s what is embroidered on the t-shirt of our swim coach, Paul Doyle. Apparently it’s the motto of his masters swim squad (Cally Masters). It made me laugh at 6am this morning. Actually he wasn’t too hard on us – but I still got in 4k before breakfast, which was plenty for me. I’ve now added “pain is my friend” to my list of motivational mantras, which are to be called upon and repeated in your head when working very hard in the pool, on the bike, or when I’m running and the urge to quit seems irresistible.

Others include the obvious, but effective, “I WILL NOT QUIT”, and Lance Armstrong’s “Suck it up” or “Pain is temporary, quitting is forever” or even “Is that all you got?” directed at a competitor or the pain itself (focussed boy Lance is!). And when I really need a kick up the backside, there’s always Winston Churchill to fall back on: “When you are going through hell, keep going”.

Works for me

Chalky