Friday, July 25, 2008

Who Loves Drymax Socks?!

I DO!!

Here's why: In the past year I've written/called/stalked dozens and dozens of running-related companies looking for support of any kind for the Run 192 mission. I made it very clear I would be happy with even a small discount on their products as I go through shoes/clothing/fuel quickly in training, and it's all pretty darn expensive!

Long story short, not one of my letters, phone calls, or emails was answered. Not one.

I understand these companies receive many many requests like mine each year, and I'm sure they're understaffed in the 'Correspondence with Random Requests' Department, so I completely understood the cold shoulder treatment. It's just too bad, because I would have gladly promoted any company who even sent me a 10% off coupon. Oh well...

So how do the good people at Drymax Socks come into this story?

I just received an extremely generous - and completely unsolicited - donation from them in support of the Run 192 cause.

That, my friends, is a company run by the right kind of people. Do me a favor and check out their site by clicking here. Even if you're not a runner, you'll notice they have a specialized array of socks (even for diabetics!) to fit just about every walk of life (horrible pun intended).

Now, some of you may be thinking: "Sure Dan, there's no denying that they're great people, but how can you endorse their socks without having worn them?" Well, to that I say HOLD ON! I'm no sell out! I have one more quick story to relay to prove that Drymax socks are the real deal.

Rewind a couple months to the Umstead 100 miler in April. For those of you who remember, that was one wet and wild race. At the pre-race check in, a Drymax representative was handing out free socks. Never one to shy away from free gear, I happily grabbed a pair and tossed it in my bag. I figured I would just take them home, wash them, and give 'em a try in the future. After all, I had been training in (insert name of company that didn't respond to my calls/letters) socks all year to that point, and I wasn't about to switch brands the day of a 100 mile race without having had the chance to try out (or wash) these new socks.

Well, later on that night with the forecast of heavy rains and overall nasty wet weather weighing heavy on my mind, I started to think about how my current socks usually felt after a few miles in the rain (not so good). The more I thought about it, and the more I read the little pamphlet about the amazing performance of Drymax socks in the rain, I convinced myself to wear them in the race the next day.

How did that 100 miler go, you ask?

I ran a 17:05 to finish in 3rd place, in the rain...and I crossed that finish line with ZERO blisters.

Drymax socks, people. They're the real deal. AND, come to find out, they're made by some pretty nice people too!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Yay Drymax! I am going to find some this week - maybe they'll have the cycling socks ready for my century in October.