Adidas hosted a North and South event day for Up and Running in July of this year, it was around the time that the UK was hotter than Spain. We asked those who attended what they thought of the day, see what they said below.
Sarah Staiano – Brand and Business Development Manager
Adidas AdistarCS
I attended the adidas brand day with Specialist Sports in Southampton and as part of the day we were lucky enough to be given a pair of the new adistarCS to try out on a group run.
We went on a scenic 4 mile run on road and partly trail paths around a pretty lake on a hot, sunny day. The shoes were really comfortable from the outset and felt cushioned underfoot. I had a size 5.5 my usual running shoe size and they fit me perfectly.
They were dynamic, great on the road when you needed to pick up the pace a little and managed perfectly well on the trail paths and were very stable. They are quite broad underfoot giving a secure feeling and have a clever design with a plate underneath to make them responsive, while keeping the soft, cushiony feel.
I was instantly able to run in them and wanted to try them on a longer slower paced run which I did the following weekend.
This run was 14 miles in total and although I was physically tired by the end of it as it was further than I had expected to run, my feet still felt great. The route we took was again, partly road, partly trail paths and we even headed across some grassy fields. The adidas adistarCS handled all the varied terrains well and even though it was another hot, humid day and they are mainly black in colour, the upper was light and my feet felt really cool throughout the run.
These shoes will definitely be a part of my rotation for longer easier miles through the summer months. They would give piece of mind for longer routes that may incorporate more rugged terrain than just your everyday tarmac and you can be assured that they will give a comfortable, stable ride and absorb lots of impact, making them a go to for longer steady-paced runs and they would be a solid choice for those shorter recovery runs too.
All in all, a great addition to the adidas range.
Emma Bond – Retail Assistant, Teddington
The whole day was well organised and run smoothly. Starting with meeting everyone form the different southern Up & Running stores (It’s nice to put a face to a voice on the phone!). Learning about new and existing products was really informative and exciting; we always like to hear about new products/ projects. They even added in a guest Q & A with Archie Davis, which was a nice insight into the life of an elite runner, along with products that he enjoys using. The day ended with a group run in some adidas kit and trying some shoes (Adistar CS) that we will be getting in stores. This is a great idea to get new products on your feet for a run, we have more of an idea of how they feel and move so we can explain and recommend to customers. In summary the day was an amazing learning experience and well put together. Definitely would do again!
Ian Hinson – Store Manager, Cambridge
It was a very good day down at Specialist Sports Ltd. The Up and Running crew met with Sports Specialist guys Peter, John, Alexa and Frankie. Peter took us through the history of the company as well as Adidas, and why the running segment for Adidas is so important as well as aligning with Up and Running. The team broke off into groups and talked about the existing Adidas shoes and the barriers to sales. This was a followed by a session looking forward at the new 2022/23 range coming through and elements of the tech were explained.
Later in the day we were fortunate to have an elite pro athlete Archie Davies come to the session. Peter interviewed him where he talked about his background, his motivations and those who had inspired him to his achievement. Although it was 30 dgs+ the whole group including Archie went out for a 4.5-mile run. Admittedly we were a little hot and sweaty afterwards!
That evening the team resumed for a social drink and went onto to a local Thai restaurant
