February 2018 – irunoffroad

The BBC’s Blue Planet II series really highlighted the growing concerns about the effect plastic waste is having on the environment. Cutting the “single” use of disposable plastic bottles “must” be the way ahead.

Drinking bottles are the most common type of plastic waste with an unbelievable 480 billion plastic bottles being sold globally in 2016 and as runners we use our fair share.

The simple act of quenching your thirst after a hard run and then dropping your bottle into the bin seems straight forward enough but on reflection that one single use seems such a waste.

The ever growing quantities of bottles that hydrate us as runners, may well be recycled, but many will go to landfill and it takes hundreds of years to biodegrade.

So, what’s the answer ………..

As a long distance runner my hydration strategy is a combination of tap water and hydration tablets. I’ve been drinking from reusable bottles for years but over the last two I’ve moved to soft flasks.

“Soft flasks” ??, I hear you say. Yes, you simply fill them up and then role them up when you’ve finished. You could almost compare them to using up your toothpaste tube. Once empty they fold up to virtually nothing and then naturally they’re ready to be refilled. Carry them or stash them away in your pocket / rucksack.

Lets get the agenda of runners saving the planet on the table !!

Lets cut down our use of plastic bottles …….. thanks for reading

The chain of events that led me to write about the Revere Sport Endurance Armband started with a twitter message, progressed to updating my phone and then finished with me joining instagram .

Samantha from Revere Sport messaged asking whether I’d like to review their latest model, the Endurance Armband. It’s so new it won’t be added to their website until next week !! I requested the iphone7 compatible armband. I’ll attach the link here when it’s live on their website. Choice wise numerous iphones and Samsung models are available.

Todays run starting in Titchfield village because I had a particular image in mind. You don’t see many old style phone boxes these days and it struck me as a real contrast to the mobile phones that we all take for granted these days. It would also lend itself to Instagram too !!

My first impression of the armband was its quality, it certainly looks like it was made to last and that’s something you see less and less these days. This quality is also backed up with a lifetime replacement guarantee which means you are totally covered.

Ok, yes I should have cleaned my trainers before I ran today but I knew they’d only get filthy again !! Love those trails 🙂

Sizing wise it fitted around my pipe cleaner bicep without any problem and the velcro strap felt secure. It comes with an extender strap to cater for small, medium and large biceps and I did think that if I was wearing a jacket this added scope may come in useful. I guess you could strap the armband around your wrist but it felt more natural higher up on me.

The case has an ample see through front that means you have full screen access to all your apps. Inside the case there’s a car key hook with plenty of room for the key, money, credit card slots and a gel. Everything is then securely held with two zips.

The backing to the case is a mix of neoprene/lycra and also has some padding which made it comfortable to wear. This padding would also protect your phone. Finally the bottom of the case has two covered outlets for access to a charger and headphones.

I’ve recently started taking an iphone7 on my runs so naturally I’ve been keen to ensure that not only is it safe but that it’s easily accessible for my blogging photos. The irony of this was that I asked two people to take my photo today and it felt hard handing over my latest phone, but luckily they did give it back …. ha ha 🙂

While running my main observation was that the velcro and the fitting meant I had no rubbing or chaffing and more importantly I didn’t need to adjust it at all. Unzipping the case to take photos was quick and easy and to be honest over the six miles I almost forgot I was wearing it, which was just as well because I was concentrating on not falling over along the Titchfield canal section !!

Today was a short run down to the coast and naturally I’d carry more gear on a longer one but I’d still take the armband because of all the benefits I’ve mentioned. One final thought, if your phone is close by instead of packed away in a rucksack then you’re far less likely to miss a call or text. I do run to escape the modern world but it does avoid those “well I couldn’t get hold of you” conversations 🙂

So, as far as I can “sea”, for the introductory price of £9.99 and even at the normal £11.99 the Endurance Armband ticks all the protection, comfort and quality boxes.

The Revere Sport running armbands will keep your phone close at hand, give you the opportunity to take photos and ultimately, peace of mind, knowing that it’s safe.