Cape Town - If you spotted Springbok rugby player Eben Etzebeth pounding along the Sea Point promenade this morning in the company of a bunch of people in yellow shirts, here's why.
He - along with some other high profile sportspeople, some trim bloggers and some rather out-of-breath journalists - were taking part in the launch event of a new range of ASICS shoes.
The event took the form of a hunt, in teams, for the "X". Teams tooks part in a series of timed physical challenges. The first involved a set of stretching and aerobic exercises, then there was a run to a foofy slide set up by the South African National Circus. That was followed by another run to the outdoor gym and then a run to the finish line. Each team did their events in stages, and all participants had a healthy breakfast waiting at the end.
Each team was of course taking selfies and tweeting them along the way - use the Twitter hashtag #GetTheX to see how it all went.
It was very windy and a bit chilly on the promenade so for most people the physical activity was a welcome warm-up.
This particular journalist tagged along behind my team, captained by Proteas cricketer Vernon Philander. A long-standing niggling foot injury meant running was out for me - and Vernon kindly put in extra time running back to encourage the stragglers.
The actual point of all this activity was of to launch a range of sport shoes, and we were each given a pair to wear while taking part. The aforementioned foot injury meant that mine felt a little tight across my high arches (even with relacing) but otherwise they felt like shoes I would be glad to wear again and again.
The details of the range of shoes, according to the press release:
The range is called fuzeX, and has a lightweight midsole developed by ASICS Institute of Sport Science in Kobe, Japan, fuzeX footwear combines lightness and protection with a sleek three-dimensional curved design.
FuzeGEL technology is composed of regular midsole material and GEL "to promote a smooth and comfortable gait by absorbing shock upon impact and propelling runners forward on repulsion. In addition to the full-length fuzeGEL, fuzeX features an 8mm heel drop and moulded engineered mesh upper to give runners support whilst retaining overall lightweight".
The release quotes ASICS Ambassador Etzebeth: "fuzeX not only looks amazing but it is very light and extremely comfortable. It is another step forward and a massive milestone for ASICS"..
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Renee Moodie, IOL Lifestyle
@reneemoodie