September 16, 2014

Hood to Coast with Nuun Recap Part 2: Brooks Running Tour and Preparations

If you missed the first part of my Hood to Coast recap and all about my first time in Seattle check it out here.

Thursday morning after a lovely night's sleep we gathered for a morning group shakeout run with all the Hood to Coast Nuun runners.The Seattle weather was cool and sunny, which was amazing. There were lots of silly running selfies and photos taken like this awesome Go-Pro group shot Eric took. 


NuunHoodtoCoastShakeoutRun1

It felt great to get in some slow miles after a day of travelling, and I loved the mini running tour of downtown Seattle.

NuunHoodtoCoastShakeoutRun2

Afterwards Megan from Nuun had a local treat for us- Top Pot Doughnuts. I immediately snagged a chocolate with rainbow jimmies doughnut but should have grabbed another for later! They were an awesome post-run treat -although that probably negated the whole running thing


NuunHTC_TopPotDoughnuts

Later we were scheduled to check out the new Brooks Running Headquarters in the Fremont section of Seattle.  They had just moved into their new headquarters 3 days beforehand so things weren't all set up yet, but it was something I was really excited to see since I'm a huge Brooks Running fan.  The enormous building is LEED certified and is all things green & sustainable with energy efficient windows, toilets that use recycled rain water, and other features that reduces Brooks energy usage by 75%!

NuunHTC_BrooksRunningHQTour

Following a quick building tour we had a private presentation from one of the Product Line Managers about the entire process of designing, creating, and selling a Brooks Running shoe.  It's crazy how much research goes into new and updated shoe designs!

While I like clearly like a bright hot pink running shoe, someone asked why women's shoes always come in pink. The Brooks manager said it is their best selling color by far and therefore isn't going anywhere! 

 We even got a top-secret sneak peak of shoes that'll be out in 2015, and since we weren't allowed to take photos I'll just say that you're going to want to keep your eyes out for all the new Brooks shoes hitting the market next year. Snazzy-looking, for sure. 
NuunHTC_BrooksRunningHQTour2
I loved this artsy window on one of the Brooks HQ floors.


Sadly we didn't get any free swag at Brooks Running, but our last stop was getting to check out their amazing rooftop deck. 
NuunHTC_BrooksRunningHQTour3
Nuun Hood to Coast group shot on the Brooks Running Roofdeck
Could you get a more amazing view of Seattle? I would be eating lunch out here everyday! 

NuunHTC_BrooksRunningHQTour4

Afterwards Nuun treated us to a big group lunch at Pyramid Alehouse, where I had grabbed a beer before the Sounders game the night before. 

 We had numerous pitchers of beer on the table, clearly for relay race preparation & carb-loading purposes. 

NuunHTC_PyramidAlehouse


After some free-time in the afternoon spent exploring Seattle, we finally got to see the place where it all the magic happens-the Nuun headquarters! The company is so big in my mind that I was surprised by the smaller size of the office. It's one open-space office with lots of fun Nuun art and posters all around filled surrounding the employee desks. Of course they had every flavor Nuun lying around and even gave us bags full of awesome swag to wear during the relay race. The office even has a sweet little kitchen/break area which luckily included a fridge stocked with beers & sodas for all of us Nuun ambassadors.  

NuunHTC_NuunHQ

After a dinner of build-your-own Chipotle bowls (Thanks Nuun!) Megan, who manages their ambassador program,  and Kevin, the Nuun CEO,gave some grateful and enthusiastic speeches about Nuun and Hood to Coast. I felt we should be thanking them for this opportunity, not the other way around!

NuunHTC_NuunHQ2

Finally before heading back for the night, Van 1 & 2 of each team had to decorate their vans for the race. 

Team Nuun Energy Lemon-Lime Van 2 did the best job of course.  We had an electrasaurus  (compliments of our teammate/artist Joe) chomping on Nuun tablets all the way around the van along with lots of Nuun logos, a space for Roadkill counts, and of course our Twitter handles (#bloggerproblems). 


NuunHTC_NuunEnergyLemonLimeVan1

NuunHTC_NuunEnergyLemonLimeVan1

Then it was off to get a good night sleep before a weekend of living in a van with little rest and lots of running! 


What's your favorite type of doughnut? What's your favorite color running shoe?

26 comments:

  1. Seriously SUCH a cool experience! Gahhh we still need to catch up so you can tell me all about it in person!

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  2. I didn't realize Nuun HQ was in Seattle! That is awesome you got to visit!

    That view of the city is gorgeous. Running a race in Seattle is definitely on my bucket list!

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    1. I know! I had never been before but Seattle was so pretty albeit it was usually a bit more overcast than this particular day.

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  3. ahhh can't wait to keep reading more about your west coast living!

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  4. Omg how fun!! Thanks for recapping all this!

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  5. What a fun experience! Glad to have taken a tour of Brooks and Nuun through your blog! Can't wait to see the new shoes.

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    1. They are SUPER pretty and awesome. Glad you enjoyed my recap!

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  6. Sounds like a great time! I have just started using Nuun this past summer and I can tell the difference since using it.I have never been to Seattle but it looks gorgeous! I usually go for the darker color shoes so it hides the dirt. However this time I did get a hot pink color bc they didn't have my size in blue and they have really grew on me.

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    1. Nuun is great! I have a one-time family/friends code for online orders through the end of the year if you want it-just email me!

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  7. Ah I love Seattle!! I miss it and I love Top Pot Doughnuts! So cool you got to see a lot of the cool sites and so cool that you got to tour Nuun and Brooks!

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    1. Top Pot was so yummy! I wish I had another right now.

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  8. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHmazing. SO freaking jealous.

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  9. Like insanely jealous of your trip. I don't even know what else to say other than you are so lucky//totally deserve it!!!

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  10. This looks like tons of fun, Lauren; thanks for sharing! Love the electrosaurus, by the way... :)

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  11. i'm pretty sure the only thing i'd be good at at a race like this would be eating those donuts!

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    1. Yes, I would definitely win in the carb-loading event.

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  12. I find it insanely funny that so far every single recap post I've read has a mention and picture of the doughnuts. But I mean, they were good doughnuts.

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    1. The doughnuts were clearly the highlight of the morning!

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  13. There are few things in life better than Top Pot Donuts and Brooks Running. I'm so glad you got to experience both. The Brooks Running crew is the best. I loved reading your recap. Running HTC with Nuun last year is one of my favorite running experiences. xoxo

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    1. Thanks for reading. I would totally work for Brooks, haha.

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