Lululemon, athleisure and activewear apparel giant, has designed a first-of-its-kind ultramarathon called FURTHER, where 10 women will participate in six days of racing in California. Head below to learn more.
FURTHER, a 10-woman ultramarathon at Lake Cahuilla in La Quinta, California, begins today, March 6, and will span six days and serves multiple purposes, including providing athletes with opportunities to break world records and gather data on female performance.
The idea, first and foremost, is to highlight how far women can go “with support and access to resources and product innovations typically reserved for men,” according to the press release.
Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer at lululemon:
Women have historically been overlooked and underserved in athletics, and as a brand committed to helping all people feel their best, we have a responsibility to create more equity for our communities by investing to close this gap. When supported with innovation and resources, we are confident women will continue to redefine the limits of what’s possible. This is the motivation and purpose behind our FURTHER initiative.
In preparation for the six-day ultramarathon, 36 specific products were designed to meet the unique needs of each of the 10 women participating in FURTHER – each product is backed by research. There are products designed to keep the women cool while running and allow them to store items they may need throughout the race.
The ambassadors shared what they would need to be successful in FURTHER with lululemon, and as a result, some essential design choices were made, including a support code bra that would prevent chafing, cooling apparel and accessories such as UV cooling ice sleeves and headwear, and a Runsie which was designed to fuse performance with aesthetic.
Participating lululemon ambassadors from the Global Collective include (via Business Wire):
- Montana Farrah-Seaton (Age: 27): Ultrarunner, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Model
- Stefanie Flippin (Age: 34): Coach and Ultrarunner, BIPOC Advocate, Doctor
- Camille Herron (Age: 42): Ultrarunner, World Record Holder
- Kayla Jeter (Age: 34): Runner, Strength & Wellness Coach
- Xiaomeng Jia (Age: 38): Marathon Runner, Entrepreneur
- Yoon Young Kang (Age: 44): Ultrarunner, Judo Black Belt, Joy Seeker
- Vriko Kwok (Age: 32): Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Athlete, Runner, Entrepreneur
- Mirna Valerio (Age: 48): Ultrarunner, Author, Adventurer
- Devon Yanko (Age: 41): Ultrarunner, Coach & Mentor, Food Entrepreneur
- Leah Yingling (Age: 32): Ultrarunner, Biomedical Engineer, Women’s Advocate
While they run, scientists from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific and others will gather physiological, biomechanical, and psychosocial data from the women. If you want to follow along live with lululemon’s Global Collective as they run over the course of the next six days, you can do so here.
More on lululemon:
- Calvin McDonald, Lululemon CEO, slams Lululemon founder: ‘He has not built this company’
- Lululemon flexes its tech muscles, experiments with generative AI
- Lululemon hires fossil fuel-linked PR firm in the face of greenwashing allegations
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