Please tune in to see Spira^® as a featured shoe brand on QVC television!  I will be appearing on the QVC Morning Show on the following dates:

“QVC Morning Show”
Wednesday, February 23, 7 – 9 a.m. (EST)
(5 – 7 a.m. MST)

*Featuring the women’s Valencia Athletic Walking Shoe in 2 widths

“QVC Shoe Show”
Friday, February 25, 2 – 3 p.m. (EST)
(12 – 1 p.m. MST)

*Featuring the women’s WaveWalker in 2 widths

I will be introducing the Spira^® Valencia Athletic Walking shoe on the Morning Show and the Spira^® WaveWalker on the QVC Shoe Show.  As about 85% of the audience is female, only the women’s model for each will be available.

QVC is remarkably disciplined in their approach. Product is selected by QVC merchandisers after a vigorous screening process. That process took us almost a year. Every claim we make had to be substantiated with third party verification. I can honestly say that if a product makes it through QVC’s quality assurance evaluation, it is really good.  Thereafter, I was required to attend QVC school at the QVC campus in West Chester, PA. It took several hours of online testing, classroom and rehearsal time at the QVC studios. It is a pretty remarkable experience. One my QVC school classmate was Thom Filicia, a well known designer who got his start on “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” reality television show.   He was launching a new line of linens.

I learned a lot during the class. First, QVC is largest direct response retailer in the world. They expect to sell $9 billion in product this year alone. Second, QVC is all about trust. Guests are not allowed to in anyway exaggerate the benefits of the products.  Third, success on QVC means support for the brand. The exposure is often so great, that all of the retailers carrying the product benefit.

One of the more interesting aspects of the class was learning how to sell the shoe to QVC customers. QVC trainers pointed out that focusing on the intricate features of the product is of little to no consequence to the audience. They want to know the benefits of your product. Some examples:  Why do I need a Spira shoe and what problems will it solve? What does wearing the shoe feel like?

I am expecting another show on the Spira^® Odyssey Running shoe very soon.  I look forward to hearing from you after the show runs!

Peter Kemboi

Spira shoes covered the podium at the Jacksonville Marathon this past weekend, as both the overall men’s and women’s champions were wearing Spira. Five of the top seven men’s finishers competed in Spira, along with two of the top three women. Spira also carried the men’s and women’s Masters Division champions to victory.

Kennedy Kemei of Chapel Hill, NC

Alena Vinitskaya

Anzhelika Averkova, age 41, won the women’s division in a remarkable time of 2:36:49. She was also the top Master’s finisher among the women. Alena Vinitskaya, who had just won the Miami ING Marathon two weeks ago, finished third in 2:40:42.

“It was a great day for our company,” said Spira CEO and founder Andy Krafsur. “We look forward to repeating this success in future competitions.”

Peter Kemboi of Kenya took the lead at the 24-mile mark and won the fourth Mississippi Blues Marathon today, edging fellow Kenyan Mark Chepses by four seconds.

Kemboi, 36, was timed in 2 hours, 19 minutes, 47 seconds — about a minute off the course record. Chepses finished in 2:19:51 over the hilly, challenging course that started and finished in downtown Jackson.

Kemboi won $4,000 from the $30,000 purse.

The women’s winner was Truphena Tarus, a 26-year-old Kenyan who trains in Marietta, Ga. Tarus, who also won $4,000, was timed in 2:40:18.

The top Mississippi finisher was Rob Oates of Brandon, 16th in 2:53:46.

Todd Hagadone of Fairfax, Va., a former Starkville resident, won the men’s half-marathon with a time of 1:12:46. Sara Phelps of Birmingham (1:35:45) was the top female finisher in the half.

Race organizers said nearly 2,300 runners registered for the marathon and half-marathon events.

Unlike last year, when the temperature was a frigid 17 degrees and there were snow flurries during parts of the race, the weather was much better for running today.

“Today was perfect weather,” said Brian Shelton of Cookeville, Tenn., who was ninth in the marathon.

Article from Clarion Ledger

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20110108/SPORTS/110108004/Kenyan-Peter-Kemboi-claims-Mississippi-Blues-Marathon

What are leg cramps? Leg cramps are muscle spasms anywhere in the leg. They usually occur at night and are sudden, painful, involuntary contractions of the muscles in your leg. In most cases, night leg cramps involve your calf muscles, but muscles in your feet or thighs may cramp as well.
Leg cramps can be caused by overexertion of the muscles, structural disorders (flat feet), standing on concrete, prolonged sitting, inappropriate leg positions while sedentary, or dehydration.

Doctors agree that wearing shoes that provide excellent support and do not put too much strain on any particular part of your legs, back or feet will help reduce the occurrence of leg cramps. People wearing the wrong shoes can end up experiencing these painful spasms know as night cramps.
One customer found out how important a supportive and comfortable shoe can be.

I just bought the Volare 3 sneakers from your store. I am 46 years old, and these are the best sneakers that I have ever owned. For the last few years I have had problems with night cramps in my legs and feet. They were so bad that it would wake me from a sound sleep, jumping out of bed. I tried many medications and saw various doctors. No one knew what to do. I bought your sneakers only because I am a nurse and spend hours on my feet on concrete floors. Well, the sneakers have made my job a lot easier, but my surprise was that since I started wearing the Spira sneakers, my leg cramps have gone away. I guess the cramps were being caused by my shoes. I am very satisfied with these sneakers, so much that I am now buying a second pair for the gym. I hope you guys are around for the rest of my life.

Make sure you have good athletic shoes that give you full support whether you are running, walking or standing for long periods of time. Spira’s Volare incorporates WaveSpringsTM in both the heel and forefoot for incomparable cushioning and energy return. The deflection nature of the WaveSpringTM maintains “like new” performance throughout the life of the product. The single density midsole combines with the plush but supportive upper to provide maximum comfort.

Fredison Costa crossing the finish line of the Disney Marathon. Photo by Tom Benitez, Orlando Sentinel / January 9, 2011

Fredison with his Disney winnings.

Spira got a piece of the magic at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend in Orlando when Fredison Costa of Piedade, Brazil won the full marathon on Sunday in 2:21:14, coming in more than six minutes ahead of other runners.

On his feet – bright yellow Spira Singer Elite racing shoes.

After coming in second in 2010, Fredison’s win this year snapped a seven-year winning streak by fellow Brazilian Adrian Bustos, who beat Fredison last year by 33 seconds. Fredison took the lead 9 miles into the race, and never looked back.

Fredison said he hopes to qualify for the 2012 Olympic marathon in London, but he doesn’t qualify, he will try for the 2016 Games in his homeland.

More than 17,500 runners were registered for the annual 26.2-mile run through all four Disney theme parks. The race wound through four Disney theme parks, replete with musical entertainment and Disney characters cheering the runners on. It capped a weekend of running events, including a family 5K fun run, kids’ fest and half marathon that drew nearly 54,000 runners from 60 countries.

Andy with Fredison, winner of the 2011 Disney Marathon at the Spira booth.

Like all of our athletes, Fredison makes us so proud, and his victory is a wonderful start to a new and exciting year at Spira.

Also this weekend at Walt Disney World, we worked alongside Fit 2 Run, one of our retailers, to fit runners in Spira shoes at the Marathon Expo. With more than 50,000 athletes participating in the weekend events, we were extremely busy.

Congratulations to Fredison on his incredible victory, and to all the athletes who ran this weekend!

We’re off to Disney! For the third consecutive year, Spira is the official performance footwear sponsor of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend!

If you’ll be in Orlando for the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, please stop by the Spira booth at the Jostens Center at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Thursday, Friday or Saturday and say hello.

We’ll have several participants in this year’s races, including Doug Kurtis, who has run a world record 76 sub 2 hour and 20 minute marathons! At 58 years old, Doug can still run under three hours for the marathon, as he has done 198 times! He’ll be speaking during the speaker’s series and in our booth for portions of the weekend. Doug will also be running the half marathon.

Even I will also be running the half marathon!

Visit us at booth #137 at the expo on Thursday, Friday or Saturday. The half marathon will be on Saturday, and the full marathon on Sunday. Anyone who visits us at the expo will get 15% off their purchase!