Here's a follow up on a previous blog titled New Balance files Suit Against Chinese Counterfeiter.

Yesterday, New Balance won a trademark infringement suit against Qiuzhi Footwear to stop manufacturing "New Barlun" footwear and pay $75,000.

When I went to fashion design school, we drafted a sample pattern in a size 8 for women. This teeny size did not seem to fit the "real people" that were a real size "8". Before marriage and 3 kids, I was a size 5 and I couldn't even wear my samples.

Did you ever notice that when you purchase a designer garment, the sizes seem to run small and you need to go up to the next size or two. But when you buy a cheaper garment, it fits like a tent. I don't know if I just notice it more because I was in the industry, but it is true, mostly due to pricing of fabrics and manufacturing in volume.

A while back after I tried on some of the clothing from the Pink Ribbon Collection, I noticed that a size Large felt very tight. I mentioned to our general manager that the large sizing of New Balance seemed to fit like a size Medium. That the women that were truely wearing a size Large or X-large couldn't even wear most of the New Balance tops. I also mentioned to him that I thought that most of our women customer base does not wearing tiny shirts and I didn't think the clothing was appropriately geared toward our shoe customers but based on what the other athletic brands were putting on the racks.

Well, some good news which I hope will make New Balance as well known for as their great fitting shoes. The buzz is: New Balance has taken notice that their apparel and other leading sports apparel have sizing issues. They are making fitting adjustments and the Spring 2007 collection will be the first to reflect these sizing changes. Hopefully us average size people will feel the difference.

- Michele

- Michele

Hey there, my name is Daniel Champagne. I'm 20 years old and I have lived in St.Petersburg for my entire life. I currently attend USF and I am studying for a degree in Mass Communications I am a Team Leader at Chick-fil-A on Tyrone Blvd.

When I graduated from high school, I decided that because I had the extra time and the money, I needed to focus on my fitness. I joined a gym and have been active for the last two and a half years. It has become something that I actually look, forward to every week and the long -term as well as the short-term benefits are great. One thing that I haven't very good at is my cardio training. I play some racquetball and I run every now and then, but I actually dread any sort of cardiovascular exercise.

I was at work a few weeks ago and our Marketing Director told me about a program that encouraged employees to be fit. One of the opportunities was participating in the Disney whole or half marathon in January. I got really excited at the thought of doing the run and decided that I would run the half marathon with Chick-fil-A on January 6th.

I am training with a friend who is going to participate in the half marathon as well. I know that this won't be an easy process, but I am excited about the journey. I am looking forward to sharing this experience with you and I look forward to your encouragement, questions and prayers!

- Daniel

Starting tomorrow, we will have a guest blogger join our team here at New Balance Tampa. His name is Daniel, a 20 year old college student who is training for the Disney Half Marathon. He has been so generous to commit to writing a weekly journal entry on this blog.

We are so excited to go along with him on his journey.

- Michele

Has everyone been following the Little League World Series? Its been getting alot of attention and coverage, and they have just added a 5 second delay. I think the other big story is Aaron Durley the 13 year old first baseman for Saudi Arabia. He is an unbelievable 6'8" and weighs in at 256 lbs. Thats even bigger than Shaq was at the same age. The cleats he wears are the New Balance MF1200MK and this weeks Sports Illustrated reported them as a size 19 shoe. Unbelievable!

Last call on the 903 New Balance all terrain running shoe. The 903 was re-introduced by a special make up of the original 903. The 903 series is now the Women's 907 or the Men's 907

Men's 903 or
Women's 903

Based on some feedback we've increased the font size on our blog. I think our blog is much easier to read now. How about you? The individual posts titles really seem to pop now don't they? Especially if you're a seasoned page skimmer. Raise your hand if you quickly scan a page until you see a title that interests you? I do that a lot, this was another good idea. Keep em coming.

Oh, wanna know what feature we're releasing tomorrow? New Balance Tampa blog search.

- Vic

Hey folks, it's Vic again... Here's a quick question for ya. How long has New Balance Tampa been blogging?

Answer: Since April 2004!

Another question. How do I find old posts?

Hmmm...well that calendar thing but it's really wonky. Bye bye calendar and hello Archive; we have replaced the calendar with archive links that date back to our first post.

Please keep the feedback coming.

New Balance shoes fit.

Just as an example, these babies come in a bunch of sizes. 50 variations of widths and sizes to be exact are offered in the Men's M719SB.

For instance in a Men's D width- The sizing chart starts at 7 and goes up to size 18. Wow , what a size range. Then New Balance offers the M719SB 2E and 4E witdths. So many sizes, so sure you will find a perfect fit.

I believe the reason most people love New Balance is that when they finally buy New Balance, and are finally fitted correctly, a person learns their true size. No need to crunch your foot into a shoe that is not offered in width.

Converts from other brands know why their feet finally feel good, they are finally wearing your perfect fit.

To get your perfect fit at any of the New Balance concept stores, they all have trained fitters.

I was just reading Brand Naming over at Strategic Name development regarding the NB Zip and the thought quickly entered my mind... What are most people calling this new shoe from New Balance?

It's an interesting question because New Balance prefixed the model with NB which is out of process. Too, Zip is just different and it rolls either as Zip or Zips doesn't it?

Wanna know what the rest of the blogosphere is calling the NB Zips? I did some quick trend analysis over at Blog Pulse and hands down "nb zip" has the most mentions over the last 60 days compared to other variations.

Check out this chart

Ladies, these NB zips are really hot in the orange white flavor.

If you don’t like orange, then red. And if your into pastels this blue/lime combo is really pretty.

W8505WR

W8505BL

Did anyone happen to catch the gigantic sized NB Zip that is plastered on the side of a large building in Times Square?

It has to be 30 stories high? I found this in the Boston Herald.

Where have you seen the NB Zip? New Balance has put on the full court press for this marketing campaign.

New Balance keeps updating their NBzip.com web site so keep checking that for more details. I know that I'm checking it to see if I won the 12 free pairs of NB Zips in the sweepstakes giveaway. Remember I said I'd give them away here if I won (well I might actually keep a pair for me and give away 11 pairs).

Did you know that the New Balance walking shoe, the 926, is available in over 150 sizes and widths!! Women's available in 2A - 4E and Men's available in sizes B - 6E. The 926 is a great walker because it has extraordinary stability with the ROLLBAR and Walking Strike Path outsole that stabilizes your foot through the walking gait cycle.
The cushioning in this model is outstanding also.

This shoe is great for you if you are a pronator and if you have heel pain or stability problems. It has a roomy toe area for people who need extra wiggle room for hammer toes, black toenails and bunions.

Women 926 White
Women 926 Black
Men 926 White
Men 926 Black

Keep an eye out for the Grey 926 for men coming in the Fall.

- Michele

Hi folks. We've received several comments from our customers which indicated that it would be awfully helpful if they could browse our footwear by Slip Last.

That's a great idea so naturally we've decided to build a facility that allows our customers to do just that. It's still in Beta so expect to see more changes but if you want to try this out you may do so.

Browse By Slip Last.

We really appreciate feedback so keep it coming. Its your feedback that led to this facility actually being built! We're also building a Browse By Width feature so if that's something you'd like to use then keep checking this blog because we should be making that announcement soon.

- Vic

Edit: Oh, one other thing. This feature does require that javascript be enabled in your browser. NBT supports Internet Explorer and FireFox and both have been tested.

American Idol fans look out!

American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was pictured with second runner up Elliott Yamin wearing his gray New Balance 992's in the July 31st issue of Us weekly.

- John

I received this link today from Club NB with an article called "The Art of Shoe Design". Check it out, it is a neat article about shoe art.

If your into art, here's some other shoe art that I found that is really awesome!

- Michele

I thought of another back to school item that is good for those who need to wear school uniforms.

My sons school asked that he wear black shoes with no accent colored logos with his uniform.

The New Balance KX621BK
was approved to go with his school uniform because it is all black, upper and sole with no other colors.

It is also available in a velcro closure for the little ones.

- Michele

It’s Back to School time.

- Don't forget to make sure that your child is wearing a good fitting shoe.
The feet are our foundation. If our feet hurt, everything does.

Look for the following when fitting your child for shoes:

• Take your child to an expert to be fitted for shoes.


• Take notice of length, width, height and comfort when checking the size.


• Your child will be wearing these shoes everyday. A good pair of shoes will take a beating, so look for quality. Leather holds up better than vinyl, and stitching lasts longer than glue.

Navy Kids 992

Pink Girls 992

Girls Lighted N logo

Boys Lighted N logo

Navy and Grey

Black

I really like the leather on these limited edition retros. It looks almost like an old bomber jacket. The lime green adds a little flavor.

I know of only a few stores who actually carry these so I know we will be seeing them on ebay in a few months when they sell out!

- John

I was checking out the New Balance webpage on the Chicago Marathon. It has alot of information to show you how to prepare with for the
LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

• Become a Committed Member


• Check out The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon® Mens Collection and
  The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon® Womens Collection


• Find out the best way to watch the race with the New Balance Passport Program


• Lots of training info


• Download an image for computer wallpaper to psych you up daily.

8-8-06 NB Zips are here, they have been revealed by New Balance
Check them out. What do you think?

Women's Running NB Zips:
W8505BL
W8505WR

Men's Running NB Zips:
M8505SN
M8505WR

Women's Crosstraining NB Zips:
WX8515SL
WX8515BC

Men's Crosstraining NB Zips:
MX8515BS
MX8515RB

Kids Running NB Zips:
K8505BLG

I was walking my usual walk this morning and I was thinking to myself that I felt hotter than I normally felt. I thought that my feet felt very, very hot. So hot that they seemed to swell up to the point that my 766’s felt tight. I really felt that my feet must be over 100 degrees. I know it was hot this morning but I couldn't figure why my feet were so hot. This made me curious so I did some searching on the net on hot feet.

This is what I found out.

• Some women get hot flashes, only in their feet, during menopause. (Not quite there yet so I knew this wasn't the cause.)


• It would really help to wear a sock with a high content of Cool Max


• There's a new musical out called Hot Feet.


• The feet have some 250,000 sweat glands each, it is the most perspiring part of the body. In a day, each foot could produce a pint of sweat a day. Wow!


• New Balance makes an insole that is for moisture management.


• The foot can swell 5% by the end of the day and double if it is really hot or humid. (Probaly my case here.)


• Normal temperature of the feet is about 94 degrees. In a shoe, normal temperature is about 104 degrees. It could go up to about 115 degrees when working out.

Did you know?

Breast cancer accounts for one out of every three cancer diagnoses in the United States.

Awareness Saves Lives

- Michele

It is unbelivable how hot this time of year is, which makes it hard for me to get out there and log the miles. It seems as though the heat just weighs me down.

My dad runs on the treadmill in the summer - but I just can't get into it. It's hard for me to transition from the road to a treadmill, it just doesn't feel the same.

If your trying to beat the heat try raquetball, basketball, or any thing that can be done inside. I'm not much of a swimmer but that it also great excercise.

Stay "Cool"

- John

I just received my Runner’s World September 2006 issue. I found that this issue was full of great articles from the best runner’s breakfast to 40 best tips from the masters. Why you should race a 5K this week-end and the Fall’s Best New Shoes.

Running World gathered the best 20 running shoes in the market including some of the New Balance newly released models.

New Balance 1222 and the New Balance 767 both were mentioned as top performers. The 1222 was recommended for bigger runners who need as durable trainer. The 767 received the best update award.

- Michele

Don't forget, the count down is here. In 6 days, Tuesday, 8/8/06, New Balance will release the NB Zip.

Available at any New Balance concept store or call our toll free number at 1-877-NBTampa. The NB Zip will not be sold until that date. Each store will receive limited stock, so mark your calendar, 8/8/06.

For more information, check out the NB Zip site (requires Flash).

- Michele