Ryan Hall's Blog, page 266

April 16, 2016

Photos: 2016 B.A.A. Invitational Mile

A morning of races in Boston brought middle-school runners, high school standouts and professionals together for the B.A.A. Invitational Mile. The middle-school runners ran a 1,000-meter race, while the high school and pro athletes ran a 1-mile race.

Here are photos from the races, taken by PhotoRun.net:

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The start of the boys 1,000-meter race.

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The boys 1,000-meter winners.

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The girls 1,000-meter winners.

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The start of the boys mile.

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The girls 1-mile podium.

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Published on April 16, 2016 17:35

Photos: Gebremeskel, Huddle Win 2016 B.A.A. 5K

Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia and Molly Huddle of Providence, R.I., ran to victory in the eighth edition of the B.A.A. 5K on Saturday, breaking the tape in 13:39 and 15:14, respectively. Check out these great photos of the race from PhotoRun.net!

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2016 B.A.A. 5K

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2016 B.A.A. 5K and Elite Mile Invitational

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2016 B.A.A. 5K and Elite Mile Invitational

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2016 B.A.A. 5K and Elite Mile Invitational

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Published on April 16, 2016 14:56

Molly Huddle Wins B.A.A. 5K for Third Straight Year

Men's winner Dejan Gebremeskel (left) and women's winner Molly Huddle at the B.A.A. 5K. Photo: Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly

BOSTON — On a sunny but bracing Spring morning here, Dejen Gebremeskel of Ethiopia and Molly Huddle of Providence, R.I., ran to victory in the eighth edition of the B.A.A. 5K in Back Bay, each collecting their third win in the event. For Huddle, the 2016 victory was her third in a row; Gebremeskel also won in 2013 and 2014.

Hampered by a strong headwind in the final two kilometers, times were modest for this typically fast race: 13:39 for Gebremeskel and 15:14 for Huddle.

The men’s race settled down quickly after the start adjacent to the iron-gated Public Garden. Kennedy Kithuka, the 2012 NCAA cross country champion for Texas Tech, was the early leader, and he was immediately joined by Gebremeskel, three-time winner Ben True, last year’s runner-up Stephen Sambu, last year’s fourth place finisher Philip Langat and three others. The pack passed the mile mark on Commonwealth Avenue in 4:25, and Kithuka quickly dropped back and out of contention.

Sambu, who won last month’s NYC Half, moved to the front where he said he feels most comfortable.

“The second mile I went in front,” Sambu told reporters. He continued: “I like running in the front. When I’m in front I feel strong. I feel like I’m in control of the pace.”

After the U-turn at Charlsegate West about 2.5 km into the race, the pack hit the two-mile mark (3.2 km) in 8:53 and Sambu, in his purple Nike singlet, took the full brunt of the headwind. True, a head taller than the Kenyan, tucked in behind him as did Gebremeskel; Langat was off to Sambu’s left side. As these four came down Boylston Street and through the Boston Marathon finish line, Gebremeskel—who has 12:46 5000m speed—began to set himself up for the finish. He knows the course well.

“I tried to push myself at one kilometer (to go),” the 2012 Olympic 5000m silver medalist told Race Results Weekly. “I felt strong. I tried to push.”

Gebremeskel took the lead before the final left turn on to Charles Street, and was in command of the race at least 200 meters from the finish. Right behind him, True was able to stay close and finish second in 13:41, an excellent result for the former Dartmouth College star who had missed last month’s NYC Half with a nagging hip injury.

“It was good,” True told Race Results Weekly. “It was my first race in seven and a half months. The first 4K felt great, but when Dejen made his move I didn’t have it.”

Sambu ended up a close third (13:44) followed by Americans Diego Estrada (13:54) and Joe Stilin (14:02).

Huddle had an easier time than Gebremeskel. The 31-year-old, who has won 21 national titles, used the men running near her to shield her tiny frame from the wind. She was never seriously challenged by second place Buze Diriba of Ethiopia (15:28) and third place Caroline Chepkoech of Kenya (15:35).

“It was definitely a little breezy and chilly this year,” Huddle told the assembled media after donning a warm jacket. “So, I was kind of trying to get behind some of the men if I could.”

Huddle said that unlike last year, her first kilometers were slower when Ethiopia’s Sentayehu Ejigu, Mamitu Daska and Gelete Burka pushed the pace, setting Huddle up for a course and American record time.

“I just wasn’t dragged as quickly out the first mile and a half,” said Huddle. “Maybe that was the difference. I don’t feel too bad now; similar to last year.”

With her victory here, Huddle duplicated the start of last year’s outdoor season when she won the NYC Half in March, then the B.A.A. 5K in April. She’ll move to the track next, and will run the 5000m at the Prefontaine Classic on May 28th. At the USA Olympic Trials in July, she’ll defend her national title at 10,000m, and may also run the 5000m.

“I’m just getting into track shape and doing a little bit of faster stuff now,” Huddle said. “I’ll go up to altitude (in Flagstaff, Ariz.) in May and do a month of really hard work before Prefontaine.”

Behind the top 3, Diane Nukuri of Burundi (15:43) and Emily Sisson—one of Huddle’s training partners in Providence under coach Ray Treacy— finished fifth (15:45).

For their victories here today, both Gebremeskel and Huddle earned $7500 in prize money out of a $39,000 purse. About 10,000 runners registered for the race.

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Published on April 16, 2016 11:27

Who Will Emerge in Boston on Monday?

The men's and women's elite races of this year's Boston Marathon are wide open. Photo: PhotoRun.net

BOSTON—In a marketing sense, the Boston Marathon finds itself somewhat between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand, it takes rightful pride in being the oldest marathon in the world, and revels in and celebrates its history, bringing back past champions on the five-year anniversaries of their victories and pointing to a 119-year track record that no other race can match. But at the same time, while paying homage to and preserving its heritage, Boston must strive to remain relevant in a running world that is constantly evolving at a seemingly ever more rapid pace. Prize money, chip timing, wave starts, mile markers, a morning start time—these were all attributes of a large marathon that Boston was forced to adapt to avoid become a venerated but irrelevant fossil of an event.

Indeed, this year the race celebrates the half century anniversary of the first time a woman, Bobbi Gibb, ran the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Back Bay, an act that, like Kathrine Switzer’s run with a number the following year, was at the time excoriated by the organizers. Now, women make up half the field of the 31,000 who will toe the line on Monday, proving, like the old Virginia Slims cigarette commercial used to say, they’ve indeed come a long way, baby.

But besides the celebration of the advent and growth of distaff runners in the race, this year’s marathon seems to be lacking a real “hook,” a compelling story line to pique the interest of the casual fan of the sport. While the warm temperatures, predicted to reach 70 degrees on Monday, will certainly swell the crowds along the route, they may be cheering not for anyone in particular, but simply because it’s the thing you do in Boston on a sunny Patriot’s Day.

That is largely because 2016 is an Olympic year, and Boston has always suffered a bit every four years, when the top Americans have been rendered hors de combat by their recent Olympic trials race. There were some occasions when Kenya and Ethiopia would declare Boston to be their own Trials (after all, why not let the Boston Athletic Association pick up the tab for staging their trials and providing prize money to boot?) but now that’s been superseded by letting their runners post a fast time, wherever they choose. To be sure, the elite start list is awash with the abbreviations KEN and ETH, including the defending champs, Caroline Rotich and Lelisa Desisa, respectively, and Tiki Gelana, the 2012 Olympic champ and the fastest woman in the field at 2:18:58, although she had not arrived in Boston by Friday’s elite athlete press conference.

From an American point of view, there’s no huge story brewing either. In the women’s race, the long-awaited debut of Neely Spence Gracey is compelling and Sarah Crouch seems ready to run strong. But realistically, both are more likely to finish in the top 10 than they are to crack the top 5. On the men’s side, Ian Burrell, who works as an attorney in Colorado Springs, could be primed to run a good one in the last race of his career, but he’s a 2:13 guy running Boston for the first time. Girma Mecheso, a naturalized U.S. citizen who went to Oklahoma State University and hails from Ethiopia, is also making his marathon debut. He was the 2014 U.S. 20K champion and owns a 1:02 half marathon PR.

Still, this year’s marathon perhaps mirrors the hometown Red Sox, who will play their traditional morning game as the leaders race past Fenway Park on Monday: the possibility of good, possibly great performances, but as yet too many question marks to really invest a total rooting interest in.

Maybe by Monday afternoon questions on both those fronts will have been answered, with the Sox taking the series from the visiting Blue Jays, and the top runners forging a duel that will go down in the lengthy annals of the marathon as one of the most stirring races in memory. But for now, it’s too hard to get a read on either.

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Published on April 16, 2016 10:05

April 15, 2016

Photos: The 2016 Boston Marathon Shirts

We love a good running T-shirt, and the Boston Marathon is a great place to see new shirts celebrating one of the world’s most famous marathons.

Here are some of the shirts we saw at the Boston Marathon expo leading up to the 2016 race. Which one is your favorite?

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From Newton

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Right on Hereford St., Left on Boylston St.

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From New Balance

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From adidas

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From The North Face

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From Skechers

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From The North Face.

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From The North Face.

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From Skechers

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Published on April 15, 2016 12:18

Photos: Excitement Brewing Before Boston 2016

More than 25,000 runners will run in the 120th annual Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18. Excitement is mounting as runners begin to arrive in town, pick up their race bibs and do their final shake-out runs on One Boston Day in the city. Check out the scenes from the city in the photos below.

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The finish line has been set up for a few days, even though Boylston Street is still open to traffic.

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Runners could be seen all around the Charles River loosening their legs on easy shake-out runs.

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One of the many souvenir T-shirts awaiting visiting runners in Boston.

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This sign outside Luke's Lobster two blocks from the finish line inspires runners to claw their way to the end.

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The past two American male champions, Greg Meyer (1983) and Meb Keflezighi (2014), share a moment at the race press conference.

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The official Boston Marathon 2016 hat.

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Four-time U.S. Olympian Shalane Flanagan answers questions at the press conference. (She's not running the Boston Marathon this year but says she'll come back to run it again.)

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Visiting runners photographed the finish line from the site where one of the terrorist bombs was set off in 2013.

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That's 1984 Olympic marathon champion and two-time Boston Marathon winner Joan Samuelson (left), along with 2016 U.S. Olympic marathoners Shalane Flanagan, Amy Cragg and Desi Linden.

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A bank of elevators at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel serves up a unique dose of inspiration.

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Cool Cow Ice Cream gave away free ice cream bars at Copley Square to celebrate One Boston Day.

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KIND Snacks passed out daffodils to celebrate One Boston Day.

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Here's the front window of Marathon Sports running shop, which has been overflowing with runners on Thursday and Friday.

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Here's a glance inside the Nike store on Newbury Street. On Saturday, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Boston area runners will be able to request a Nike+ Run Club (NRC) Pacer via the UBER app for a personalized 2-3 mile running adventure through the streets of the city. The chance to run with special guest pacers and the chance to win free gear are part of the promotion.

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The New Balance store on Boylston Street sold 44 pairs of Zante Generate shoes with specially made 3D-printed midsoles for $400 apiece.

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The enduring message of local citizens and visiting runners can be found all over the city.

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The finish line is lit up all night and monitor by the Boston Police Department.

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Published on April 15, 2016 11:11

Sarah Crouch Aiming To Be Top American At Boston Marathon

Photo: PhotoRun.net

BOSTON — Monday’s Boston Marathon wasn’t originally on Sarah Crouch’s 2016 racing schedule, but after suffering an injury setback last December while preparing for February’s U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, the 120th running of the annual Patriots Day race didn’t seem like a bad backup plan.

“I made the call about eight weeks before the Trials that I was going to have to take a chunk of time off,” said Crouch, who had a badly strained hip flexor that eventually led to pain in her lower abdominals. “It was heartbreaking, but Boston is a hell of a consolation prize.”

The injury was Crouch’s first major one in 12 years of competitive running, but it helped open her eyes to the fact that training and competing at a high level is risky business and can’t be taken for granted. The age-old advice of listening to your body and balancing hard workouts with recovery are lessons that sometimes need to be learned the hard way. In Crouch’s case, she kept training through pain until one day—while on a run, no less—she realized that she needed to take a break and put her Trials plans on hold.

“I’m starting to realize I’m not 18 anymore,” the 26-year-old Crouch said with a laugh at Friday’s pre-race press conference. “I have this habit of treating my body like it’s invincible, and I know it’s not. Things that used to last for a couple days now last for a couple weeks.”

After taking some time off running and spending “thousands of dollars in tears on therapy,” Crouch was able to start training again in earnest earlier this year with an eye toward the starting line in Hopkinton. She tuned up at the NYC Half on March 20 in 1:16:36 but finished feeling a familiar pain in her hip, unsure of if she’d be able to compete in Boston. But after the Big Apple race, Crouch once again hit the therapy hard, made quick progress and got back to training.

“Monday’s going to be a test, but even if there’s some pain, I’m willing to deal with that,” said Crouch, who ran her marathon personal best of 2:32:44 at Chicago in 2014. “I’ve run a couple of major marathons, but Boston is different. Boston is special. There’s something about it, the history and the energy, that’s going to help me tremendously. I know that.”

Crouch, a one-time Boston resident who now lives and trains in Kentucky, where her husband Michael is a coach at Morehead State University, is coached by Pete Rea of ZAP Fitness in Blowing Rock, N.C., where she also lived for a brief period of time. She considers herself a true road racer and has no plans to compete on the track at this summer’s Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore., so following the disappointment of not being able to compete for a spot on the Olympic marathon team in February, she put all her eggs in the Boston basket. She’s made no secret that finishing as the top American woman on Monday is her chief objective, and after overcoming injury and packing away a handful of 120-mile training weeks—20 miles per week less than she typically puts in during a marathon buildup—Crouch feels confident that she has what it takes to accomplish that goal.

“It really just kind of fit into place perfectly because this is a rare opportunity where I have a legitimate shot at being the top American,” Crouch said. “Which is odd because Neely [Spence Gracey] is sitting right next to me, but I hope she brings her best and I hope my best is better.

“We’ll see how it plays out on Monday but I believe that I’m ready to go.”

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Published on April 15, 2016 10:17

Photos: Scenes From the 2016 Boston Marathon Expo

The John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo during Boston Marathon weekend is located inside the Hynes Convention Center near the Boston Marathon finish line.

Along with picking up their bibs for Marathon Monday, runners were able to see the latest from brands, try out different fuel and even make signs to have out on the course during the race. Here’s a look at what went on inside the expo:

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The entrance to the expo at the Hynes Convention Center near the Boston Marathon finish line.

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ASICS offered personalized pace wristbands to help runners out.

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The fitting rooms inside the Brooks Running area had a distinct running feel.

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Enough GU for everyone.

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There were several places in the expo for spectators to make signs for race day.

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Nuun made taste-testing their products easy.

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A video showing highlights of the course, with insight by well-known Boston racers like Rick Hoyt, was well-attended.

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Many compression brands were on hand, including CEP.

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On Running had unique stadium-style seating for runners wanting to try on their shoes.

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Brooks had treadmills and cameras set up to examine various parts of a runner's gait.

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CLIF had a large presence at the expo.

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CLIF had a booth especially for creating signs.

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Adidas had a sensored floor set up for people to run in place for 30 seconds and build a "Boost Energy Return" score, with the top 10 for the day displayed.

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Several brands had Boston-specific gear, including safety pin alternative RaceDots.

A wall listed the names of every runner registered for Monday's race. Many were seen taking photos of their own name.

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Published on April 15, 2016 08:37

April 14, 2016

Michael Wardian’s Crazy, Globetrotting Running Quest Continues in Boston

Michael Wardian has been all over the world this year—including running the Tokyo Marathon in February and a cultural exchange trip to Cuba in March—and has more big running trips in the works.

Michael Wardian’s passport is starting to look like a worn-out phone book.

OK, it’s not quite that thick and tattered, but he did send it away to the U.S. Passport Office and have it officially expanded by 24 pages last fall. It was a smart—and probably very necessary—move, considering the well-traveled runner from the Washington D.C. area has flown to Iceland, China, New Zealand, Japan, Cuba and Paris for a variety of running races and adventures in the past five months and has several more international plane tickets booked for the next five.

However, his penchant for having a wild, globetrotting race schedule doesn’t mean his 1-hour flight to Boston this weekend to compete in the 120th annual Boston Marathon on Monday is somehow less important. In fact, it’s one of his top priorities this year, as it will be the second race in his quest to run all six World Marathon Majors this year.

He ran the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 28, and after he’ll Boston will fly “across the pond” to run the London Marathon on April 24. To complete the circuit, he’ll also have run in the Berlin Marathon (Sept. 25), Chicago Marathon (Oct. 9) and New York City Marathon (Nov. 6).

Wardian is known for being a prolific racer in events from 5K to 100 miles, often with multiple races in a short period of time or even the same weekend. In 2013, he won the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Antonio Marathon in 2:31:19 and then hopped on a plane to Las Vegas and later that same day placed 10th in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Marathon in 2:57:56. (That’s 52.4 miles at an average pace of 6:15 per mile, by the way.)

The 42-year-old international shipping broker was gung-ho to try the World Marathon Majors circuit last year, but he started the planning process late and couldn’t get into several of the races.

“The Majors have been around for several years and I’ve often thought it would be a cool thing to try to do them all in one year,” he says. “I first thought about doing it in late 2014 but I had trouble getting into Tokyo and London last year so I had to put it off until this year and plan ahead a little more.”

To assure he’d get an entry into London this year, he joined the London-based Serpentine Running Club and also became a member of England Athletics, the governing body for competitive running in England (similar to USA Track & Field in the U.S.). He earned a race bib because his recent marathon times qualified him for the England Athletics Marathon Championships that is held in conjunction with the London Marathon.

Once he knew he had a spot in London, he reached out to the Boston Athletic Association about running the Boston Marathon. He’s run Boston numerous times in recent years, frequently as part of the Boston to Big Sur marathon doubleheader on back-to-back weekends. (He’s won Boston to Big Sur several times and set the cumulative time record of 4:51:17 in 2014.)

After he got accepted into Boston, he got help from Mike Peroni, the elite athlete coordinator for the Boston Marathon, in getting connected to the right people at the Tokyo Marathon. That race is exceedingly hard to get into, but race officials gave him an entry in the B starting wave. He turned in a solid effort in that race, as his 2:28:14 effort placed 98th overall and fourth in the Masters division.

He then nailed down a spot in the Chicago Marathon with help from race director Carey Pinkowski and the New York City Marathon via elite runner organizer David Monti. The only race he’s not confirmed in is the Berlin Marathon, but he’s working on it and is hopeful he’ll be able to get in.

“It’s been a really complicated process and it’s taken quite a bit of time, but I think it’s all going to work out,” Wardian says. “It’s definitely not an easy thing to organize.”

Believe it or not, the World Marathon Majors doesn’t offer any way for runners to enter all six races—whether it’s in a single year or over the course of several years. However, the WMM did recently award a new six-pointed Six-Star Finisher’s Medal to the roughly 600 runners who have accomplished the feat to date.

But Wardian isn’t running all six races just to get the special medal. He’s hoping to become the fastest runner to complete all six in the same year. Japan’s Yutaka Fukuda holds the current mark with a 2:46 average, set by running six consecutive races in late 2013 and early 2014. The mark for running all six races in the same calendar year was set in 2013 by British runner Andrew Bass, who averaged 3:06.

Wardian ran 2:28:14 in Tokyo and hopes to run in the 2:24-2:25 range Monday in Boston and again on April 24 in London.

“If I can do that, I should be in good shape for the first half of it,” Wardian says.

Wardian is aware of the World Marathon Majors lifetime record, but admits that might be a tall order. Between 2006 and 2015, Italy’s Hermann Achmuller averaged 2:22:05 for the six races, which included a 2:18:56 in Berlin in 2012.

“That might be out of reach, but I think the real awesome twist with what I’m doing is that I’m not just running these six races, I have a pretty vast range of races on my schedule this year,” says Wardian, who will also run the B.A.A. 5K blindfolded with a guide on April 16 in Boston to help raise awareness for people with vision impairment.

Vast range? That might be the understatement of the year in the world of distance running. Already this year, Wardian flew to China to run in the Vibram Hong Kong 100K, followed by a trip to New Zealand two weeks later to run in the Tarawera 100K. A week after running the Tokyo Marathon on Feb. 28, he flew to Cuba for a week of trail running on a cultural exchange tour. A week after that, he flew to Paris to run the La Verticale Tour Eiffel (a race up the stairs of the Eiffel Tour) and two days later ran the 80K EcoTrail Paris race.

After Boston and London, he’ll fly back to Japan to take part in the Red Bull-sponsored Wings For Life World Run on May 8 in Takashima. Then he’ll be off to the Spanish island of Menorca to run the 185K Trail Menorca Cami de Cavallas on May 20. On June 3, he’s planning to run the San Diego 100 Miler, followed by The Great New York 100 Miler on June 18.

He’ll head back to Iceland in mid-July to run the 55K Laugavegur Ultra Marathon and then cap off his summer by running the 167K Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Chamonix, France.

PHOTOS: Iceland’s Laugavegur Ultra Marathon

Then, and only then, will he hope to continue his World Marathon Majors quest in late September in Berlin. He estimates the cost to run the six races (including travel, lodging, entry fees and food) will approach $10,000.

He has numerous sponsors—including Hoka One One, Vitargo, Nathan Sports, Compressport, Injinji, Julbo and UVU—and a gazillion airline miles to help ease the burden, but the six-marathon quest will be a big amount of his own resources. (By the way, he’ll fly and drive a total of 31,800 miles to be able to run 157.2 miles in those six races.)

“It’s going to be a pretty epic year,” Wardian says. “It’s not going to be cheap, but I think it will be inspiring and something that people can kind of relate to, at least from the point of view of the interest in running in some of the most iconic cities and some of the best marathons in the world.”

Money aside, that kind of rigorous travel schedule isn’t something most people could pull off month after month. Staying healthy, being smart and efficient about packing, planning out meals and snacks and understanding the nuances of international (and domestic) travel are some of the challenges Wardian regularly has to meet.

But you also have to be willing to endure ridiculous scheduling scenarios and the inevitable logistical nightmares that arise.

For the Tokyo Marathon, Wardian left Washington D.C. on Thursday afternoon, connecting in Toronto with a direct flight to Tokyo. He touched down at Haneda International Airport at about 9 p.m. Friday night., and after a good night’s sleep at his hotel, he went for a short shake-out run Saturday morning and picked up his race bib at the expo. He ran the race at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, showered and zipped back to the airport to catch a 4 p.m. direct flight back to Washington D.C.

“I cut things pretty close sometimes,” he admits. “In Tokyo, if I didn’t finish in time, I wasn’t going to make my flight a little more than 2 hours later. I had to run to catch a train so I could get my bags at the hotel, but I was hypothermic and wound up vomiting because I was so destroyed. I wound up being fine and I made my flight and was able to be back at work on Monday morning, but that’s just an example of how crazy it can be at times.”

Wardian says one of the best aspects of his travel has been taking his wife, Jennifer, and his two young boys, Pierce, and Grant, on some of his trips. They joined him Paris and will be in Boston this weekend and will likely also go to Iceland, Chamonix, Chicago and New York, too.

“I’m grateful to be lucky enough to be able to do what I do, and if I can inspire people to do things, that’s a bonus,” he says. “Our family has really enjoyed our trips, both because of the educational aspects and because they’re a lot of fun. And we’ve been able to share life experiences with many others who might not be able to do this kind of thing at all.”

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Published on April 14, 2016 20:19

Photos: Making of the New Balance 3D Printed Running Shoe

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On April 15, New Balance will be selling 44 pairs of new, state-of-the-art running shoes that will be the first to incorporate 3D printed midsoles. Several other brands have also been developing 3D printing for footwear, but the New Balance Zante Generate will be the first of its kind available to consumers.

The 44 pairs will be sold for $400 each at the New Balance Experience Store at 583 Boylston Street in Boston and on NewBalance.com beginning at 9 a.m. ET. (The brand is releasing 44 pairs as a nod to New Balance owner and chairman Jim Davis, who bought the company 44 years ago.)

The new midsoles leverage the benefits of 3D printing and breakthroughs in materials science to achieve an optimal balance of flexibility, strength, weight and durability in an intricate honeycomb midsole structure, the company said in a release. “Within this incredibly flexible midsole, hundreds of small, open cells provide cushioning and structure,” the release said.

The 3D printed midsoles were manufactured in the U.S. and assembled at the New Balance factory in Lawrence, Mass. Here’s a step-by-step, behind-the-scenes look at the process:

Photos: Courtesy of New Balance