I was perusing social media last night and came across a link about earning a free pair of New Balance running shoes. Of course, I was immediately intrigued and clicked away!
Hosted by Strava and New Balance, you can earn your free pair of running shoes (any style) by completing the Strava Back Half Challenge. The challenge starts on October 9th, to coincide with the Chicago Marathon and ends December 4th.
Here’s the kicker- you have to earn a negative second half, full marathon, time in a USATF-certified course, in the U.S. Then upload it to Strava (the app) and submit it on their blog. You’ll be given a code, upon submission after December 15th, to buy your pair of New Balance shoes.
That’s it! So hard and so easy.
I’m not running in a marathon this year, but I would certainly try to save my energy for the 2nd half and submit my time. Keep in mind, they don’t specify a pace, you just have to be faster in the second half of your marathon.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t apply to half marathons (only full 26.2 miles) and it’ll be too late by WDW Marathon weekend. But many Run Disney runners complete a marathon as part of their training.
You can read the official rules here. Runners can submit several times but only earn 1 pair of shoes. But hey-multiple chances! If you don’t know what a negative split is, it just means that the second half of your marathon (13.1 miles) must be faster than your first half of the marathon (13.1 miles).
