A Note of Update (February 14, 2014):
Alas, I was not selected to be an Altra Ambassador. To be fair, those selected are amazing runners and I look forward to following their progress and inspiration. This does not dampen my enthusiasm for the Altra shoes, however. They just released several updated models, and I am looking forward to giving them a run.________________________________________________________________________
A Helpful Chat
Recently, I contacted Altra Zero Drop Shoes via their website with a question. It had to do with the velcro tab on the heel of my Lone Peak 1.5 trail shoes. It's an anchor tab for trail gaiters. What I was seeking was advice on what brand works best with the Altra shoes, as the ones that I have from Inov-8 have a tension cord that passes under the shoe (which would work fine with a deeply lugged or treaded shoe, but broke under the Lone Peaks). The recommendation that came back through the co-founder of Altra is that the Joe Trailman, Dirty Girl, or Montrail gaiters all fit with the Altra shoes. Very helpful, and I think I will try the Joe Trailmans.Applying to be an Altra Ambassador
While on the site, I came across the blog section of for Altra shoes, and it turns out that they have an "Altra Ambassador" program. This contributors are quite inspiring in their stories and accomplishments. And, while I am pretty new to this whole running thing by comparison to most of the current ambassadors, the way in which I came to enjoy Altra shoes as a 50-year-old "clydesdale" (a runner of 200+ pounds, though I hope to come under that mark soon), participating in marathons and ultras, I hope that my own story could be inspiring to others (which is pretty much why I began this blog in the first place).So, my application has been submitted. It is my hope that I have given the reviewers sufficiently interesting information about my own transformation, and willingness to share in my enjoyment of Altra shoes and their technology. Included with the application requirements were that I provide links to photos and a video. So, I figured that this was the easiest place to do so.
Altra is expected to announce their selections on January 7, 2014, so keep you fingers crossed and send good vibes my way.
Application Links Below
required picture and video files as I apply to be an ambassador for Altra Zero Drop Running Shoes |
| a running shot |
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| a head shot |
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| A full body shot |
A video
I'm learning about posting better quality video. It is something that I will need to work on, but after a few tries, I think I have a video that is reasonable. I hope that the folks at Altra think so, too. 