The Run Commuter News Roundup – March 12, 2012

Six of the Best Commuter Backpacks

From The Sun’s WOMAN section:

HANG up your handbags – the only way to travel is with a sporty pack.

Sun fitness expert Nicki Waterman says: “Check that it has adjustable sternum and shoulder straps so it fits securely and comfortably on your back without rubbing and moving around.”

BEST FOR RUNNING TO WORK

Mercury Hydration backpack. £49.95, workplay-bags.com

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/4187779/The-six-best-commuter-backpacks.html

Guard has Big Dreams

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa – Security guard Thabiso Mohapi is also a good athlete who wishes to focus on road running fulltime.

Because he does not have the luxury to concentrate on his athletics career, Mohapi uses the 15km run to work and back as his training regime. He works at a college in Bloemfontein.

“As a sportsman life becomes a bit difficult when you do not have a sponsor. A professional athlete wakes up only to train and nothing. Later in the day a rest is essential, to give the body the required break,” said Mohapi.

“But I can’t afford that luxury because I do not have a sponsor, so I must go to work to make ends meet.”

Read more: http://www.thenewage.co.za/44782-1018-53-Guard_has_big_dreams

The Deskless Office

KANATA, Ontario – There are four unisex showers for those who prefer to bike or run to work (and a towel service so the workers’ damp towels aren’t scattered around), and 10 informal seating areas with coaches and chairs in vibrant shades or orange, blue and green. Workers are free to duck into a meeting room for a quick consultation.

“It humanizes people a lot more,” says Spencer. “Instead of calling or emailing a colleague, people are more likely to simply walk over. I would rather talk to someone for five minutes than email all morning.”

There’s a locked refrigerator ­stocked with beer for the “borrell” held every second Friday, a tradition borrowed from Irdeto’s Dutch roots. And there’s a foosball table in the dining area; it replaces a ping-pong table whose noise and errant balls proved distracting.

Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/deskless+office/6026588/story.html#ixzz1njZByhrA

Running to Work Like a Kenyan

Note:  This video is just…AWESOME!  This is what happens to run commuters – they start running everywhere.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XxkGNFmkFM

Quake – a year on: ‘We’ll live here for the rest of our lives’

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – <snip>  “Everyone seems to be a lot more active. A lot more people like riding or running to work, there just seems to be a lot more people outside.

“I’m always out on my bike or we’re out going for walks. It feels a lot safer on your bike in Christchurch than in Auckland. There I was always quite worried I was going to get run over, here the roads are wider and it feels safer.”

The aftershocks don’t phase Jim either.

“All the buildings that are left standing are going to be able to handle anything big.

“Everyone knows what to do if there is an earthquake. People don’t stress out as much because they know what to expect.”

Read more: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10786774