The expo

I've just been to pick up my race number from the expo. The usual stands were there but I was struck by two things. Firstly, the whole minimalist shoe thing was in full swing. In fact, I'd say that there were more minimalist offerings than there were "traditional". I overheard someone on the Merrel stand explaining their line of "barefoot" shoes to which the response was "it looks like you are going back to what we used to run in". There was Vibram, of course, but a stand showing off some "shoes" that looked to me more like brightly colored verruca socks caught my attention. They are made in Spain by a French company called one moment (www.onemoment.es) and are designed as a kind of post-Marathon shoe but have found uses in anything from boating to beach wear. At around 5 euros a go, they look like a great option for wandering down to the start of a Triathlon and, as they are cheap and biodegradable, you don't really care too much about getting them back. Shame they don't make them in my size.

The other trend that caught my attention was the proportion of stands dedicated to Triathlon. Ironman really does seem to be the new Marathon.

Anyway, the runner's goody bag was pretty decent with a nice technical t-shirt, a cap, gels and various back issues of running magazines that I no doubt have read already.