xempo kit

they do in (Shotokan) karate...

They do have purple belts in judo. I googled.

I shall sleep tonight

My job here is done..

I quite like the idea, but I don't know if anyone else will know what it's all about.

Got me a purple Xempo GFA if it takes off

I checked my times and it looks (despite my earlier quip) like I am only entitled to a white one anyway.

Bloody elitism is creeping into clothinig now.  

TimR wrote (see)

I'm getting a white one just to p*ss off the people in colured ones when I overtake them.

TimR wrote (see)

I checked my times and it looks (despite my earlier quip) like I am only entitled to a white one anyway.

Bloody elitism is creeping into clothinig now.  

I wouldn't worry about that.  Marigold was spotted wearing a white one outside the pub after VLM, having just run 2:19 or so.

Up until that point, I thought the white ones looked pretty good.

Hi everyone,
Recently been alerted to this thread. I'm the guy behind the Xempo brand, and since I've been referenced personally earlier in the thread, hopefully you won't mind me exercising my right to reply.

I'd be delighted to listen to all your feedback, and I'll be 100% open and honest in answering any queries or questions. This is by no means me advertising anything, but perhaps I can dispel a few misconceptions or better explain some elements. Please feel free to message me directly on here if you wish, or alternatively our email address and phone number are on our website and I'd be happy to hear from you. Like you all, I'm a regular runner; I train every day, I'm a member of a club, I've run over 200 races in a dozen countries over the past 15 years. The brand was inspired very much by my own personal observations and experiences. So what do you want to know....?

Firstly, I can fully accept that Xempo isn't for everyone. If you want something plain and neutral that anyone can have, then there's loads of good brands out there that offer that. I don't pretend that we've got everything right from day one, and the only way we can improve is to listen to the feedback and comments from real runners like yourselves.

As Curly45 and PRF have pointed out, the idea is to reward yourself for doing well, and about being proud of your achievement. We want it to be aspirational (just like a belt in judo or karate) where you can always target the next level up. There is always someone out there who is faster; it is in no way meant to be elitist, but it is deliberately set up so that the only way to get each colour is to earn it. If someone achieves a sub 4h00 marathon say, they should rightly be proud of that, and nothing wrong with wearing a t-shirt that says so and rewards the achievement.

Spamming - there are rules on here for that, and I am bound by them. With Runners World's permission I made ONE SINGLE post on a couple of the marathon threads alerting people to the fact that there's a competition on RW to win some of our gear for free.

OOK! - the reason for our time limit of 'since 2008' is twofold. As FF points out we verify all the times, and it is more difficult to do so for results prior to 2007. Also we want to keep the brand contemporary, rather than have people say they used to be fast back in the 1980's say. However, if you can prove a PB before 2008 then under certain circumstances we'll happily take that into account.

Waylon Smithers - the material we use is a 150 g/m2 coolmax wicking fabric. It's been thoroughly road tested and stands up to multiple runs and washes.

Seren Nos - you ask why we stop at 4:15. With each colour, there are two designs, male & female, half & full marathon, vest & t-shirt, 5 sizes - that equals 80 separate product lines for each colour. We have nine colours So partly it's a commercial decision to go up to 4.15, with white being the colour for any marathon runner regardless of time. We have guys with PB's under 2.20 and over six hours who have purchased white. Sub 4h15 mara or sub 2h00 half usually covers the top half - 2/3rds of most race fields. In time we might add more colours but it's quite a big deal to do so.

You also suggest that we consider sub 3h00 the same standard for male or female. Not at all. There's about 100 ladies in the UK at that level and about 2000 men. The colours are set at the same time level regardless of age or gender to keep it simple and transparent. It's deliberately very definitive; same for everyone. If a woman is wearing blue, then you'll know that she is sub 3h30 (or sub 1h40) and you'll know exactly how good that is.

FF & F2D - you suggest that the half & full mara times don't match. We've tried to match them as best as possible, but some people will always have disparate PB's because they are better at different distances. The half marathon times have been rounded to the nearest 5 mins to keep it tidier. Eg, sub 3h00 marathon would usually equate to sub 1h23, but we've rounded to 1h25. Makes some targets a bit easier, and some a bit harder; but broadly we think it's pretty fair.

I'll gladly answer and other queries and welcome your comments. We haven't yet got the one that changes colour mid race, but maybe next year!! If you see us at any race (we're at one every weekend, then come up and have a chat). We love talking about all things running.

Thanks Dan for the full and honest posts

 It is definitely a different idea...........butmy main gripe is that you allocated purple in the wrong time band.........

Dan... total respect for answering all the queries. A firm that's open and honest in talking to its customers is much more likely to get my custom in the future. Plenty of other companies could learn from your approach. 

I'm probably in a minority (I'm not in the least bit interested in race-bling of any kind), but I can't see the appeal at all.  I know what times I do for my races and I don't feel the need to wear something to let other people know that.  I see running gear as functional and buy for fit, comfort and use rather than any other purpose.

I'd also have thought that if the point is for other people to know how well you have run, they would need to know the colour scheme, otherwise it would defeat the object.

And surely if races are using pen starts, then you'll know that everyone in your pen is capable of running the same kind of pace / race as you - do you need to see everyone in the same colour top to be able to know that?  Equally, you'll know that people nearer the pointy end of the race are faster, those behind you are slower.

Finally, when you're in a race - do you really think that people will be looking around for people wearing these tops and working out what kind of a runner they are?

Good luck to you and all that, but, as you've said, it's not for everyone and I'm in that category.

Nice one Dan. I saw the article on the main page as well. My comment about elitism is just a bit of leg pulling and banter that often occurs on these threads. I'm hoping no one took it seriously. Appologies.

It's quite a neat idea but the time bands could be a bit wider if you want to sell more t-shits. Looking at VLM 4h30m is probably a starting point for the second t-shirt.

Tim do you suggest 4:30 so that you could get one

I think there is too many fast catergories and not enough slow ones..............I would think that there are a lot more marathon runners out there that run around a 4:30 marathon than run a 2:30 or 2:45 marathon........................but I can assume that the company have identified their target market and have chosen accordingly..............

got to admit if i was still at 4:26....I wouldn't buy a white one that is there as a finally managed to finish the marathon  bracket.............

i haven't seen anyone wearing one.........

anyway off to train for a sub 3:15

not sure about needing proof that you ran the times.............surely i can just say i'm buying it for a friend or clubmate .give their details and then keep the shirt

Dan A - Good and clear posts, great PR.

What's the return policy like for the tops? I'm really picky on the cut of the material - Can we return FOC?

Jeepers - fair enough; if it's not for you then I won't try to convince you otherwise. But perhaps you should think of it as a training top rather than a racing top.
Tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people run in race souvenir t-shirts when they could chose to run in something plain. I guess it's because they're proud of having done that particular race and want others to know about it. Our tops just add a different dimension, which represents how well they have done, as opposed to which specific event they have completed.

SN - why purple? Is that your favourite colour? Nothing wrong with white - it just says that you are a marathon runner. I will be wearing white at the Edinburgh marathon this weekend, although I qualify for other colours. Marigold of these pages was wearing a white one after VLM in which he ran 2.19.
We are looking at personalising them, so that you can have your exact PB time on either the breast or the sleeve if you prefer.

And yes, you could say you are buying for someone else and I couldn't prove otherwise. But seriously, would you wear a top saying you'd run a sub 3h15 marathon, say, when you and all your friends knew otherwise. I mean, would you take up karate and buy a black belt on your first day?

We do check all the times that people qualify with, but 100% of runners have given genuine times that we have checked. Runners are broadly an honest bunch of folks. It actually almost becomes self-policing because of that.

Sprint - yes, if it doesn't fit, then we'll replace completely free of charge without question.

yes Dan.............purple is my favourite colour.................cannot think why you didn't consult with me prior to choosing the colour bands

Dan, Is there an option for 'Half Mara' time on the top? I ask as I don't run maras, only halfs - so the purple top I was looking at only has 'sub 3:15' mara on it?

I've run sub 1:30 half, but never the full mara though.

Dan, I used the Spam word because you were promoting your shirts by posting the same message on several different threads, telling people there was a competition.  I didn't mean to suggest that you were a "proper" spammer from China or something, but I can't remember seeing this before with other competitions, perhaps Alice or Catherine in the past might start a sticky thread as a sort of announcement, but that's it. 

As for the shirts,good luck in your business, I see what you're doing with the marketing, brilliant job.  I just don't like the idea and that's that, and this thread seems to be the place to be able to say so.  All this business of checking times etc just seems a bit control-freaky. and if I saw a runner with their marathon PB embroidered onto their breast I would just think it was a bit Peter Andre-esque.

Dan - have you thought about rolling this idea out to other events like say triathlon??? loads of triathletes look at their finishing times versus their peers......

you could have say time bands for IM or 1/2IM finishers (would get too complex at shorter events) or just distance - IM, 1/2IM, classic, sprint, supersprint. much like many IM finishers get the M-dot tattoo, this might be of interest to those that don't want to go down the permanent marking route