At a recent gathering at its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, lululemon has announced a new initiative – FURTHER. According to the company, this… ‘celebrates human possibility and demonstrates how far women can go when they’re supported with resources and product innovations typically reserved for men.’
The initiative will culminate in a multi-day ultramarathon that begins on International Women’s Day, on March 8, 2024.
The six-day FURTHER ultramarathon is expected to include 10 women from the brand’s global ambassador collective, spanning APAC, China, and North America, including five new ambassadors. These are: Camille Herron, Devon Yanko, Leah Yingling, Stefanie Flippin, and Montana Farrah-Seaton.
‘Each will run the furthest distance of their careers with the opportunity to set world records. The feat will take place on a certified looped course with the location to be announced.’
lululemon added that FURTHER will also include… ‘a holistic scientific research program addressing the existing sex and gender data gap on endurance performance, new women-first product innovations, community activations, and a giveback component to support young women.’
“Women are historically underserved when it comes to opportunities to compete, research devoted to the pursuit of their goals, and product innovations built with them in mind, yet they continue to push the boundaries of human possibility in sport regardless of the inequities they face,” said Nikki Neuburger, Chief Brand Officer at lululemon.
“FURTHER is grounded in our purpose at lululemon to unlock greater possibility and wellbeing for all, and we see it as an opportunity to better serve women, solving for their specific unmet needs. With FURTHER, we aim to inspire belief in what is possible for women when they’re supported with resources typically reserved for men.”
In partnership with Canadian Sport Institute Pacific and the brand’s research network, lululemon plans to conduct a series of research studies to better understand female endurance performance and human endurance performance in general.
Trent Stellingwerff, Senior Advisor, Innovation & Research, Canadian Sports Institute Pacific, said “Women are continuously setting new ultramarathon records, with the difference between male and female performance appearing to get smaller the further humans run.
“However, there is limited research in this space which creates a biased understanding of human endurance as women are heavily under-represented in sports science and in medical research at large.”
Going forwards, each lululemon ambassador will have access to leading sport science and medicine support to inform personalized training programs. This will span physical, mental, and emotional support, with research taking place throughout their training journey and during the ultramarathon event. Findings will be published from March 2024.
Participants ambassadors include:
- Camille Herron (age: 41): ultrarunner, world record holder
- Devon Yanko (age: 40): ultrarunner, podcast host
- Kayla Jeter (age: 33): strength & wellness coach, mindfulness strategist, runner
- Leah Yingling (age: 32): ultrarunner, biomedical engineer, women’s advocate
- Mirna Valerio (age: 47): ultrarunner, author, adventurer
- Montana Farrah-Seaton (age: 26): ultrarunner, strength & conditioning coach, model
- Stefanie Flippin (age: 33): coach and ultrarunner, BIPOC advocate, doctor
- Vriko Kwok (age: 31): Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete, entrepreneur
- Xiaomeng Jia (age: 38): marathon runner, world traveller
- Yoon Young Kang (age: 43): ultrarunner, judo black belt
lululemon is also introducing new product and footwear innovations, along with community activations.
lululemon’s is launching its first-ever road-to-trail running shoe – blissfeel trail. According to the company, the new shoe offers traction and durability with an upper featuring a protective film and a rugged outsole for enhanced traction and grip.
On June 2nd, ahead of Global Running Day, lululemon will launch a three-week Strava challenge for community participants to run a collective 1 million kilometres.
In recognition of the running community’s efforts, lululemon’s Centre for Social Impact will make a US$1 million contribution to the Girls Opportunity Alliance. This is a program of the Obama Foundation, which seeks to empower adolescent girls globally through education and wellbeing tools, allowing them to achieve their full potential and transform their families, communities, and countries.
