Tag Archives: giveaway

Review (and Giveaway!): Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running

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***CONTEST IS OVER***

I love trail running. Being in nature, cruising on some single track – there’s nothing like it. So when I saw that fellow freelance writer and runner Meghan Hicks and her partner Bryon Powell wrote a new book about trail running, I definitely wanted to check it out.

Meghan and Bryon are contributing editors for Trail Runner magazine, and are also the brains behind iRunFar.com, a trail running and ultramarathon website. Needless to say, they know what they’re talking about. Not to mention that Meghan was the first female finisher of the grueling Marathon des Sables in Morocco in 2013. If you haven’t heard of it, go check it out. I’ll wait.

As the title suggests, Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running is a comprehensive guide to all things trail running. The book covers everything from running & trail technique to gear to how to deal with weather conditions to avoiding injuries. The only thing this book does not offer are training plans, but there is an entire chapter dedicated to creating a training plan yourself, including how to organize training phases.

Gorgeous photos!

Gorgeous photos!

This book is very well-written, has beautiful color photos, informative sidebars, and a bonus “Places and Race to Inspire” page in every chapter!

And lucky for you, I’m giving away a copy! Check out the Rafflecopter below on how to enter, and I’ll be drawing a winner on Sunday, May 15! If you live where Amazon can deliver, you can enter! Even if you don’t win, I recommend buying yourself a copy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Note: I received a complimentary review copy from the publisher, but the opinions are my own and I’m fronting the cost for the giveaway because I want to support Meghan & Bryon.

Why I Love Perfect Bars (and a Giveaway!)

Disclaimer: I received a sample box of Perfect Bars to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

***CONTEST ENDED***

I have been on a perpetual quest to find snacks that are not only easy to take on the go (sorry hummus) and are tasty (most protein bars are just gross), but still fill me up and aren’t filled with unpronounceable ingredients.

I’m happy to say that I think I’ve found a winner, and would like to introduce you to the Perfect Bar. Not just a cute name, I’ve found that Perfect Bars are great for a post-workout snack or a mid-day snack to get me through from lunch to dinner. I ate one the other day on my way to a workshop after my long run, and it held me over for 3 HOURS.

With so many healthy ingredients, you wouldn’t expect them to taste as good as they are, either, but I was pleasantly surprised. They don’t taste chalky like some other bars do, and they are true to the main flavor – the peanut butter ones just taste like real peanut butter. My favorite, the Almond Coconut, just tastes like almond butter and coconut.

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Here are the “tech specs” of the bars that I have fallen in love with:

  • Every single bar is non-GMO, gluten free, certified organic kosher
  • The protein in the bars ranges from 7 – 17 grams, which is (in my unofficial opinion) plenty for a solid snack or for post-workout recovery. For a more official opinion, I found an article on RunnersWorld.com that says between 10-20 grams of protein after a workout is more than enough to reap the benefits.
  • Organic honey is the preservative in the bars.
  • While they come refrigerated, the bars will last up to two weeks at room temperature.
  • All of the bars are vegetarian, and the Almond Coconut is vegan (it doesn’t have any dairy).
  • Many are made with peanut butter and/or dates, but the Almond Coconut and Almond Acai are peanut butter and date free!
  • Every bar includes their organic “Whole Food Powder” which consists of: kale, flax seed, rose hip, orange, lemon, papaya, tomato, apple, alfalfa, celery, kelp, dulse, carrot, spinach. I promise you can’t taste the individual flavors. I love sneaky nutrition!

I happened to pick up a Perfect Bar a couple of months ago (Almond Coconut) and it sat in the back of the fridge for awhile. I just pulled it out a week or so ago, and (thankfully) it was still within the best by range, and it tasted just as delicious as the fresh sample box that I taste tested. While the best by date is an obvious suggestion, rumor has it that the bars will actually last up to 9 months (!) in the fridge, if you can somehow not eat it before then.

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By now I’m sure you want to try some, too, right? You can pick up a bar in grocery stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger, Safeway, even Costco, OR YOU COULD WIN A BOX FROM ME! The sample box has 7 full size bars and 2 mini bars, so you’ll get to taste almost one of everything. It’s super easy to enter below, the only catch is that you have to be a U.S. resident to win! The contest will close at 11:59 p.m. MST on February 13, 2016, and the winner will be announced by 8:00 pm MST on February 14, 2016.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway