The Next Innovation in Nike+ Offers a New Way to Connect to the
World's Largest Running Club
and Lets You Track Your Results to Train
for Better Performance in Any Situation
BEAVERTON, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 2008--This spring
brings the next evolution of the Nike+ experience with a new option to
help runners run and train. Available April 10th, Nike (NYSE:NKE)
launches Nike+ SportBand, allowing runners to get real-time
performance feedback during a run, while linking them to the world's
largest running club. In addition this spring, www.nikeplus.com
introduces Nike+ Coach, a new personal coaching tool to help runners
go the extra mile and engage like never before in the Nike+ global
online running community.
A New Way to Run with Nike+
Nike+ SportBand allows runners to see their distance, pace, time
and calories burned when they run, in addition to gaining access to
all of the features and tools on nikeplus.com. Designed for runners
who choose not to run with music and for those times when you can't
use music, the Nike+ SportBand provides all the benefits of Nike+
technology, but opens up the Nike+ experience to a broader audience of
runners. Runners who enjoy that extra motivation, or who are music
fans, can continue to hear their run details through an iPod nano
system.
"Nike+ is all about improving your running experience," said
Trevor Edwards, Nike's Vice President of Global Brand and Category
Management. "Nike + iPod revolutionized running. Now the Nike+
SportBand gives more choice and allows Nike+ to cover any running
situation. It tracks your distance, calories burned and other
performance information while providing a simple link to the world's
largest running club, when you choose not to or can't run with music."
In the same manner that the Nike + iPod Sport Kit allows shoes to
send information to a nano, the Nike+ SportBand is a wristwatch that
also monitors a runner's steps. But now a runner can check time, pace,
distance and calories burned at a glance of the wrist. The Nike+
SportBand watch face is a detachable LINK that captures all the run
data from a sensor located in the runner's Nike+ ready footwear. Once
a run is completed, the LINK conveniently plugs into a computer like a
USB drive, so data can then be sent to nikeplus.com where a runner's
progress is tracked.
By offering runners a second way to track run data and progress,
the Nike+ SportBand opens the Nike+ experience to runners across a
variety of situations. It gives runners who are part of clubs or
running groups a chance to keep track of their run information while
on a social run. In competitive situations where minimal equipment is
needed, the Nike+ SportBand provides athletes with a simple way of
seeing nuances in their performance in real time. The Nike+ SportBand
provides a new way to connect to the Nike+ community and reap the
benefits of Nike+ technology, when runners choose to run without
music.
A Personal Coach For Everyone
Running is only the first part of the Nike+ experience. By using
Nike+, runners get an easy, accessible way to connect to the global
Nike+ Community at nikeplus.com where they can track their workouts
individually or alongside other runners from around the world. The
Nike+ website helps runners monitor their running experience with
dynamic graphs that compare distance and time between single sessions,
as well as weekly and monthly totals.
On April 10th, all Nike+ runners can get access to their own
personal online trainer with Nike+ Coach. Nike+ Coach takes online
coaching to the next level by empowering runners of all levels with
the information and motivation needed to build their own training
programs. With Nike+ Coach, beginning and intermediate runners can
access existing programs to train for a 5k, 10k, half-marathon or full
marathon. For advanced runners, Nike+ Coach will help users build and
edit their own training programs. No matter what personal coaching
program users choose, runners can also automatically track and share
their results.
With Nike+ Coach, every level of runner is accounted for,
beginning with walk-to-run programs and progressing to advanced
marathons and beyond. Whatever the goal, Nike+ members can join at any
pace.
In coming months, teams will be integrated into the Nike+ Coach
tool, allowing members to train together as a group, supporting one
another and accepting challenges from other teams.
Additional community features at nikeplus.com include the
"Challenges" section, one of the site's most popular destinations.
Here, runners can push themselves further by initiating or
participating in competitions with friends--or complete strangers--to
see who can reach the virtual finish line first.
Other newly launched features include motivational tools like a
leaderboard that shows how members run in comparison to other runners
across the globe, a Google mapping tool that illustrates individual
running routes, which can be shared with others, and a runner's blog
called "The Forum."
About Nike+
With Nike+, runners never have to train alone again. Nike+ enables
footwear to talk to an iPod nano or Nike+ SportBand, giving instant
performance information and real-time feedback during a run. Like a
personal coach or training partner, Nike+ puts this information at
runners' fingertips, in the process creating a Nike+ revolution. As of
February, 2008, Nike+ members have run over 50,000,000 miles, logged
over 14,000,000 runs and issued over 450,000 challenges. Nike+ has
also created the world's largest running club at nikeplus.com, a
global running community where Nike+ members can log their run data,
track their progress, utilize training tools, and connect with other
members all over the world.
About Nike
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse
Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear,
apparel and accessories; Cole Haan Holdings Incorporated, which
designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories
and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football
(soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets
and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel
and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.
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CONTACT: NIKE, Inc.
New York Media Relations, 212-367-4447
SOURCE: NIKE, Inc.