X Race Wear Review and Giveaway {Closed}

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What is one of the most annoying things about race day?

For me it is pinning on the bib.

At my first half marathon, I wore a custom printed jersey.  It was the first time I wore it and I was looking forward to keeping it as a memento of my race. But guess what happened?  The safety pins left holes! 

Boo!!!  

I've tried wearing race belts. And they work to an extent.  But your bib ends up flapping around and flipping back up on you.

Seems inevitable that you need to secure all four corners down.

But wouldn't it be great if there were an alternative?

Wouldn't it be great if there were NO MORE SAFETY PINS?

Enter the very awesome X Race Wear company!

The premise is elegant and simple.  The best ideas usually are. 

A mesh pocket for your race bib.  

X RaceWear is an Arizona-based family-owned small business. Co-owners Brian and Orlando are passionate about healthy living and an active lifestyle.  These guys are runners, triathletes, veterans, and dads.  They do it all! From 5K mud runs to obstacle and adventure racing,  to the Marine Corps Marathon. 

If you check out Xracewear's social media, you will see many of their customers are into obstacle events and mud runs.  And it makes perfect sense.  Your bib would get torn off with all the climbing and crawling you need to do.  

They believe your bib is more than just a number.  For many it is a treasured keepsake of your accomplishments.  So these two guys came up with a great way to keep your bib secure and safe. 

These products are specifically designed for race day, all types of race days.  And we do love race day!

  

I was really looking forward to trying out the Ladies Tank.

I was not disappointed! Buttery-soft, stretchy, and featherweight wicking fabric.  I LOVE this tank!

It made its race day debut at the Running for the Bay Marathon event.  You may remember this was DisneyGroom's first ever marathon last month.  I ran the Half Marathon that day and wore this tank.   Like all my previous race bibs, I expected a rumpled mess at the end of the run.  Nope. At packet pickup I left the safety pins at the table and placed my bib into the pocket and zipped it closed.  That was it.  Then I completed my 13.1 miles and at the end, my bib came out of its secure pocket in fantastic condition.  

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DisneyGroom also had a few words to say on the Men's Zipped Shorts:

Pockets!!!

My love of pockets has been well documented on this blog.  So imagine my delight when I heard that a company had created shorts with a bib pocket.  I am not a big fan of safety pins, so these shorts seemed like a natural fit for me.  I even used the bib pocket to stash my keys and nutritional gels on my training runs.  

Training Conditions:

My training runs take place on several technical trails in my area's forests and parks.  Picture a big clumsy guy tearing through the woods at top speed.  Add jutting roots, short but steep hills, sharp turns, streams, rocks, wild animals - mostly snakes.  I come home from practically every run covered head to toe in dirt, and with torn clothing from my inevitable trip and fall.

So yes, I am really hard on my running clothes. But these shorts held up really well despite the abuse.   They got dirty like everything else - but they went through the wash and were good as new.  Thumbs up on durability!

Race Day!

I had to experience using these shorts for their true purpose.  Race Day! I wore them for my longest ever off road race: a 20K trail run.  I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself on race morning, as my fellow runners fumbled in the dark with safety pins, since the race started before the sun came up.  I simply slipped my bib in the pocket, zipped it shut, and off I went.  I had initial concerns that my number would not show through the mesh.  But, that was unfounded; all photographs show the bib nice and clear.

As you can see from this race pic, the shorts definitely wick the sweat away from your skin.  I can see why mud runners love these shorts. 

Photo credit: Fred Decker / Gulf Winds Track Club

Construction

The shorts are extremely lightweight nylon.  With a 7" inseam, they are nice and long - since I can not bring myself to wear 'shorty shorts' - you know the ones.  The mesh bib pocket comes with either a zip or velcro closure option - your choice.   There is yet another small zipped pocket to securely hold cash, keys, or other small items. The website does list this info in their product specs, but obviously I didn't read it too closely, because when they arrived, I was surprised to see a built-in brief, the kind often seen in men's swimsuits and running shorts.

I realize most guy runners are used to them. And I have no complaints, since in spite of my skepticism, the brief did its job.  It is just my personal preference to wear compression shorts underneath athletic shorts.  In looking at my extensive collection of gear - I think nearly all my "running shorts" are not actually made for running.  They are either basketball or soccer shorts - because they don't have that 'built-in underwear'.  I do plan to keep using these shorts 'as is' for my races below the half marathon distance.  Anything beyond that, and I have to have my compression layer.

Since the makers of XRacewear will be reading this review, I'll break the fourth wall and say: "In the future, I hope you add the option of a Mens Run Shorts sans brief."

We now return you to your regularly scheduled DisneyBride blog post.

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So I mentioned that X RaceWear is a small business and still very much a brand new company.  They actually just launched in the spring of 2013.  

The product selection has been limited so far, but I am delighted to report it is GROWING!

Take a look at these teaser photos of new products launching at the end of November!  

Love the cute new shorts, but especially love the bright new colors I am seeing!!!  Whoop Whoop!  Cute colorful race gear?  Spandex ladies shorts? YES PLEASE!

To make room for all this great new merchandise, expect to see a clearance sale coming up before the end of the year as well.

So you can keep up with the X Race Wear folks, check out the following links:  

• https://www.xracewear.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/XRACEWEAR
• https://twitter.com/XRACEWEAR/media
• http://www.pinterest.com/xracewear/
• http://instagram.com/xracewear/

I highly recommend subscribing to their e-newsletter.  It is still brand new, so it doesn't come out often, but you will get all the most up to date product news right to your email.

We promised you a giveaway and a discount and here it is.

The XRaceWear team has been very generous and they are allowing us to give away TWO (2) prizes!

One Ladies item to a female winner and One Mens items to a male winner.

And there is more!  Use the code:  DISNEY13 (case-sensitive) when you place your order to receive 20% off!  

Discount code is valid through 1/1/2014, so I expect we'll be seeing a few more X Race Wear items under our holiday tree.

Terms of the Giveaway:

1) Giveaway begins Thursday November 7 and ends Sunday November 17 at midnight. Winner will be announced on this blog, and notified on Monday, November 18, 2013.

2) Must be 18 years or older to enter. Must be a U.S. resident. Winner must provide a US mailing address to receive prize.

3) Sign in through Rafflecopter below to enter. With your first entry, the app will only capture your e-mail or facebook name. This is so we can reach you if you win, in accordance with sweepstakes terms. Your contact info will ONLY be used to contact you if you win.
 

4) There are additional opportunities for multiple entries.

5) One Male Winner will receive a Men's product of his choice. One Female Winner will receive a Ladies product of her choice.

6) Two winners (one male, one female) will be chosen at random using the rafflecopter app below.

7) In the event a winner does not respond to contact attempts via e-mail or facebook name provided within a one week period, another winner will be selected at random.

8) Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure of Material Connection: No financial compensation was received. We each received one product from X Race Wear in exchange for this review and promotional giveaway. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will be good for our readers. All opinions stated on this blog are our own. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”