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4/14/2008
Comfort and Addiction
We live in a culture of comfort and entertainment that seduces our senses. Our minds are hypnotized with images of celebrity and treasure. Our lives loose the rhythm of the music within our spirit. The flood of information and entertainment and the ease of access lure us to be addicts.
As our additions takes more time within each month...week...day, we become spectators to life. The stimulation of technology, the excitement of marketing, the tension of conflict, all touch our emotions and pull us toward wanting more. It demand so little of us - click a remote, move a mouse or google anything. There is virtually no participation of the body, no movement, no hardship, no discipline, no discovery of spirit.
Eventually, our body will ask for activity, frequently through a crisis. A crisis is the gift that stops us and asks us to find ourselves and balance. Now we must make a decision to remove our additions and engage in this world around us and in us. Through these difficult decisions combined with discipline and determination we are driven to act outside of comfort. What awaits us is vitality.
Prescription for vitality:
Breath
Let go of negative thoughts
Smile
Bring your body into movement
Connect with your inner strength
Join others
Express gratitude
Do each day.
Keep Moving,
Chris
3/5/2008
Pain and Ecstasy
Running is one of the best parts of my day. It may not feel like it while I am struggling up a hill, laboriously breathing, pushing myself on the track, ignoring my mind as it reminds me that I am older and slower or when my legs fatigue with several miles to go. Of course, there are many moments of joy within each run, finding the perfect rhythm and pace, feeling the sweat remove the day's tensions and tuning into the harmony between the body, mind and spirit. All of the difficulties are intertwined into the "high" of the run as I overcome the pain, the elements, the negative thoughts and the distance and return home where the main focus is the accomplishment and connection to a core part of who I am - a runner.
The pain of running is such a vital part of the sense of victory at the finish. The ecstasy of running is the pure gift we receive as we become fit and go beyond what we once thought impossible. It is the mix of moments of struggle and pain with the moments of elation and ecstasy that makes each day's run an unknown adventure. Pain and ecstasy are teammates that allow us to touch life's fiber and feel our own body in a deeper way.
At Gazelle Sports, we are grateful to be runners, walkers, cyclists, triathletes and adventurers. We invite you to share the roads, trails, gyms and pools with us to push through the pain and find your joy today!
Keep Moving,
Chris
11/27/2007
Gazelle Sports selected as one of the 50 best running stores in the United States.
For the second year in a row,
Gazelle Sports has been named one of the 50 best running stores in
America
following an extensive nomination and review process
throughout 2007.
The list of winning stores is developed based largely on scores turned
in by store raters from The Franklin Resource Group, the top retail
merchandising company in the sporting goods industry. Franklin's team of raters
shopped more than 400 stores, ranking them on various aspects of customer
service. The raters went into the stores unannounced and purchased a product.
Their scores counted for 50 percent of the total grade a store received.
Community service and vendor relations accounted for the other 50 percent.
Stores were nominated by consumers based on ads that appeared in The
Running Network magazines this spring. "More than 2,000 consumers participated
in the nominating process and it was great to see the passion and loyalty they
have to these stores," said Mark Sullivan, editor of Footwear Intelligence. "We
believe the final 50 Best list will reflect that the passion and loyalty is
returned by the store owners themselves."
"We're delighted to, again, be nominated by our customers and chosen by
the judges to be included in the top 50 running retailers in the country," said
Kalamazoo Gazelle Sports store manager, Rob Lillie. "We feel especially
grateful that we are recognized as vital part of a great running community in
West Michigan."
Gazelle Sports, which opened in Downtown Kalamazoo in 1985, and also has
stores in Grand Rapids and Holland, was honored at a 50 Best Awards Dinner in
Austin, TX on November 13.
11/1/2007
November means sock sale at Gazelle Sports.
This is Chris Lampen-Crowell from Gazelle Sports. Now through the end of November, when you buy three pair of socks you get one pair free. And I am talking about the very best socks made to keep your feet comfortable, warm and dry all fall and winter.
Socks from Smartwool, Bridedale, Wigwam, Wrightsock, Thorlo, Belega, Feetures, and Teko are all on sale. Call me a sock snob, but when it comes to comfort and performance, my feet smile with socks made with the very best materials and construction!
Your feet will love you when you slip on a soft, warm new pair of socks.
Buy them now in our stores or online and get one pair free with every three pair purchased.
9/20/07
GO LINDSAY!
At Gazelle Sports, we are excited about the continuing success of Lindsay Tarpley and the US Women's National Soccer Team. We remember when Lindsay was a local player here in Portage turning heads and scoring goals. We applaud Lindsay as she helps the United States secure the world's biggest soccer award, the World Cup!
Now Nike has recognized Lindsay with her own apparel and Gazelle Sports is proud to have this apparel in stock. Stop into one of our store in Downtown Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids on 28th St., Downtown Holland or online.
Join us as we cheer Lindsay and her teammates to World Cup victory! And make sure you are one of the USA fans wearing our hometown hero's #5 jersey - available at Gazelle Sports!
GOOOOAL - Lindsay Tarpley!
8/15/07
Participate or Spectate?
We are all fans of some team, activity, individual or sport. We find a special connection that enhances our emotional highs and lows. When we cheer on a champion there seems to be nothing greater in that moment. There is no doubt that there are benefits of being a fan. Yet, we understand that it is the daily sport and movement we choose to do that defines and builds our lives in health.
At Gazelle Sports, we cheer our local and regional teams and professionals as well as anyone. We cheer each other too and invite you to join us in developing a daily balance of healthy life activities. We would love to help you achieve your next goal - whether it is walking and burning more calories, running your first 5K, completing a marathon or triathlon or teaming up for an adventure race.
Check out our programs at our stores in Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Holland or find out more online in the Clubs and Training section or our website.
4/27/07
Welcome to the New Gazelle Sports.com!
We enthusiastically welcome you to our updated web site. We hope you find it a valuable resource to gather information, find an event, sign up for a program, or buy a favorite product. We will continue to enhance and evolve by adding more products, features and benefits to our site over the next few months so check back and let us know what you expect, need and think of the site.
Since Gazelle Sports has had a web site, we have utilized it primarily as a tool to communicate important information about our company, our stores, and mostly information about events and programs. We will now have
the ability to have you
sign up
for our events, programs, and clinics through our site, or you
can
add your own events, programs, clubs, and healthy education to our listings. You will be able to
find more information about our stores and
what is going on in our communities each week. And you will be able to
shop for some of our favorite products.
We have not made this change without thoroughly considering the important role of personal customer interaction. One of our founding and enduring values is our effort to provide the World's Best Customer Care. We know that e-commerce is a different experience than the traditional shopping environment for almost any person. We realize that we will not be able to personally evaluate your feet, biomechanics, and gait (and we highly recommend it to all people who are active). However, we will be available 24 hours a day - something we don't do in the stores. And we will be able to communicate to you more quickly about new information about products, sales, events, and other great activities. So although we expect a different manner of customer care, we hope that it will enhance what we already do. And that you find Gazelle Sports can benefit and support you through visiting our stores and visiting our web site.
Please let us know what you think. Sign up for our summer training programs. Add your event, club, clinic, class, or program to our listings. And join the Gazelle Herd and receive special offers, benefits and communication.
Connecting you to a healthy life.
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4/14/08
Comfort and Addiction
3/5/08
Pain and Ecstasy
11/27/07:
Gazelle Sports selected as one of the 50 best running stores in the United States.
11/1/07:
November means sock sale.
9/20/07 :
Go Lindsay!
8/15/07 :
Participate or Spectate?
4/27/07 :
Welcome to the new GazelleSports.com |
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