The Running and Fitness Event for Women 2015

This week, I attended The Running and Fitness Event for Women at Navy Pier in downtown Chicago. It was my first time at a conference/trade show like this, so while it was a little overwhelming at first, I enjoyed the experience.  It was tons of fun and I loved getting to meet a huge variety of different companies and see new products.

How badass is their logo?! 

On Monday, my two bosses and I attended a session called "The Future of Shopping." Tom Flierl and Sarah VanElzen, from Hanson Dodge Creative, spoke about the most effective ways to your brand to millennials. The theme of their presentation was that millennials follow brands whose beliefs they agree with. For example, they discussed how Patagonia has experienced success because they represent a rugged, outdoorsy lifestyle. This makes a lot of sense to me because especially with the growth of social media, brands are more visual and prevalent than ever before.

The example that immediately comes to mind is Kiel James Patrick. The brand sells bracelets, belts and other accessories, but from the beautiful Instagram posts and Snapchat stories that Kiel and his finacee Sarah post, you wouldn't know that. The brand represents their young, fun and wealthy lifestyle. Obviously we all want to spend our summer travelling around the coast and partying and KJP brands that lifestyle.

At the trade show portion of the event, one of my favorite new products was SleepPhones. I am arguably the lightest sleeper in the world and need essentially silence to sleep. My roommate always sleeps with earbuds in to block out sound, but I can never get comfortable.

SleepPhones allow you to use music, white noise or other sounds to block outside noise while you sleep. The headband is super soft and doesn't feel hard like wearing earbuds. I think this product is genius, especially for college students (my dorm can get pretty loud!)

Also, I have to give a shoutout to the Buddie Bra ladies. My mother is constantly putting her phone in  her bra and it drives me insane. The Buddie Bra has two built in pockets so you can hold your phone without it getting all sweaty and gross. The founders at the event were nice enough to give me a pink one and I absolutely love it! I've already worn it once and can't wait to again. I'm not a big runner, but I wore it on a bike ride to hold my phone, which was so much nicer than when I usually try to hold it in my hand.

Throughout the event, they were offering quick fitness classes in the festival hall. Our booth location had a perfect view of the space and I knew I would be missing my normal Pure Barre classes because the conference messed up my whole schedule, so I stopped in for a few of the sessions. It was so fun and a great way to break up sitting at the booth!

One of my bosses took my picture at one of the classes. I look way happier in the picture that I actually was. Working out in a polo and dress pants isn't easy!

Throughout the event, I was wearing variations on that outfit. My company wanted us to wear our logo and look professional, so picking out outfits was pretty easy!

On Wednesday, my mom and my best friend came downtown to have dinner with me!

In all, the Running and Fitness Event for Women was a success! I had a great time learning about new products, networking and talking to people about my company. 

PS. SHOUTOUT TO MY BOSS KATIE WHO GOT ENGAGED THIS WEEK YOU GO GIRL!!!