The Crew Cut

She’s our newest Ambassador and globe-trotter Anna McNuff doesn’t hang about when it comes to flying the flag for Crewroom. Days after she stepped into the role helping spread the word about Britain’s favourite sportskit brand, Anna was off – to New Zealand. No, not for a beach holiday – but to run it. Yes, the whole length of it. Amazing Anna is spending the next five months running the 2,000 miles across NZ, following the Te Araroa Trail. She’ll run through forests, over mountain ranges, across rivers and along beaches. From the southernmost point of the South Island, to Cape Reigna in the very north. She’s aiming to cover 15 to 20 miles per day. That’s an awesome challenge and she’ll be running solo, carrying all her camping gear and equipment on her back. “I’m encouraging anyone and everyone to run with me in and out of towns if they can, and have me come and speak to the kids in their communities as I pass through,” says Anna on her popular blog, Mischief with McNuff (All aboard the train to Adventuretown), which we urge you to check out. Crewroom is proud to be supporting Anna on her adventure and she’ll be wearing our kit along the way. Anna adds: “The most important part of the trip is to make the time to go into schools. This journey isn’t about records or speeds, it’s about the people and the places. And people and places demand time.” There are lots of ways YOU can support Anna, like by telling the world about her on social media; in New Zealand, you can invite Anna to a school or local community group, you can follow Anna on Twitter or Facebook – and embrace the #AnnaRuNZ hashtag. Why not drop Anna a line here? And we also promise to keep you updated on Anna’s progress in the months ahead.

Saturday April 11th this year will mark an historic sporting occasion when both the BNY Mellon (men’s) Boat Race and The Newton Women’s Boat Race will, for the first time ever, take place on the same day and on the same stretch of water. First raced in 1829 and 1927 respectively, the BNY Mellon Boat Races are amongst the oldest sporting events in the world. Watched by thousands along the banks of the Thames, between Putney and Mortlake in London, and by millions on TV around the world, the races are a unique sporting event. As well as ‘levelling the playing field’ on gender, the Oxford and Cambridge crews will also be wearing kit supplied by one of Britain’s top sports brands – Crewroom! The Boat Race Company Limited has announced that Crewroom are this year’s Official Supplier of performance wear for The 2015 Boat Race season. Back in yesteryear, women rowers wore cumbersome, full-length skirts, as we see from this historic photo of women from the Furnivall Sculling Club, based at Hammersmith, London, on the Thames tideway, in the late 19th century. Our special thanks to the River & Rowing Museum, in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire for lending us this picture. (Their museum is well worth a visit http://rrm.co.uk). “To be an integral part of these historic events is something of which all of us at Crewroom are very proud,” says Kate Giles, Crewroom Founder. “As a young British company, we acknowledge the rich history and tradition associated with The Boat Race and we’re excited about our involvement in 2015, particularly as it will be the first year that the women’s crews will race on the Tideway.” “Our kit remains first choice for many elite international rowers and we work closely with the athletes to ensure the technical innovation is the very best it can be at the highest level in the sport. I look forward to cheering on all the crews on the day and throughout the season.” The men’s and women’s races will get underway on the Tideway at 5.50pm and 4.50pm respectively. If you’d like to win a Crewroom Beanie, just answer the following trivia question in our Crewroom Boat Race Quiz. Beanies (RRP £19) will go to the first five people to email the correct answer to enquiries@crewroom.biz Question: From which single college were the Cambridge rowers taken when the Women's Boat Race was founded in 1927? Picture: ©River & Rowing Museum.

We’d like to say a big thank you to the people of Putney for all their support and interest in Crewroom’s brand new Pop-up store. Based in the Putney Exchange shopping centre, our Pop-up will now be staying open at least through the summer. It means that, whatever your chosen sport, be it running or rowing, or just enjoying the fresh air outdoors, you can pop in to our new store and check out all our latest sportswear bargains. We also have a wide range of exercise classes, and some informative talks, going on in the weeks ahead. So check out our busy events programme. We feel a great bond of friendship with the people of Putney, our local community – and judging from the warm response we’ve received from all our visitors, the people of Putney are pretty fond of us too! If you haven’t checked out our new store yet, why not pop in and say hello the next time you’re passing.

If you’ve over-indulged this Christmas, you’ll maybe want to get out there for a run. And Crewroom’s new leggings are the perfect addition to your kit bag, for a number of reasons. Apart from the fact that our No Fuss Legging (Women's) RRP £45 are a super-snug fit and feel amazing, they also hold in all your Christmas excesses! The clean lines of the design are combined with a natural feel, and the stretch jersey fabric makes the leggings really supportive and flattering. On the tech front, our leggings are also non-pilling, anti-bacterial, moisture wicking, extra-supportive and include a super four-way stretch. Both the women’s leggings and our Men’s version offer warmth and protection from the biting wind, which is just what you need at this time of year.

Our Kate hosted a fabulous Christmas party, which came with roast turkey and all the trimmings. Her guests, all the members of our award-winning Crewroom team, got not one, but TEN presents from Santa’s Lucky Dip. There was singing, dancing and much merry-making – and here’s a fun picture of our Crewroom Founder carving herself a slice of the action. We’d love to see some of your festive photos from over the holiday season. Why not send us some to enquiries@crewroom.biz. With your permission, we’ll circulate the best of them on our social media channels – and who knows, Santa might have some left-over gifts for you if you get published.

High Street news alert: Forget Black Friday and Cyber Monday, every day is filled with Christmas bargains at your favourite sportswear store Crewroom throughout December. Yes, festive season shoppers, we're now able to offer you our award-winning sports kit in three different ways - online at www.crewroom.biz, at our exciting new London Pop-Up store in the Putney Exchange shopping centre, and at our Hub HQ on Putney Embankment. The traditional British wintry weather is no doubt playing its part this year, as our turnstiles have been spinning extra fast this month and our new winter range is proving especially popular with our customers. Top of the hot-sellers so far this year has been our North-West Hoodie. In fact, this super cosy, super cool item has proved so popular, we sold out! Luckily, we've ordered fresh stock, which is now available. On sale at £65, these amazing hoodies are woven from a technical fabric that is brushed, making it feel extra-comfy against your skin. They come in blue or black and would make a snug and stylish Christmas gift. Our new limited edition Bodyshell is another favourite. Not only do you benefit from all the technical aspects of a performance base layer which uses carbonised bamboo technology, you get this snazzy print, too. The garment is breathable and wicking, anti-bacterial, has a chest pocket for cards and gels, sleeve gussets and grip tape in the hem of the shirt to allow full stretch without the shirt riding up, and there are also thumbholes to keep your hands warm and reflective branding for safety. And with the wintry snap, our ever-popular Beanies (£15) are also proving extremely popular with shoppers on the hunt for stocking-fillers.