A couple of weeks ago Gordon from OutsidePR found his way onto my humble blog and enjoyed reading my ultra marathon experience.  He also found my post on the mind games of long distance running where I use the lack of sunglasses as a reason not to run.  This led him to propose I should try out a pair of Ryders Eyewear, which is one of their accounts, and let him know what I thought of them.  Of course I said “sure” and he asked Devon to send a pair of the “Shot” model my way.

First let me tell you that I am a very picky person when it comes to my running gear.  However, for some reason I have never considered eyewear as running gear.  For years I simply wore my normal prescription lensed sunglasses on all of my runs, and never gave it another thought.  Never mind the fact I had to push my glasses back into place every 100 yards or so.  Pay no mind as my normal running glasses weight cause my nose bridge a little discomfort from the slight bounce on long distance runs.  Add to this the amount of cleaning that is required for nose pads that are not made to handle the sweat of a marathon distance.  Until this past weekend I WAS COMPLETELY HAPPY with my heavy, dirty, sliding, and sports ugly prescription sunglasses.

Thanks to OutsidePR and Ryders Eyewear I now realize my old sunglasses are outdated, and not meant for long distance running.  Thanks a lot Gordon!  Jeez!  I simply never gave sports sunglasses a thought and didn’t know there was a difference.

Ryders Eyewear “Shot” Sunglasses

Saturday I set out for a short 7 mile run wearing the “Shot” model of Ryders Eyewear. It was a nice, clear, sunny morning in South Florida and perfect for sunglasses.  The first thing I noticed about the eyewear was that they fit very well, and sat nicely on the bridge of my nose.  The brown tint of the polycarbonate lens with 100% UV protection was a nice change for me since normally I wore a grey polarized lens.  In the 2nd mile as I ran and the sweating started I instinctively reached up to straighten the glasses as habit dictated, and realized that I didn’t need to.  They had not budged since I started the run.  It took me another mile or two to become accustom to the new eyewear and that I did NOT need to fiddle with them like I normally do with my old sunglasses.

On completing the 7 miles I was pleasantly surprised again when I walked into my house, and had to remove the sunglasses. (When coming into the house from the bright sunlight outside it can be very dark indoors.) As I removed the sunglasses it struck me that I had forgotten that I was wearing them at all. (Isn’t that what wearing sunglasses should be like?)

Sunday I wore the Ryders Eyewear “Shot” sunglasses again for a 15 mile run, and once again had an awesome experience.  The sunglasses did not budge once, and there was never a need to adjust them the tiniest bit.  Furthermore, the sunglasses never entered my mind during the entire 15 mile run and simply allowed me to become totally absorbed with the task at hand.  They just performed their duty excellent and protected my eyes comfortably the entire run.

Luckily my eyes are not too bad, and my prescription is very slight, so wearing a prescription lens is not a “must have” for me.  I would think that contacts would be a great solution for myself though, as I highly recommend these sunglasses.

Thanks Ryders Eyewear for doing a fabulous job on these.