Not required, but would be cool:

• If you’re a Twitter user, please consider following Mission Skincare™. A tweet to let people know you’ve entered the giveaway would be appreciated too. Click here to send an automated tweet, or feel free to tweet in your own words if you’d prefer.
• If you’re on Facebook, please consider liking Mission Skincare™. If you’re feeling generous, you could always post a link to the giveaway on your wall too. Of course, to increase your chances of winning, you’ll probably want to keep the contest to yourself….

From the 24-hour ATR race rules: For 2011, each complete loop of the 24-Hour Adventure Trail Run will qualify the runner for 6.25 miles towards their final mileage count. The time of each loop will be marked electronically. This will enable precise loop times. Runners who get to the mid-point satellite aid station before the 24 Hours are up (7:00am May 8th) will receive credit for that mileage towards the final standings.

Closest guess to my ACTUAL OFFICIAL mileage will win product #1. Next closest will win product #2, all the way down to product #12. There are no official rules, so in the event of a tie I’ll use my discretion to determine the winners. Here’s what I have up for grabs:

• Product #1 – Ultra-Hydrating Hand + Body Lotion: Melts into your skin to deliver all-day nourishing moisture and hydration with our powerful blend of Antioxidants, Botanicals and Vitamins. Retail price $9.99
• Product #2 – Long-Lasting Anti-Chafe Balm: Helps to prevent blisters and relieve chafed, chapped or cracked skin with our proprietary M-10 blend of 6 Vitamins (A, B6, C, D3, E, and K) and 4 Antioxidants (Goji, Acai, Pomegranate, and Cranberry. This paraben-free, non-greasy formula will help keep you friction-free while still allowing your skin to breathe. Retail price $9.99
• Product #3 – Fast-Drying Sunscreen SPF 30+ Spray: Alcohol-free, fast-drying, non-greasy spray provides paraben-free UVA/UVB SPF 30+ protection. Retail price $9.99
• Product #4 – Refreshing Foot Therapy Cream (Peppermint): Cools and revitalizes tired feet with our new formula–enriched with Jojoba, Sesame, Grape Seed, Radish Root, Sunflower and Cucumber extracts as well as our proprietary M-10 blend of Vitamins and Antioxidants. Official Skincare of Athletes(TM). Retail price $8.99
• Product #5 – Anti-Sting Sunscreen SPF 30+ Facestick: Sweatproof, oil-free, vitamin-enriched formula won’t sting your eyes and offers broad-spectrum paraben-free UVA/UVB SPF 30+ protection; great for face, neck, ears and nose. Official Sunscreen of Athletes(TM). Official Sunscreen of Tennis(TM). Retail price $8.99
• Product #6 – Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen SPF 30+ Lotion: Fast-absorbing, ultra-sweatproof lotion provides broad-spectrum, paraben-free UVA/UVB SPF 30+ protection. Retail price $8.99
• Product #7 – Ultra-Hydrating Lip Protector SPF 20: Vitamin-infused formula shields lips from the elements with powerful UVA/UVB protection. Retail price $3.99
• Product #8 through #12 – Five individual Lip Balmers™ with SPF 15: Long-lasting vitamin and antioxidant-enriched UVA/UVB protection in five great-tasting flavors: Sergio Garcia’s Mint, Gretchen Bleiler’s Sweet Vanilla, Ryan Sheckler’s Orange, Serena Williams’ Pomegranate and Amanda Beard’s Organic Strawberry. Retail price $3.99

If you’d like to try any of the products, MISSION Skincare are currently offering 15% off all products plus free ground shipping for orders over $50. [correct as of 5/4/11 and subject to change at any time].

Good luck with the giveaway. Happy guessing!

Update (5/10/11):

So, somehow I managed to rack up 106.25 miles (17 laps) on the weekend. Thanks to all who posted a prediction in the comments. It was a tough, tough event, but so rewarding on many levels.

Listed below are the 12 winners of the MISSION products. Please send your mailing address to steve.speirs@gmail.com and I’ll get your prize out to you ASAP.

Brendan M (106.25) Ultra-Hydrating Hand + Body Lotion
Ray J (108) Long-Lasting Anti-Chafe Balm
Alan A (104) Fast-Drying Sunscreen SPF 30+ Spray
Blaine M (109.375) Refreshing Foot Therapy Cream
David H (112) Anti-Sting Sunscreen SPF 30+ Facestick
Matt F (112.5) Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen SPF 30+ Lotion
Kim S (100) Ultra-Hydrating Lip Protector SPF 20
Michael C (113) Lip Balmer Mint
Julio (116) Lip Balmer Vanilla
Kathy (96) Lip Balmer Orange
Marie (93.75) Lip Balmer Pomegranate
Kristen F (121) Lip Balmer Strawberry

Regular readers of the blog will know I’m a staunch supporter of MISSION Skincare™ products. My favorite product is the Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen, which provides SPF 30+ protection in an oil-free, non-greasy lotion. It doesn’t clog my pores and doesn’t turn into a stingy solution that runs into my eyes.

MISSION also offer a whole host of other great skincare products – just click on the animated banner to browse their collection. If you’re looking to stock up on sunscreen for the summer, why not take advantage of their current offer to save 15% off your order, plus get free ground shipping on any order over $50.

MISSION products are designed for active people of all ages and make great gifts for the holidays. Be sure to take advantage of their best deal ever by using the discount on their specially-priced Deluxe Bundle Kit to save 20% off the already reduced price. You’ll get 12 of their featured items for $39.99 — that’s a savings of over 50% compared to buying the products individually. Plus, you’ll even get FREE Fedex ground shipping on that item when you order by December 15th so you can get it in time for the holidays!

As seen on the TODAY show, with the Deluxe Bundle Kit, you can pamper yourself and your friends with the NEW Ultra-Hydrating Hand + Body Lotion, Refreshing Peppermint Foot Therapy Cream, and many of the top-selling moisture-locking lip products with flavors that are customized by our athlete co-founders. Plus, MISSION have included three of their top suncare items and their NEW Long-Lasting Anti-Chafe Balm.

Remember to enter code “Holiday20″ at checkout — it’s good for 20% off all products! Click here to visit the MISSION Skincare web site.

Note: PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER BY DECEMBER 15TH IF YOU WANT TO USE GROUND SHIPPING TO GET YOUR MISSION ON IN TIME FOR THE 25TH.

Looking back to the day I purchased the KSOs, it took a few attempts to find the correct size. The Men’s size 39 (10”) was too small, and the 40 (10¹⁄₄”) too big. I ended up with the slightly narrower Women’s size 41 which is bang in the middle at 10¹⁄₈”. Perfect!

To complicate matters further, however, my little toes are weird in that they curl into the 4th toe, and I vividly remember during the first few days of ownership it was a real struggle to separate the toes and actually get the KSOs on.

I’ve since found a much easier way to slip into the Vibrams which also makes for a pleasant blister-free experience too. Before wrestling with the KSOs, I simply apply a thin coating of MISSION Skincare’s Anti-Friction Cream to my feet, which helps my toes slide right into their respective pockets!

Anti-Friction Cream is also perfect to defend and relieve chafing, cracking and chapping, and is sweat resistant too. Click here to read more about the anti-friction cream and the other great products in the MISSION Skincare line-up.

• Seek the shade, especially between 10am and 4pm
• Avoid tanning and UV tanning booths
• Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or above EVERY day
• Cover up with clothing, including a hat and UV-blocking sunglasses
• Examine your skin head-to-toe every month
• Apply sunscreen 30 before heading outside. Reapply every two hours or as recommended by the sunscreen manufacturer
• See your physician every year for a professional skin examination

Long time readers of this blog will know I’m a huge fan of Mission Skincare Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen. I searched for several years to find a sunscreen that wasn’t greasy, wouldn’t sting, would let my skin breathe but most importantly protect me from the harmful UVA/UVB rays.

I tried all the popular brands – Coppertone, Coppertone Sport, Banana Boat, BullFrog to name just a few – and many not-so-well-known brands, like Watermans and HeadHunter.

To be honest, none of the popular brands were that great and most of them were absolutely awful. They may be useful for a few hours at the beach, but for an avid runner like me, they just didn’t fit the bill.

Luckily I stumbled upon the MISSION Skincare range of products, which includes various sunscreens in both lotion and spray form, protective lip balms, an anti-friction cream, foot gel, after-sun revive gel and more.

My favorite (and most used) is the Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen SPF 30+ Lotion – “althete-engineered to be absorbed quickly and provide a broad spectrum protection”. I love the fact that it doesn’t feel greasy and doesn’t clog my pores like many of the “goose-grease” formulas I’ve tried.

If you’re skeptical about MISSION Skincare, you may be interested in the athletes who use and endorse the products. From a running perspective, none is more impressive than Charlie Engle – one of the world’s premier endurance athletes. The father of two has competed in over 200 marathons, triathlons and adventure races and in February of 2007, Charlie and his team became the first people to run across the entire Sahara Desert. They ran more than 42 miles per day for 111 days while crossing the most forbidding terrain on earth.

Other notable MISSION Skincare athletes include Serena Williams (tennis champion), Mia Hamm (Soccer Legend), Hunter Kemper (Pro Triathlete), Sarah Haskins (Pro Triathlete), Sergio Garcia (Pro Golfer) and Amanda Beard (Gold Medal Swimmer).

More information on the athletes and the range of MISSION Skincare products can be found at their corporate web site. If you’ve used, or about to use, any of the MISSION products, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post….

By the way, if you’re a Twitter user, you can follow MISSION Skincare here.

For several years I’ve been in search of a sunscreen that wasn’t greasy, wouldn’t sting, would let my skin breath but most importantly protect me from the harmful UVA/UVB rays.

I’ve tried all the popular brands – Coppertone, Coppertone Sport, Banana Boat, BullFrog to name just a few – and many not-so-well-known brands like Watermans and HeadHunter.

None of them have been that great and most of them were absolutely awful. They may be useful for a few hours at the beach, but for an avid runner like me, they just didn’t fit the bill.

Luckily I stumbled upon the MISSION Skincare range of products, which includes various sunscreens in both lotion and spray form, protective lip balms, an anti-friction cream, foot gel, after-sun revive gel and more.

My favorite (and most used) is the Ultra-Sweatproof Sunscreen SPF 30+ Lotion – althete-engineered to be absorbed quickly and provide a broad spectrum protection. I love the fact that it doesn’t feel greasy and doesn’t clog my pores like many of the “goose-grease” formulas I’ve tried.

If you’re skeptical about MISSION Skincare, you may be interested in the athletes who use and endorse the products. From a running perspective, none is more impressive than Charlie Engle – one of the world’s premier endurance athletes. The father of two has competed in over 200 marathons, triathlons and adventure races and in February of 2007, Charlie and his team became the first people to run across the entire Sahara Desert. They ran more than 42 miles per day for 111 days while crossing the most forbidding terrain on earth.

Other notable MISSION Skincare athletes include Serena Williams (tennis champion), Mia Hamm (Soccer Legend), Hunter Kemper (Pro Triathlete), Sarah Haskins (Pro Triathlete), Sergio Garcia (Pro Golfer) and Amanda Beard (Gold Medal Swimmer).

More information on the athletes and the range of MISSION Skincare products can be found at their corporate web site. If you’ve used, or about to use, any of the MISSION products, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post….

Update: Just found out MISSION Skincare are on Twitter and can be followed here.

I’ve been on a mission to find the perfect sunscreen for several years. Many (if not all) the off-the shelf products at the big chains haven’t worked – not for my running in the sun anyway. Not surprisingly they’re more suited to a day at the beach or an afternoon relaxing on the deck. Basically, all I need is a quality product with the following characteristics:

It has to be sweatproof, waterproof, non-greasy and breathable. It needs to offer protection of at least SPF 30 and last for at least a couple of hours.

In MISSION Skincare products, I think I’ve found what I’ve been looking for. Their web site offers a host of products that I’m keen on trying and I’ll be making my selection(s) soon (in time for the sunny weather we keep being promised here in Virginia Beach).

Naturally I’ll post my findings as I try out the products and hopefully I’ve stumbled on a winner! Surely all these athletes can’t be wrong?