Senior Design Thesis :: Run to Work.

Cool.

This thing already exists, it is called the Patagonia Houdini Pack. Unfortunately, they stopped making it, so you should start making it again... and sell it for cheaper.

http://www.backcountry.com/patagonia-houdini-pack-700-cu-in

Fortunately, I still have mine.

1) 7 each way - 14 a day.

2) Both ways, just run.

3) Yes - Patagonia Houdini Pack listed above.

4) We have a gym with lockers. I hang my shorts and shirt and they are dry by PM run. I bring extra socks/underwear for PM run.

5) It just sucks having something on your back, but this is really a nice pack. i get used to it after about a mile.

6) I kept 2 pairs of dress shoes/belts at work, so I brought slacks, shirt, sweater (in winter), dress socks and boxers (also and extra pair of running socks and underwear for PM run). In addition, I used the front pockets on the waist band for my wallet, keys and cellphone.

7) It didn't matter at my office, but I understand the issue elsewhere. If it had mattered, I would have avoided it since the gym was in a separate part of the building.

8) In my opinion, that is pretty low on the list of priorities. Function is so key in this situation. I am not sure anyone running to work cares that much about how the bag looks as long as it is functional. Maybe I am wrong.

Hope it helps...

Forgot to mention that the bag was virtually waterproof. On super hot or rainy days, i put my clothes in a plastic grocery bag to be safe, but for the most part everything stays dry.

I also throw it in the wash about once a week.

1. 8-13 to work, 8 home

2. Run both ways

3. No backpack. I've been wearing a jacket (Saucony Soniclite) and put anything I need in the pockets

4. Put it in cabinets in office, or hanging on the back of my office door

5. I don't like running with a backpack. Flops around too much.

6. Cell phone, ID badge

7. No

8. Not applicable.

I usually drive to work once or twice a week. When I drive, I stash several days worth of clothes and food in my office, then run back & forth to work for the next few days, then repeat the cycle. It eliminates the need for a backpack, for the most part.

I am not currently run commuting, but I used too. Actually, my best method was bike/run switch, where I would bike to work (with run gear in a pannier), run home (leaving work clothes behind), run in the next day, bike back. So I never really needed to carry anything while running beyond wallet/phone/keys.

But I can still answer a few questions:

1. 6 miles each way

2. I would often bike one way, run one way.

3. Pannier on the bike. For running, I had sort of light backpacking bag from Columbia, that wrapped around the torso at both the waist and chest.

4. Put it in a locker, and occasionally hang stuff to dry in corner way in the back.

5. Sometimes the backpack would swing, and that messed up my form in all sorts of ways. And also, my back would get damn hot and I'd sweat alot.

6. Mainly a change of clothes (but I would often bring two or three sets or clothes at the start of the week via another mode of transport), wallet, keys, phone. I never had to bring any papers back and forth.

7. Not at all.

8. No.

I run commute to work. Nike made the perfect bag for this, the Cheyenne Vapor. Came out this winter. Never tried a better one.

1. 8-12 total (3-7 a.m., 3-5 pm)

2. both ways

3. usually a Patagonia bum bag ('fanny pack'), sometimes a Karrimor (UK) rucksack with chest strap when I have to take more clothes or papers

4. we're lucky enough to have a small shower room with a radiator. wet stuff can air or dry there.

5. there are plenty of good rucksacks that work well. Main thing is to have adjustable shoulder straps and a chest strap, fairly high up, which stops it swinging. Waist belt is pointless. The pack I use was designed for fell running and the chest strap is slightly elasticated so it can move a bit as you breathe. The two things I would add are...

(a) the back, or maybe the whole thing should have a 100% waterproof lining, so that if you sweat buckets for a long run it doesn't soak through to the contents

(b) it would be good to have a rectangular, flat-ish pocket that could hold some papers or maybe an ironed shirt, separate to anything else that gets stuffed in there.

6. wallet/phone/keys, gloves+hat, maybe a few small objects (thus, bumbag daily). Possibly 1-2x per week, take spare shirts home and/or transport books or papers (that's when I take the rucksack). And since I'm a Real Athlete it needs to be big enough to hold spikes and spare kit for a track night!

7. Hell no, I'm the boss.

8. No difference. Even the flashiest law firms and investment banks have a good number of people arriving in sports kit in the morning.

eurodonkey wrote:

8. No difference. Even the flashiest law firms and investment banks have a good number of people arriving in sports kit in the morning.

You Euro guys are such weirdos.

If someone came into my office dressed in a "kit," I would punch them (unless they could beat me on the track, which they could not). I understand it is normal there, but in the U.S. you would look like a total tool.

"Kits" are reserved for cyclists who dress up like superheroes. The only idiots that pay for an outfit that has some unrelated brand logo.

"8. No difference. Even the flashiest law firms and investment banks have a good number of people arriving in sports kit in the morning."

This is not really responsive (sorry, OP), but this sentence makes me very happy. I mean that with all respect - I just love the phrase "sports kit."

Another woman wrote:

eurodonkey wrote:

8. No difference. Even the flashiest law firms and investment banks have a good number of people arriving in sports kit in the morning.

You Euro guys are such weirdos.

If someone came into my office dressed in a "kit," I would punch them (unless they could beat me on the track, which they could not). I understand it is normal there, but in the U.S. you would look like a total tool.

"Kits" are reserved for cyclists who dress up like superheroes. The only idiots that pay for an outfit that has some unrelated brand logo.

Well, in Columbus, Ohio, it's not unusual to see people coming into the office in cycling or running gear. Most of the bigger companies downtown have locker rooms and showers, which make commuting to work via your own power a very feasible thing to do.

(1) 7 miles each way, round trip every other day

(2) Take mass transit on return trip every other day

(3) No backpack, though I have tried the Salomon adventure racing model before, as well as the Camelbak Rim Runner.

(4) Do a weekly clothing drop. Sink-wash and hang-dry my running clothes in the (largely unused) locker room.

(5) Main complaints about all backpacks - * side-to-side sway caused back problems; * added weight puts stress on back, knees, and hip that I would rather avoid if possible; * minor issue, but backpacks tended to ruin my running shirts on the back due to the friction eventually wearing out the fabric

(6) Thanks to the clothing drops, I only need to carry: wallet, cell, keys. If I had to bring work clothes and shower accessories, I would have to go with a backpack, of course.

(7) No, though my office is full-time business casual.

(8) No, functionality and fit would be the key considerations for me.

thanks for everything so far! The two packs listed were a good find.

To elaborate:

1. How many miles do you (would you) run to work in a single day?

I run 2.5 miles each way, but I often add on for the way home up to 8 miles. I don't add on on the way in because I have no shower at work and 2.5 miles is just short enough that I can get to work without breaking a sweat.

2. Do your run both to and from work or incorporate another form of transportation into your commute?

Generally run only. I drive 1-2 days per week and occasionally I will run in and get a ride home.

3. Do you wear a backpack or carrying device to transport necessary items to work? If answered yes, what model backpack do you use?

I use the Nike Cheyenne Vapor pack.

4. What do you do with your backpack/running gear at work?

Leave it in my "bin."

5. What do you like/dislike about running with a backpack? What problems arise?

I like that I can leave strobing lights clipped on for visibility on the way home and not have to worry about a reflective vest. On the way home, I often stop at the grocery store and pick up whatever fresh fruits/veggies will fit in the pack for making dinner. I used to dislike the bounce of a pack. Not the weight but the way the weight would sway around. The Nike pack is shallow and wide, so it holds weight very close to the body. I feel the weight, but there is almost zero bounce, so there are few negatives.

6. If you do/did run to work, what items would you need to carry with you?

I carry a change of clothes. I work in a casual environment, so it does not have to be too much. I leave a pair of work shoes at work so I never have to carry those. I bring my lunch and usually a thermos of coffee.

7. Do you feel uncomfortable carrying an athletic pack around the office? If answered yes, why?

Nope. As I said, casual/athletic environment where many people bike to work and one other person has started running to work as well.

8. If your bag better fit in aesthetically with professional work-bags, would you be more likely to use it in the work place?

N/A

Another woman wrote:

You Euro guys are such weirdos.

If someone came into my office dressed in a "kit," I would punch them

What, you don't use a gun?

I have worked on uptight trading floors and in corporate head offices in the UK, USA and Japan and seen the same in all of them. And Silicon Valley makes the Brits look positively uptight.

If someone arrives in the lobby in what we Brits call "running kit", goes to get their day-clothes bag from under their bag with the minimum of fuss (i.e. visible for all of 1 minute) , then goes to shower and change into a suit, they would not expect to be assaulted - colleagues are often quietly impressed. (This is the true meaning of "pose running"!)

Obviously the best of all is for an enlightened employer to convert a little space into a locker/shower area where lots of people can run or bike to work, AND not have to walk through the office. But it makes it harder to pose ;-)