C25K Tee shirts - looks like they are a goer! Any other suggestions please?

OK, we are making progress with the tee shirt idea :)

Here is a message received from JR21:

"I think we're going to have to leave in this in the community's capable hands as, in common with most public sector organisations, the pennies are rather tight at the moment and marketing is particularly squeezed. I can see from the answers to your question that there is quite a demand for them so I'm sure they'll go like hot cakes.

I will have a word with my colleagues on the marketing side and Laura, of course, to see if there are any ways we can help. It strikes me that some of the big sportswear brands might be interested in sponsoring and London 2012 is obviously a big hook too."

So it looks as though we can go ahead with the tee shirts! I have asked JR21 to confirm that it will be OK to use the logo and to let us have any contacts he feels might be useful.

The consensus so far seems to be for black and or white shirts with the C25K logo across the shoulders on the back and the opportunity to add additional writing such as your name or GRADUATE.

Style, initially anyway to be unisex in a wicking fabric.

I am happy to call a few companies and explain what we are trying to achieve - I'll look up the ones suggested in the previous thread and get some idea of style and price.

Anyone have any other suggestions??

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47 Replies

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  • Oooooh this is exciting! First I've heard of this! Can't wait!

  • Oooops just realised this isn't a very constructive comment... My suggestion? ... Student discount...? ;)

  • LOVE the student discount idea!

  • Excellent suggestion! LOL although mine would need to say "mature student" having said that I'm sure folks would be able to tell...

  • Sounds like a goer to me BTX4. Happy with the design as you have stated, don't want my name, but Graduate would be good!

    CaroleC

  • yes that would be great something to buy when you graduate I have 4 more runs to go.

  • Love the idea of a t-shirt, but have to say I'm not overly keen on the logo and I don't think it makes it very clear what it actually is (then again, I'm the least creative person on the planet and can't actually come up with anything better either)

    We've used Endura twice in the past to produce custom cycling tops, so they might be worth a look at...

  • If at all possible it might be best to go with a women and a men's top as I've always found unisex stuff like this doesn't fit well at all. Just a thought.

  • I can see why the logo would be on the back for people to look at, but what about a mini logo on the front too? Perhaps off to one side at lapel level? Just an idea - has this already been ruled out?

  • I had a look at one of the t-shirts a heavy metal fan was wearing the other day: listed on the back, the name of the band obviously and then in list style the date and venues. How about we adopt something like that but with what each week was about? So Week 1 could be: brisk 5-minute walk, then alternate 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking, for a total of 20 minutes, and below it Week 2 and so on. It would plant the seeds of possibility in the minds of those reading it and it is very clear what the plan is all about.

  • Yes Graduate would be good on the back. Not quite there yet. Hopefully the tops will be long enough to cover most of the derrière. Black with bright green writing. Can't wait.

  • Good point - definitely long enough to cover my vast bottom!

  • great idea for graduate on the back, maybe date for graduation date?

    suggestions for slogans "Aching bum at week one", "Stayed alive at week five", "on cloud nine at week nine" diagonally down the back?

    come on creative people - make this a shirt to remember

  • I forgot NHS.Health.Unlocked mentioned at the bottom?

  • I'd be in if they came in Day-Glo colors. Fluorescent green being my fav. Hey, we've come this far - let's shout out who we are!

  • Week Two - It can't be true!

    Week Three- Just look at me!

    Week Four- I'm out the door,

    Week Six has just been nixed.

    Week Seven and I'm in Heaven!

    Week Eight - Run, run - there's no debate!

  • I'm a bit boring so plain black with the logo would be fine for me, although I'd prefer if it said 'couch to 5k' rather than 'c25k' and the NHS logo if possible. I reckon that'd get people's interest and they could look it up for themselves.

  • I agree with you on the couch to 5k rather than c25k. I wouldn't want a shirt with too much detail on it, besides people wouldn't have time to read all the detail as we all whizzed by woud they :D

  • *would

  • Definately need womens fit for us petites!

    I wouldn't buy a baggy non fitted top whatever the logo.

    White with the logo would be great

  • I would love the idea of a t shirt with graduate on the back! Great motivation!

  • I still like:

    "My sport is your sport's punishment..."

    :-0

    Tickles me every time. Either that or:

    "I am Kenyan on the inside"

    :-)

  • Male & female versions with NHS logo and C25k sounds fine

  • I would go with Male & Female versions, GRADUATE on the back no names of individual, NHS C25K logo and perhaps a list of what we all had to go through from week 1 to week 9 to complete and also the website address and perhaps "I got off the couch"??? Think T-shirt is a good idea.

  • Yes, choice of male or female (although I would probably buy a baggy mens shirt). I like the idea of black with bright green detail.

  • I'M A GRADUATE

    I DID IT

    Insert logo here

    THE BEST WAY

    Keep it simple then people will read it.

  • I would prefer white to black - or the option of choosing ideally. And I still think someone's suggestion of "Laura got me running" would be a really good way of getting people's interest.

  • I would buy a T-shirt. Needs to be that wick fabric, I would like it to have the NHS logo because there are other C25K programs out there, possibly saying graduate, although this does mean that most people are going to have to buy 2 T-shirts--a pre and a post graduate T-shirt. Also I would like there to be ladies and mens as otherwise I think it will be uncomfy.

  • UPDATE

    I have managed to contact a couple of suppliers and the problem seems to be that they are more used to dealing with an order from one club/person rather than in our case where, because we are all spread out geographically we would each have to order our own garment. I guess that over time a manufacturer might be prepared to hold a ready printed stock but there would have to be proven to be a demand.

    What I am going to try and come up with is...

    Wicking tee shirt in either black or white, ladies and men's styles (although both said that the men's are more popular because ladies tend to come up small), Couch to 5k across the back and the NHS logo on the front shoulder..with this and the text being a bright green to stand out. Space for GRADUATE or other writing on the back.

    I want to speak to a couple more people but will then post a shirt that might be suitable and you can give me a rough idea of how many might be ordered so that they can do some costings.

    Keep the ideas coming in.....

  • Have you tried contacting sports shops such as JJB, JD, Sports Direct or manufacturers such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok? I seem to remember JJB has a Community Fund and obviously would be to their adavntage to help as it might get future sales to graduates.

    I would have preferred a brighter colour for the tees but will go with what ever.Perhaps not having 'graduate' on the shirts might mean people who are still pre-graduation will also buy.

  • I haven't tried the big manufacturers because at the moment we can only guarantee them about 60 shirts and they will all have to be individually purchased. If the NHS were to approach them now that might be a different matter!

    JJB might be an option though - I will try and find out about the community fund.

    Graduate can be an optional extra text along with name and whatever else individuals want to put on...

    JR21 also said he was going to talk to their marketing people for ideas so I will chase him on this.

  • There are polls that can be used on this site if you want to get an idea on what people think.

  • When we did it on the cycling forum, we nominated one person (well, they volunteered) to be in charge. Order had to be in by a certain date and a paypal account was set up for this, if the payment hadn't arrived by the cut-off date, your order wasn't counted. Then the person in charge put the whole order through (I think it was about 100 items, including tops, arm warmers, jackets, etc). They got delivered to the volunteer's house who then posted them out to everyone (we'd added postage to the price). It meant they were quite a bit cheaper because it could be done as one big order, so maybe that might be worth looking at if someone is willing to be in charge...

  • Excellent idea.

    Any volunteers?

    I think that would make ordering a lot easier and we would get a better price.

    I couldn't commit the time to do it but am more than happy to assist.

  • ok...late to the discussion, but....how about a lime green t-shirt (the graduation color) with the Couch 2 5K and NHS logos as previously discussed....

  • My thinking here being, of course, that you can purchase the shirt before graduation .... stand out in the crowd (lime green?) ... and advertise NHS/Couch to 5K all at once.....

  • Oooh I do like lime Green and the standing out idea. :)

  • Hi, just catching up on the T shirt plan, I'll commit to one too :)

  • i like the idea and ok with logo etc on back, i like the idea someone mentioned in an earlier thread about it saying something like, i'm listerning to Laura. i qouldnt be bothered whether it said c25k or couch to 5k but i think the NHS choices logo should be there too.

    would prefer a male and female version, and maybe choice of colour, B&W great as lots of people preferred this, but maybe a choice of a brighter colour too - bright yellow / pink / green for visability?especially for those who do early morning or evening runs.

  • "I'm a Kenyan on the inside" - Love it! :D

  • "I'm a proper runner" on the front

    Logo, "graduate" and year on the back.

    If you go to Red Bubble and similar you can design and people can order them directly.

    HTH

  • I think the idea of a t-shirt is fab!

    What about the possibility if getting JR21 and the team to 'sign off' the design of the t-shirt then post it on the C25K website? You could then download the template along with the podcasts and arrange to get your own? Could do 2... 1 for pre-graduation and 1 for graduates.

  • I'm a real newbie on week 1 but love the idea of a t-shirt if not too pricey.

  • Are the graduation badges actual badges? If so maybe we could have just one design to keep down costs and a space to sew it on. Definitely 'Couch 2 5k' for the logo rather than 'C25k' so not too cryptic for those not in the know and it should have the NHS logo. I love the idea of black with lime green but might not be to everyone's taste! There are various companies which will make up t-shirts to your own design (I've used Zazzle in the past) so shellieboots idea of having the template is a really good one. I think I will get one with 'I'm a Kenyan on the inside' to be going on with - fantastic! ;-)

  • Hi everyone,

    This is a cross-post from OldGirl's blog with a design idea for the t-shirts. Just to let you know, I've been messaging BTX4 (Gillian) about the t-shirts and I'm going to get some made from NHS Choices' coffers. I'm going to ask the designer who put together the artwork for the programme to put something together and I'll share those with you. I'll keep you posted on how things are going.

    One question - would you prefer simple cotton t-shirts or the 'breathable' fabric they use in athletic gear?

    Cheers

    John

  • Breathable please :)

  • Would totally buy one, nice and big please to cover me up. :)

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