Kait Anelauskas 
Heart & Courage
This year, I’m thrilled to announce a new sponsorship with Coeur Sports. I am proud to represent such a great company and inspiring group of women. If you don’t know Coeur, they are a women’s specific, endurance clothing company. But, as you’ll see, they are SO much more than that.
I’ve been eyeing Coeur Sports ever since they hit the market in 2013. I ordered a new bike kit from them, immediately drawn to their design. I had been on a search for some better women’s cycling apparel (it has been hard to find cute, comfortable kits for the ladies!). I got the kit, but unfortunately, the shorts were a little big. Without hesitation, Kebby offered to not only switch for a new size, but actually hand deliver them to me while we were both in Kona! I know she had a million and one things to do that day, but she came by the QT2 house and we made the trade. Although only a brief encounter, I knew this was a company that was going somewhere, and I wanted to be a part of it.
I wasn’t on the Coeur team for 2013, but a few of my QT2 friends and teammates were, and I immediately picked up on even more things I loved about Coeur. Here were a few things that stood out to me about this company:
1. Quality, comfort, and style: Ok, first I have to comment on their actual product. It’s been a challenge to find stylish and comfortable, female-specific clothing for both cycling and triathlon. It’s still a very masculine dominated industry, and it’s great to see companies like Coeur showing that cycling clothing can be cute and functional. Their “no angry kitty” campaign hits the market dead on. Seamless shorts, hidden pockets, no bunching or scrunching…they know their customer base and what they want & need. I loved their 2014 line, but I’m even more excited about what I’ve seen in the new 2015 line! So many great styles, it’s going to be impossible to choose my race kit this year! 🙂
2. Team = Family: Being part of Coeur isn’t just getting some product and and posting about it on social media. This team goes way beyond that. Kebby, Reg, and Hailey treat the team like their family. They support, promote, and encourage everyone on the team, and you can tell they feel every victory or disappointment. And the ladies on the team? I’ve already felt welcomed and supported, even only a few weeks of being on the team. Although we are spread out all over the country, the connections made through social media are not superficial. I can’t wait to meet many of them in person at races or other events!
3. Support for the Pros: If you haven’t been following Coeur, please read this post and this most recent post, about how Coeur supports their pros and sees the future of professional triathlon. I love how they see the value of the Pros in the sport (not all do), and how, with the right support, we can really help promote and grow the sport. No, we didn’t get into triathlon for the money, but without financial support, we can’t truly be 100% invested in the sport. They recognize this, as well as the fact that the Pros are not being used to their full potential. They just have a great, forward-thinking, outlook on the sport and Pro triathletes.
4. Truly embracing and promoting the values of their company name: They don’t just call themselves “Coeur” – they live, eat, sleep, breathe the values of heart and courage. They don’t support people because they have fast race results or lots of trophies. They value the drive, determination, dedication this sport entails – the one that makes us get up at 4am to workout, gets us to dig deep and get gritty in the final miles of the ironman marathon, to overcome setbacks and turn failures into success. You can read more about this on the Coeur blog.
In the next post, I’ll talk about how I’m going to embrace these qualities of Heart and Courage, as well as share a bit about my goals and plans for 2015! Stay tuned…
Sneak peak of a couple pieces of Coeur 2015 line! LOVE.
2015 Coeur Team
Kait Anelauskas 
Great post Kait! I loved your unintentional pun about your “brief encounter” with Kebby at Kona (“brief” encounter while exchanging “bottoms” – close enough for a pun in my books). The “no angry kitty” is absolutely brilliant campaign too!