The Reebok Nano X release date is May 5th. CrossFit officially kicks off registration for an online L1 seminar. The CrossFit Games are happening this year. That we know for sure. It’s a crazy news day, so let’s not waste time.
Good morning and welcome to the WODDITY podcast for news about CrossFit. We are a daily podcast, Monday through Friday, doing CrossFit news in five minutes or less.
My name is Ben Garves and today is Tuesday, the 14th of April, 2020.
Okay. If you had a choice between a story on the Reebok Nano X or the CrossFit Games being confirmed for 2020, which one would you want me to start with? Yeah. Sorry to Reebok. Let’s talk the CrossFit Games in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
2020 CrossFit Games Not Cancelled
It looks like the CrossFit Games aren’t going anywhere and will not be cancelled. At least it seems that way, according to a cryptic tweet from the CrossFit Games twitter account (@crossfitgames) on Monday.
The tweet just states, “The Fittest on Earth will be crowned. All options for hosting the 2020 Reebok CrossFit Games are being explored.”
Side note: the top reply implied CrossFit should combine with the PGA, UFC, and Jeopardy to find the ultimate superhuman. Followed by another tweeter mentioning the National Spelling Bee and Nathan’s hot dog eating contest should be added. I may pay to see that.
Back to the story. Games Director Dave Castro was on the Talking Elite Fitness podcast a few weeks ago and talked briefly about how he and his team are looking at alternatives and options for how they’ll keep the CrossFit Games going if they need to adhere to safe social distancing practices when they roll around in early August/late July.
An op-ed from Tommy Marquez on Morning Chalk Up looks at a couple of different options for the event, which includes moving it to a more remote location, postponing the event until late September, or moving the event to be fully online. No option is perfect and each one leaves a long list of things to be desired, but it looks like CrossFit will do whatever it takes to make sure we have some athletes crowned in 2020.


Reebok Nano X Release Date
We can skip the drumroll and any dramatics and I’ll just tell you right now: Reebok has set the release date for the Reebok Nano X as May 5th, 2020. People who join Reebok’s “UNLOCKED” program (which is totally free, by the way) will be able to order the shoe a week early and get free 2-day shipping. That’s April 28th. I’d go sign up right now if I were you.
The most important keyword they’re using to describe the new shoe is “runnable”. This has me excited as one of the longtime critics of training shoes and their inflexibility when it comes to running. Yes. That includes the Nike Metcon 5 and the Under Armour Tribase Reign. If the Nano X is the first shoe to come out in this arena without a “run at your own risk” disclaimer, I’ll be knocking over all sorts of old ladies to be one of the first to order a pair.
Justin LoFranco at Morning Chalk Up had some choice words on the topic of Reebok as the exclusive creator of the official CrossFit shoe. This morning he wrote:
“This could be the final year of an exclusive CrossFit shoe? This time next year, Reebok’s contract granting it exclusive rights to use the CrossFit mark on apparel will have expired. Founder Greg Glassman has previously expressed that he no longer wants to offer exclusive licensing to apparel companies and envisioned multiple companies creating a line of CrossFit shoes.”
Honorable Mentions
Some other honorable mentions. Links to these are in my show notes and at WODDITY.com:
- CrossFit has officially moved forward with their plans to allow Level 1 seminars online for those needing to renew their CFL1 credentials. This includes live Q&A webinars with top trainers.
- They’ve also published a new logo to their website. It’s of a house with fires burning outside and little green viruses bouncing off the roof. My thought is they’re implying CrossFit and its community is strong, regardless of what’s going on outside. I’ve reached out to CrossFit for a comment.
- General Manager of the CrossFit Games Justin Bergh was on the BarBend Podcast. It wasn’t super revealing about the 2020 Games, but still a great listen.
- Reebok has launched a home fitness hub with ways to stay fit and healthy while at home, along with the hashtate #PermissionToPause
- CrossFit founder and Cairman Greg Glassman has been running discussion groups on Zoom with CrossFit affiliate owners. This story courtesy of Patrick Clark at Morning Chalk Up.
I have a confession. My WHOOP strap finally broke after three years. But the new one is in the mail, so…I’ll be back up to my old self shortly.
That’s it for news about CrossFit for Tuesday, April 14th. Thanks for listening. Please be sure to rate, review, subscribe, and share. For WODDITY, I’m Ben Garves. Behave yourselves out there.