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The Adventures Of O Girl Stretch Run: Exploring New Places and Meeting New People



The road to the Racetrack is rough, and good tires, 4x4 and high clearance are usually required. Standard rental vehicles are not recommended, and often get flat tires. Use extreme caution on this road in the summer heat. There is no cell phone coverage in the area. Drive time from Furnace Creek is at least 3.5 hours each way. Other access roads make for even longer and more remote adventures. Driving offroad is strictly prohibited.


The Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily is one of those shirts that's so soft you almost can't believe it's real. It feels like a fine, silky dry powder and is both stretchy and extremely comfortable to wear. By eliminating drawstrings and thumbholes, it strikes a good balance between providing adequate coverage with the neckline and hood without appearing like a technical or overly relaxed shirt. It comes in muted colors that are mixed with fine lines of white, helping to disguise dirt and sweat stains. And it's one of very few odor control-treated shirts that actually continues to smell fresh even after wearing it repeated days in the sun.




The Adventures Of O Girl Stretch Run



For a button-up shirt with a collar, we feel like the REI Sahara is astoundingly well-rounded. It's stylish, comfortable, and quite breathable. It has pockets that are large enough to hold a smaller iPhone and sleeves cut with a scoop to cover the backs of the hands. It also features stretchy underarm panels that make this shirt quite comfortable to wear and provide ventilation while preventing underarm rubbing during paddle sports. This shirt is versatile enough that we feel it's a great choice for a full day on the trail that runs straight into a dinner date with girlfriends.


If you're looking for sun protection for spending a whole day in the water, the O'Neill Basic Skins is the shirt for you. It's tight enough to stay put when you're swimming laps, surfing, kayaking, or jet skiing. The seams are sewn in convenient locations to not rub even during the most active adventures, and with a high UPF rating, you can be sure that you won't burn through this shirt! The material is thick enough to provide some protection against cold water without being too warm to wear in warmer climates.


The market for sun shirts continues to grow every year. We spend a significant amount of time researching the latest and most promising UV-blocking tops before purchasing them to wear and adventure in side by side through several months of testing and laundering. We wore our chosen shirts for casual, everyday activities like gardening, walking the dog, and grabbing coffee with a friend. We tested the limits of these shirts by wearing them on all kinds of adventures, including mountaintop snowshoe races, snorkeling at the equator, kayaking over a mile above sea level, and running trails through the desert. We sweat in them, crammed them in backpacks and suitcases, did yoga on the beach, and laundered them all repeatedly. Some of them we've been wearing regularly for years now, and some we love to sleep in. Whether you want a button-up with a collar, a hoody with thumbholes, or a protective rashguard, we've tested and identified the ideal options to fill that hole in your wardrobe.


For the last several years, Senior Review Editor Maggie Nichols has been leading the sun shirt charge, recruiting friends and family to help her test during all kinds of outdoor adventures. Maggie has been an outdoor junkie since the early '90s, spending every possible moment outside. While she started by chasing frogs and watching cicadas hatch, Maggie has been working in the outdoors for over 15 years, taking on everything from being a camp counselor in the Midwest to leading kayakers in the Caribbean and guiding backcountry trips across the US. She currently lives and works in some seriously high-UV environments, from the high deserts of northern Nevada to baking mountaintops in the Sierra Nevadas. With a family history of skin cancer, Maggie doesn't take chances when it comes to staying protected from the sun.


We asked a variety of different-shaped women to test the comfort of each model. We assessed shape and fit and checked how well each one moves with the body, evaluating both fit and stretch. We judged the feel of the fabric and seams against the skin and considered available features that add to the wearer's experience.


The impressively soft and stretchy Crater Lake Hoody stands out for being exceptionally comfortable to wear no matter what shape you are or the activity you are getting after. It's silky smooth, with seams in all the right places, and provides an almost ridiculous amount of stretch, allowing it to stay comfortable all day long outside or in. The bottom can cinch shut if you need to flip upside down, and the sleeves are actually long enough (and elastic enough) for long-armed women to feel comfortable. It also features a buttery soft hood that protects without impeding vision or movement or feeling like it's smashing your ponytail. For straight-up comfort that you can paddle, hike, get groceries, and fall asleep in, the Crater Lake is our favorite.


We also like soft and comfy OR Echo Hoodie. It's not nearly as stretchy as the Crater Lake, but it still provides exceptional comfort for everyday wear or heading out for a run or a hike. The Echo's thumbholes are unique in that they're horizontal rather than vertical, allowing them to be closer to the end of the sleeve, creating less pull when you're moving. The cut is also significantly more comfortable and less awkward when you need to push up your sleeves.


The Crater Lake offers top-notch protection. It has a hood that stays on while you play and thumbholes that are easy to wear to keep the backs of your hands protected. The Crater Lake is a great option for dynamic movement, as its ability to stretch makes it an excellent companion to stay covered no matter how you move. A drawstring around the bottom also lets you secure it in place during yoga in the park or a particularly tricky climb.


The Echo Hoodie offers some solid hand protection with unique, horizontally-oriented thumbholes. The sleeves are impressively long and stretchy to keep them from pulling on your hand webbing as you move, making it more likely you'll keep using the thumbholes even when it's hot. The hood features a ponytail hole, which doesn't earn any style points but massively improves your ability to keep that hood firmly protecting your neck and ears.


The O'Neill Basic Skins rash guard performed very well here, against the odds. Though it's not made for pressing through dense undergrowth, we found it excellent for water activities. Rubbing against sand, sliding along the edge of a life jacket for hours of paddling, and repeated saltwater adventures all left no marks on this impressive shirt. The H2Core Silkweight also has flat seams perfectly placed for paddling and is similarly built to last (without being so tight).


The good news is these injuries can be prevented with the right kind of post-run exercises and stretches. This seven-step program focuses on creating strength, mobility and stability in the feet, ankles and calves. Remember, an ounce of pedi-prevention is worth a pound of cure.


Stand with both feet on a step in a split stance, with one heel resting off the edge. Push your heel down in a slow, controlled manner until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Hold for 30 seconds before switching sides. Perform two reps on each side.


Begin on all fours, and push your body up into an inverted V position with your elbows and knees straight. Hold this pose, feeling a stretch through your back and legs. Keep your shoulders down and your hands and feet on the floor as you push your heels gently toward the ground. Hold for 30 seconds. Perform two sets.


Sit in a chair with one leg crossed over your other knee. Use one hand to hold your ankle and the other to hold your toes. Gently pull your toes backward until you feel a stretch in the bottom of your foot and hold for 10 seconds, and then switch feet. Perform 15 reps on each foot.


The Iditarod Trail is roughly 1,000 miles long and there are actually two routes - the "Northern Route" is used in even numbered years, and the "Southern Route" is used in odd numbered years. The two routes are the same until the checkpoint of Ophir, roughly 450 miles into the race. From there, one goes north while the other goes south, until the checkpoint of Kaltag, which begins the same 250-mile stretch to the finish line in Nome.


Rooted in history on a secluded 110-acre peninsula, Round Hill boasts its own stretch of pristine shoreline where aqua waves lap at your feet and ocean breezes invade every space. Before you, a vibrant snorkeling reef extends into deeper hues of teal with hints of emerald as far as the eye can see.


At Round Hill guests can choose to completely relax on our golden-sand beach with a visit to our spa for some pampering or pursue a variety of active pastimes including snorkeling, hiking, garden tours, tennis, pickle-ball, exercise, and yoga classes plus our outdoor fitness trail, which gives you some of the best views in Montego Bay. Off-property experience the rich culture of the island with adventures that beckon to be experienced including estate home tours, river rafting, and for the more adventurous ziplining.


This fun-filled developmental toy encourages creativity, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and imaginative play and is a perfect gift for a 3-year-old girl. This set comes with a variety of toddler-sized bricks, including house essentials like roofs and windows, wheels for cars, number bricks, and more!


This tent is perfect to give your little girl a space of their own, while still being able to supervise them (thank you transparent, wafty curtains). Great for indoor and outdoor play, it even comes with a carry case for portability and easy storage.


During this stretch, all the extras had been stripped away. What was left was people pushing themselves to go the distance, urging each other on. What was left were volunteers and spectators standing on the side of the road to shout encouragement. Every last one of us was grateful for the support. 2ff7e9595c


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