The inspiration for this gray sweatshirt comes from those early Sunday mornings – no other day begins in such contradictory fashion. You slowly open your eyes as the sun is rising. The brain instinctively reacts to waking up by pulling the comforter over your head. But the coach’s note in the workout schedule can’t be misinterpreted: Sunday morning means it is time for a long run. This is the workout that above all else is defined by a love-hate relationship. Soon your body will be begging for mercy from the pain it has to endure throughout the workout. Sunday workout are all blood, sweat and tears. The blood is running through the veins during the run. The body’s movements are quick and agile. Longer, faster, lighter, smoother and stronger. The drops of sweat rolling down from your forehead into your eyes hurt.

After the session comes the reward that makes us forget the pain we have just endured. Some say the feeling in your body after a workout is more powerful than any chemically induced high. The breathing slows down and we remove our sweaty clothes. We cool down and do some stretching exercises in warm and comfortable clothes. After a shower and a cup of coffee, the calm feeling spreads throughout the body making us ready to wake up early next Sunday as well, ready to take on yet another tough workout.

Ragge Sweatshirt, this gray sweater, is a celebration of all those coaches that show up every Sunday morning and all other days, every week. A celebration of all the coaches that support, push, challenge and make athletes grow and dare to push their own boundaries. All the coaches who tirelessly show up to the track early mornings to prepare for yet another workout. All the coaches that put everything else in their lives on hold to provide support for and help others develop. All the coaches who make us dedicate our entire lives to better ourselves and push ourselves a little bit harder each day. Just like you did, coach Ragge. You were there every day of the week until the very end of your life. With your red hair and great moustache. Thank you for all that you have done.