* Lanny Barnes is a 3-time Olympian and Active Ambassador for LOWA Boots. Read more about Lanny by
clicking here.Biathlon is the sport of cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship. A lot of people think that we spend a good majority of the year skiing and chasing snow all around the world.
The fact is, we spend a lot of our time doing cross training which involves running, hiking, biking, going to the gym, etc. With the amount of miles that we cover on our runs and on our strenuous hikes, we end up covering enough miles in our career to circle the globe several times.
Early on in our career, my twin sister and I struggled finding footwear that would hold up to the relentless abuse and daunting number of miles that we put in with our Olympic training. Every month or so we were going through a pair of training shoes. Wearing off the bottoms, having toe blowouts and general shoe failures were common on longer 3-4 hr runs.
Not having good quality shoes lead to back and knee problems until we found LOWA. It’s the only shoe out there that we have found that can handle the kind of challenging and excessive training that is required in biathlon. You can say that we put them through the ultimate torture test and they passed with flying colors. They survived mile after mile through some of the world's worst weather conditions and have helped us keep our feet, back and joints in good health.
Having a good pair of training shoes is just as important as eating healthy as far as your overall health is concerned. I have competed in three Olympics, ran enough miles in my 15 year career to circle the globes few times and I’m proud to say I still have functioning feet thanks for the support and quality of LOWA shoes and boots. Not only do they have phenomenal running shoes, their winter boots and waterproof hiking boots are as good as it gets.
If you’re tired of cold wet feet, LOWA boots and waterproofing hold up better than anything I’ve seen. I am proud to be a member of the LOWA team and very excited to see that LOWA is partnering with US Biathlon in their quest for the first ever Olympic gold medal. I have a feeling that with the help of LOWA and their incredibly supportive shoes and boots, it will give the US Biathlon team the boost they need to train harder and longer and allow them to get more miles in to beat the stiff European competition. Check out LOWA’s awesome line of shoes and boots to help support the US Biathlon team and have happier and healthier feet.
* Photos: Lanny Barnes in 3-Gun Competition, plus training exercises, wearing shoes from
LOWA's All Terrain Sport Collection. 
