What is this Mezamashii thing, anyway?

Mizuno Running Shoes wants me to tell you about their new Mezamashii Running Project. What's a "mezamashii"? The word means "eye-opening" or "brilliant" in Japanese — it's a word Mizuno chose to "captures the euphoric feeling of a brilliant run." Mizuno is looking for people to participate in their project who want to experience "euphoric, brilliant, mezamashii running."

Hmmm......well yes, there is certainly thrill and euphoria in running. But fatigue, sore body parts, and smelling real nasty also come with that teritory. (Actually, you can say the same thing about sex.) I've always found this yin-yang exists in running. Sure, the goal is to experience the good stuff while minimizing the bad stuff. But in order to get to the good stuff, you have to go through a lot of the bad stuff even under the best of circumstances. So call me a cynic, but I'm not so sure about this whole idea of "euphoric, brilliant mezamashii running".

But then, the Mizuno folks would probably rather tell you about it, than have me make my usual snarky comments about it, so I'll direct you to their Mizuno Running News website:

www.mizunorunningnews.com

Mizuno will give away thousands of shoes and exclusive invitations to join the Mezamashii Run Project to runners who are looking to experience more euphoric, brilliant, mezamashii running. The nice, hard working lady from Mizuno who contacted me said there's still plenty of invitations available. And if you're thinking "I bet he's posting this in a desperate attempt to get one of those invites" you would be correct. And if you send me an e-mail from this link, I'll see if I can set you up.

So what is this Mezamashii Run Project really? The route to running bliss? Some weird Zen running cult? A great way to meet other runners and share experiences? A slick way to scam some free shoes? A progressive, modern business practice where customers and designers interact? A tired marketing effort wrapped in Japanese clothing? All of the above?
So I figure from this post, I might get invited into this deal, meet some other runners and possibly experience running euphoria, and maybe you can, too. Or Mizuno will never bug me again. Either way, looks like I come out ahead.