Jack Bark and Tony Wodarck went running. For a long, long way. Photo: YouTube//Screenshot
When John John Florence decided he’d put his last name on a brand, it was fairly obvious that it would likely be a good thing. Florence is a guy who requires his equipment to be able to stand up to all sorts of elements, and his track record proves it.
He travels constantly, sweats through all of his shirts, runs his wetsuits through the wringer, and generally beats the hell out of whatever he’s using. It’s necessary when someone pushes life as hard as he does. One of the coolest parts about the Florence brand is the Test Pilot program, in which a few regular people as well as a few exceptional ones get a piece of new gear, take it through its paces, and give feedback. In the case of the video you see here, the exceptional people were Jack Bark and Tony Wodarck.
“Not many people will say yes to a 37-mile run through the desert on a moment’s notice,” Tony Wodarck, VP Brand at Florence, explained. “Test Pilot Jack Bark is one of them. I texted him about the Joshua Tree Traverse, and his reply was simple: ‘Give me seven days’ notice, and I’m in.'”
Joshua Tree is as harsh as it is beautiful. The terrain is varied, extraordinarily pretty, and not exactly easy to run through. But in the interests of both pushing himself and the Florence gear, Bark and Wodarck laced up their shoes and hit the trail for a trail run that would test the limits.
“One moment, you’re cruising through wide-open vistas, the next, you’re sinking into deep sand and dodging cholla cacti ready to tear your shins open,” Wodarck continued. “The miles wore on, the sun climbed higher, and the challenge became as much mental as physical. But that’s the fun part — when it gets tough, you just gotta keep moving.”
