Runners go out on limb with drinking aid

TWO runners have teamed up with Glasgow University to create an armband with a built-in water bottle.

Belinda Goldsmith and Christine Manson came up with the concept for Fitsip three years ago and worked with engineering expert Dr Ian Watson to turn their idea into a working product.

Goldsmith said: “Fitsip solves a problem all runners have – they want to drink water while they run but they don’t want to carry a bottle of water around with them.

“Working with Ian was brilliant because we came at it from the runners’ point of view and he approached the problem as an engineer, explaining what was possible.”

Fitsip received £10,000 in funding from Glasgow University’s First Step programme and the Sporting Chance Initiative.

After no British manufacturers were interested in making the product, Fitsip is being produced in China and sold via the firm’s website.

Goldsmith and Manson will be promoting the device at a series of races, including the Glenlivet ten-kilometre run next Sunday and the Balfron 10K on 28 April.

They plan to start talking to running shops soon to begin stocking the product.

Goldsmith and Manson’s previous company, Simply Organic, was set up in 1998 to produce soups and employed 40 people at its peak.

They sold Simply Organic to the Serious Food Group six years ago. Parent company Jamaica Producers Group put Serious Food into administration in 2008 after it was squeezed by rising raw material costs.