Buying FAQs

What is Xempo?
Xempo is a sportswear brand for runners. All our kit is colour themed to correspond to your own standard. Similar to the belt system in martial arts. At a glance you will be able to recognise the standard of another runner.

How do I qualify?
We accept any marathon, half marathon, 10k, or 5k time within the previous 3 years (since beginning 2008), in order to keep the brand contemporary and accurate.

How do you check?
During the purchasing process, we ask you to tell us in which race and in which year you have achieved your qualifying time. We will then check up on our global results database to verify that performance. If we have any difficulty in checking the result, we may contact you to confirm the details.

If you can’t verify it, have I lost my money?
We will never take anyone’s money without providing the goods. If for any reason, we are unable to verify your race performance and you cannot assist by providing proof, a full refund would be made straight away.

Can I buy a product for someone else?
Of course, just tell us the name of the runner and the details of the race in which they have gained the qualifying time, and we’ll do the normal verification.

Why does it only go up to sub 4h15 marathon, sub 2h00 half marathon, sub 55:00 10k or sub 26:00 5k?
It doesn’t. Yellow is the first colour that is accompanied by a qualifying standard but it is the second colour in the series. The first is white, for which you still need to have completed a full or half marathon to qualify. That’s still a pretty exclusive club compared to the whole population. So whether you’ve completed your first half marathon in three hours or your first full marathon in six, you still qualify for the Xempo range. It just gets a bit harder to get to the next level. Besides, there’s only so many colours we can go up to.

What if I want a different colour to that which I qualify for?
You are able to purchase any item from the range up to the colour you qualify for. If for example your marathon PB is 3h10 but you don’t like purple, you can buy a top from the blue sub 3h30 range. But you can’t have a red one. The only way to get it….is to earn it!

Gun time or chip time?
We want to be as fair as possible. So whichever is quicker; the chip time is therefore acceptable.

What if my 5k, 10k, half marathon or full marathon PB’s represent different colours?
The logo on the kit distinguishes between Xempo Marathon, Xempo Half Marathon, Xempo 10k and Xempo 5k. So for example, if you apply for an orange coloured top with a qualifying time of 1h50, then the logo on the front will be “Xempo half marathon” and the logo and time on the reverse will be “sub 1h55 half marathon”.

Can I pay more for a higher colour?
Tempting, but no. The only way to get the next colour up the scale is to run the time. This will keep the brand authentic and credible for those who have put in the hard work and earned their reward. This way, anyone wearing a particular Xempo colour really does represent that standard.

What’s to stop anyone cheating the system?
OK, you could pretend you were buying kit for Mo or Paula, and we’d have trouble proving otherwise. But surely you wouldn’t take up judo and buy a black belt on your first day? We intend for the brand to be as fair and representative as possible. We want it to be credible for all athletes whatever the level; otherwise, you’d only be cheating yourself…

I like the kit but don’t like to show off about the time?
We designed the kit so that other runners would recognise the standard purely by the colour. On the reverse, the Xempo logo is accompanied by the time (eg sub 3h00 marathon). If you wanted the kit without the time on the back, contact us at the address above and we can arrange that for you no problem.

Size guide
Please see below for our sizing chart:

We will happily exchange any item if the size is not right for you first time. Please return your original item to us and we will replace straight away.