March 2019 -

Quickfire questions for a Guinness World Record holder

Bjørn Tore Tavanger set the Guinness World Record last year for the longest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours by a man. But what made him take on the challenge? What went through his mind during the run? And who was his favourite celebrity guest runner? Read on to discover more about the Norwegian distance-runner.

What inspired you to take on the 24-hour treadmill challenge?

I organised the attempt together with my family at Aktiv365 and my local newspaper, Bergens Avisen (BA). BA streamed the event for the whole 24 hours. We had the best treadmill in the world and I had a new celebrity on the treadmill next to mine every hour. The greatest celebrity was Kygo.

I wanted to give it a shot above all because of two things. Firstly, to break the Guinness World Record, of course. And secondly, I wanted to raise money for all the children at Bergen city’s local hospital, Haukeland Sykehus. We raised $12,350 USD in the end. The organisation, Haukelands Venner, distribute the money to the children who need it most, and, knowing that all the money we raised is helping a lot of people who really need it, really inspired me.

How did you prepare for the record attempt?

I train a lot. I run somewhere between 245 and 260 kilometres every week throughout the year. I’m the strongest person mentally, probably the strongest in the world, even if I say so myself. I always run my second running session on my own treadmill at home, which helped for the record attempt. I used the HOKA Napali for training and the record itself. And, of course, I hung yellow post-it notes for two months all over my house telling me that I was going to break the Guinness World Record!

What went through your mind while you were running?

Everything and nothing. I was focused on not falling off the treadmill. I just tried to keep one foot in front of the other. I set my treadmill to 11.1 km per hour from the start, and kept that speed for the first 23 hours. I managed to increase the speed for the final hour and ran the last 15 minutes at 13.2 km/hour! It was just awesome having all the celebrities on my side cheering for me too. This offered a welcome distraction.

Can you briefly describe the story of the 24 hours?

Just before the race started, we had the Superman theme blasting out on the loud speakers. When I started to run, we played the song Run by the Swedish band Nomy. After 6 hours and 7 minutes, I fell off the treadmill! I was talking too much to my friend and the Norwegian rower, Ulrik Wie, while eating Mr Lee, a hot boiled soup with pasta and chicken. Apart from that, it when really well. That’s rock ‘n’ roll. I didn’t hurt myself at all! I stopped eating the pasta and went over to pizzas!

The most difficult part was between hours 15 and 16 – because I really needed to take a pee! Right after I finished my 16th hour of running, I quickly nipped to the toilet for the first time since I started running. I only had to go to the loo once during the day, and from hours 16 to 18, I knew I was going to crush the Guinness World Record! That was an awesome feeling.

What was the atmosphere like?

The crowd and atmosphere was amazing. It really couldn’t have been any better. People were crazy! I had a blast for 24 hours. There was so much support from all the celebrities, me being a circus by myself, family, and all my musician friends – William Hut, Molly Go Go, Subshine – who played pop and rock on the sidelines. Awesomeness!

What does your family think?

All of them still think that this is by far the most amazing thing they have ever witnessed. The atmosphere during the last hour was totally electric. My family and friends were helping out throughout the event and everybody did an amazing job. To have my wife and little girl on the sideline as I finished the job was amazing. There were a lot of happy tears.

And where do you go from here?

I’m going for the gold medal in the World Championships of 24 hours Running in Albi, France from 26-27 October. It’s going to be like 420 people form 75-80 different nations competing. The gold medal is coming home to Norway!

Photo credit: Rune Johansen, Bergens Avisen

HOKA elite athlete training camp in pictures

More than 50 of our elite athletes came together last weekend to live, sleep and breathe all things HOKA ONE ONE at our annual training camp in Mallorca.

A number of our star-studded athletes from road, trail and triathlon, including Susie Cheetham (pictured above), headed to the Hotel Viva Blue in Muro for an action-packed weekend and chance to meet the rest of the HOKA family.

The weekend started with a run. How else? Our trail athletes epitomised the “go everywhere, run everything” attitude as they put the Speedgoat 3 through its paces on their Friday morning shake-out run. It was the perfect leg-loosener before spending a couple of hours in the classroom.

Our athletes listened in as they learned the story behind HOKA ONE ONE. They heard how radical change often comes about in trying to solve a simple problem – and how redesigning a shoe that helps an athlete tackle 100 miles in challenging conditions can actually help all runners perform.

We do things differently – as trail athlete Harry Jones discovered. As well as learning about the patented elements that influence every shoe we build, the entire team was introduced to the latest HOKA products and exciting innovations.

Breaking out of the classroom – and reaching for the sky. There was just enough time on Friday afternoon to head down to the beach for a flying group shot to celebrate International Women’s Day and our boundary-breaking HOKA athletes.

And it was all smiles throughout the rest of the weekend as our athletes were papped in the latest HOKA products in cool and inspiring locations across the island. One weekend. One team. One HOKA family.

Photo credit: PEIGNÉE VERTICALE

HOKA fan Louisa joins Dementia Revolution in London

Louisa Davidson would never have considered herself a natural-born runner. But, after failing to get on with running 10 years ago, Louisa has completed two half marathons in the space of six months and is now training for her first attempt at the full distance in London next month. Read on to find out her story, what makes her a Dementia Revolutionary and why she’s the perfect example of if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.

My story starts just over 10 years ago. I tried – and failed – to start running in an effort to lose weight, but 5k was my absolute limit and I hated how it made me feel. Running was hard work, extremely sweaty and I ended up with bad shin splints. I desperately wanted to enjoy running but I truly believed that some people were born runners – and I just wasn’t one of them.

Fast forward to 2018, however, and I decided to give running a second chance.

Life-changing decision

My older brother had started ultra-running and I agreed to crew for him at the West Highland Way race. I was just in awe of his running achievements and, in the months leading up to the event, I made what has turned out to be a life-changing decision – I entered my very first half marathon.

In the beginning, the training was very challenging, but quitting was not an option. I quickly found that the fitter I became, the more I enjoyed running, and I started to believe that maybe, just maybe, I could be a runner after all.

By October 2018, I had completed two half marathons and started to believe that a marathon was within my reach. But I needed something to give me that final push to enter.

Becoming a revolutionary

I had heard about the Dementia Revolution through the London Marathon. They are the official charity partner this year and the campaign really struck a chord: my grandpa lived with dementia in his later years. When I found out that my application had been accepted, I felt truly honoured to have been given the opportunity to become a part of the Dementia Revolution, yet absolutely terrified at the huge training task ahead.

But living on a small Scottish island, I am blessed with beautiful scenery and fresh, sea air. It’s hard not to be inspired. I no longer run to burn calories or lose weight. Running for me offers an escape from day-to-day life, it gives me time to properly appreciate my surroundings. It’s the perfect spot to train for the marathon.

Running in grandpa’s memory

I’ll be running the London Marathon in my grandpa’s memory. I hope that he will be looking down on me and cheering me across the line on the day. Over 1,400 Dementia Revolutionaries are signed up to run in London and the money we raise for Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society will help fund the UK Dementia Research Institute.

I hope that we’ll find a cure for dementia in my lifetime and I am so incredibly proud to be a part of the Dementia Revolution this year.

Louisa is running to raise awareness and money for Alzheimer’s Research UK and the Alzheimer’s Society. Alzheimer’s Research UK are the UK’s leading Alzheimer’s research charity aiming to defeat dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia support and research charity, there for anyone affected by any form of dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You can follow Louisa’s journey on Instagram @lourunslondon and help her towards her £2,500 target by visiting her Virgin Money Giving page.