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An evening with IRONMAN legend Dave Scott

For one night only earlier this week, we teamed up with online retailer www.SportsShoes.com and event specialists Underground Fan Club for an exclusive evening with IRONMAN legend Dave Scott.

The six-time IRONMAN world champion flew over fresh from the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships held in the glittering French city of Nice the weekend before.

All eyes were on our ultra-light, uber-cushioned speedster at the start of the night as press, influencers and competition winners managed to get their hands on the Rincon for the first time.

From one instant classic to another. Sky Sports presenter and IRONMAN competitor Charlie Webster opened up the panel discussion to a packed-out room.

Conversation covered Dave’s stellar history in the sport and quickly turned to the famous long-term rivalry he had with his greatest IRONMAN opponent, Mark Allen.

Dave shared his memories of the famous Iron War of 1989. This was the IRONMAN World Championship race in Kona that saw the world’s two strongest athletes race side by side at world-record pace for a grueling 139 miles.

Dave was a committed IRONMAN competitor for more than 20 years. He is known by the nickname ‘The Man’ for his intense training regimes and relentless race performances. So, what are his top tips for racing an IRONMAN?

Take in fewer calories more frequently is the first. Don’t eat or drink in T1 is another. Make sure you mix being seated and standing when on the bike and try to improve the mobility in your hips and shoulders. This last one will serve you well for each of the triathlon disciplines.

There was no time like the present to put some of the tips into immediate practice. The evening switched from indoors to outdoors and a group workout led by the IRONMAN Hall of Famer, starting with mobility exercises.

As a renowned coach and ultimate competitor, Dave shared his knowledge and experience with the group, before circling back to The Curtain for healthy snacks and a full debrief.

Special thanks to our partners SportsShoes and the Underground Fan Club for their support and organisation of the event. Thanks also to Dave Scott for sharing his wisdom and expertise on the night.

Photo credit: SportsShoes

Get to know our athletes in 70.3 seconds with…

Who is your biggest fan? What is your earliest sporting memory? What is your greatest strength? And if you were an animal, which animal would you be?

Find out the answers to all these and more in our 70.3 Seconds series with the HOKA athletes who competed last weekend at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Nice, France.

Emma Pallant

Ellie Salthouse

Romain Guillaume

Adam Bowden

Manon Genêt

Josh Amberger

Photo and video credit: Activ’Images

IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in pictures

Unique. Historique. Légendaire. HOKA ONE ONE was there every step of the way last weekend for the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

Fourteen years after the first-ever half IRONMAN World Championship race took place in Florida, USA, we were live in the city of Nice, France, where the event was taking place for the first time.

Did you know that the ‘70.3’ in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship refers to the total distance, in miles, that athletes complete in a half IRONMAN event? So that’s 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike and 13.1 mile run.

The race featured a swim in the pristine waters of the Mediterranean Sea, a challenging bike course up and back down Col de Vence followed by a run course along Nice’s historic Promenade des Anglais waterfront to finish.

Athletes were cheered on by enthusiastic supporters for every mile of the 70.3 course, particularly along the HOKA ONE ONE Time To Fly Zone where bands, banners and ice cream made for a festival atmosphere.

The half IRONMAN race featured high-class fields across all professional and age-group races. HOKA athlete Manon Genêt finished eighth and posted the highest finish in the pro races for the brand.

The international endurance event provided the perfect opportunity for our elite athletes from across the world to come together as one team, one HOKA ONE ONE.

While in Nice, we took the chance to speak to HOKA athletes. We hosted a live Facebook interview on the Promenade des Anglais with US athlete Ben Kanute and IRONMAN legend Eric Gilsenan ahead of the men’s championship race.

HOKA athletes, including Emma Pallant, Ellie Salthouse and Josh Amberger, kindly took part in our 70.3 Seconds Series, where we asked them some quickfire questions and got to know them a little better.

Watch now and find out what our athletes’ greatest strengths are, their earliest sporting memories and whether they prefer their eggs poached, scrambled or fried.

Away from the racing action, fans had the chance to road-test the record-breaking Carbon X on a group run and try out all the latest HOKA products at our expo stand, including the ultra-light, uber-cushioned speedster Rincon.

Swim, bike, fly. It all comes down to the run.

Photo credit: Activ’Images | @thatcameraman

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in pictures

For one week every year, the ultra-trail-running community descends on the small town of Chamonix in the French Alps for what many regard as the pinnacle of the trail running season.

With seven races across three countries, more than 10,000 athletes from 100 different nations and thousands more fans and volunteers on the streets and foothills of the Alps, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc is an event that means so much to the community of ultra runners around the world.

The international festival of trail running provides the perfect opportunity for our elite athletes from across the world to come together as one team, one HOKA ONE ONE.

Audrey Tanguy was aiming to create new memories after her success in the same event in 2018, and boy did she succeed.

Audrey arrived into Chamonix in the early hours of the morning after more than 21 hours of racing. In a race of 145km, it all came down to the final 10km where Audrey broke clear to win the title for the second year in a row.

The 2016 UTMB winner, Ludovic Pommeret, rolled back the years to prove why he’s a true legend of ultra-trail running. Ludo moved through the field from 39th at the first checkpoint to 3rd at the last.

While Audrey, Ludo and co were up in the mountains, the rest of the HOKA team were in town to meet the trail running community that had gathered in Chamonix.

Fans had the chance to meet their favourite HOKA stars before heading out on a run in the Evo Mafate and Evo Speedgoat with our friends from i-Run.

High-quality races kept on coming. Hot on the heels of the OCC came the race that has climbed from being the little sister of the UTMB to one of the world’s most prestigious in its own right.

It was touch and go whether Thibaut Garrivier would be able to line up at all for the CCC after injury earlier this summer. After a year of ups and downs, the 29-year-old aimed to simply come away with a positive experience.

The flying Frenchman proved that he can more than compete with the best. Despite two months of missed training and a cautious first 50km on Friday, Thibaut finished second in his first race over 100km.

Shortly before the CCC ended, more than 2,000 runners gathered on the streets of Chamonix to set off on their 2019 UTMB adventure.

We all have our own markers of individual success. For many, the challenge of running 171km around the Mont Blanc massif is the peak of their ultra-running ambitions.

When you can empty the tank and get the result you deserve, it is the best feeling in the world, as it was for Guillaume Beauxis and Harry Jones.

But sport is full of highs and lows, and sometimes it just doesn’t come off. When the going gets tough, you’ve just got to stick it out and smile, soak up the support and have the courage to make the decisions you believe in.

Photo credits: PEIGNÉE VERTICALE

Thibaut back in the game and ready to race

Sport is full of highs and lows. It’s one of the reasons why we love it. Whether watching or taking part, running is a sport that has its fair share.

From crossing the finish line first or achieving that personal best to those inexplicable off-days and inevitable injuries. Running is a tricky sport to get right all of the time both physically and mentally.

It has been one of those sorts of years for HOKA athlete Thibaut Garrivier.

Arriving in style

Thibaut announced his arrival in style with a phenomenal win at Transvulcania back in May.

Transvulcania is a 74km race with 4,350m of elevation that takes place on the island of La Palma. It was a win for Thibaut that was a few years in the making.

After finishing third in 2018, Thibaut rose to the top of the podium this time around. It was a victory that, for him, justified the ultra-running path he had chosen four years before.

Rare are those days when it all comes together. But when they do, boy, does it feel good.

“Winning Transvulcania this year was absolutely crazy,” he says “It’s the best achievement in sports for me and that’s why I worked so hard for many years.

“This year started very well for me, with a huge progression compared to 2018. I am certain now that I can run with the best runners and would really like to take advantage of my progress before the year is out.”

Comeback race

The first opportunity for Thibaut to do that comes this Friday in the CCC race at Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

The CCC is a race that has been top of Thibaut’s priorities all year. However, it has been touch-and-go until the last-minute as to whether he would be able to line up at all.

The 28-year-old medical student has had to battle against probably the most frustrating injury of his career to date.

Putting the brakes on

He has been completely out of action due to tibial posterior tenosynovitis, an inflammation that affects the tendon connecting the calf muscle to bones on the inside of the foot.

Just as Thibaut was ready to put his foot on the gas, the brakes were well and truly applied.

“The last couple of months have been a really hard period,” he reflects. “But I start to feel better and better and can finally train properly.

“Unfortunately, my shape is not the best of 2019 but I’m really happy to be back in the game and feel very enthusiastic to run in Chamonix!”

Returning to Chamonix

The CCC race starts on Friday morning at 9:00am UTC+2. It starts in Courmayeur in the Italian Alps. Athletes then cross both borders into Switzerland and finally France before arriving back in Chamonix 101km later.

It is not the first time Thibaut has competed in Chamonix. He placed sixth in the OCC (55k) race in 2017.

This experience on the Mont Blanc trails plus the support, advice and inspiration from fellow HOKA athletes Audrey Tanguy and Julien Chorier, who he has been training with in Val-Thorens in the build-up to UTMB, should see him fare well in his first over-100k race.

Following a year of highs and lows, Thibaut’s ambition remains simple.

“The first objective is to take pleasure and discover the race,” he says. “I want to experience the race and the distance to be back in my best shape next year to fight for the win.”

Photo credit: PEIGNÉE VERTICALE