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Thibaut heads to the US for TNF 50

Thibaut Garrivier enjoyed his first experience of racing in the United States last weekend at the TNF 50 in San Francisco. Read on for a snapshot of Thibaut’s race and his time in the US.

A first sport experience in the US very rewarding on several points, and firstly going to hang a podium in-extremis in the last bump of this player course but without respite 82 km and 3000+.

In the first climb the pace seems to me to run more than 6 hours like that, but the following confirm that I lack of energy and I am one of the first to let go of the leading group of 9 riders who will scatter in the climb next.

I take the riders one by one to Robbie Simpson at the 50th kilometer. I am then 4th and I have little hope to better see the state of fatigue. Yet motivated to join the finish with Darren Thomas and take Anthony Costales to 10km, synonymous with podium since Darren gives a good layer on the Golden Gate and escapes irremediably.

Beside that, a rewarding human experience shared with Romain throughout California (Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz), visiting the HOKA ONE ONE US family in Santa Barbara.

A conclusive and motivating experience, with several projects in mind to put in place in the years to come.

The simple trick to running fast downhill

Jumping out of helicopters and hot air balloons. That’s what’s next on HOKA trail athlete Dani Moreno’s bucket list. An accomplished trail runner and adventurer, Dani’s portfolio is chock-full of adrenaline sports, not limited to spearfishing, lobster diving, motorcycle riding, surfing, rock climbing, sea kayaking and paddleboarding.

“From a young age, I’ve always done a lot. You’re gonna laugh when I say this, but my mom said it was because I didn’t want to interact with people. I was really shy. I would get myself into so many things so I didn’t have to actually talk to people. And now you can’t get me to shut up,” Dani says.

A California native, Dani finds herself in the outdoors year-round. She’s a graduate from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she ran track and cross country. Growing up, running came easily. But it was always more than just wanting to be the fastest.

“For me, running isn’t just to try and win races. It’s the way I prefer to see the world — by foot. It lets me test myself mentally and get to know other people and parts of the world,” Dani says.

Her running motivations are humble, but her accomplishments are not. The first of many accolades, Dani’s season already boasts a first-place finish at the XTERRA World Trail Championships and another first-place finish at the Ezakimak Challenge (a 5K race with around 2,000 feet of elevation gain).

Conquering the unfathomable

And her most recent achievement? AN FKT, OR FASTEST-KNOWN TIME, ON A SEGMENT OF TUNNEL TRAIL IN HER HOME OF SANTA BARBARA, CA. This specific section of trail is well-known for its technical terrain and steep grade. But for Dani, it holds another meaning.

“When I first found this section, it was by accident. I got lost and was trying to find my way back down. I was going downhill and was like, ‘What is this? There’s no way someone can run this.’ The whole thing just seemed unfathomable. So I just walked down,” she says.

“I tried to run a few parts, but said to myself, ‘This is stupid. I could fall.’ After that, I realized I needed to be able to run it. And I told myself the day that I could run that section is the day that I would’ve really started getting trail running.”

Dani owned her FKT on the 2.54-mile loop with 1,114 feet of vertical gain. To put these numbers in perspective, the Empire State building stands at 1,250 feet tall, excluding the tip. She clocked in at 26:23 for the full loop and clocked under 10 minutes for the downhill section of the run.

Raising the bar

“To support the launch of the new TORRENT trail shoe, we wanted to set an FKT somewhere really gnarly and crazy in Santa Barbara. I immediately thought of this section. I was stoked about it, so I went out to hike it the next day. Immediately I was like, ‘What did I do to myself? How can I run this?’ I was just cracking up,” she says.

“But then I thought it would really force me to take this particular stretch to the next level. I’m really happy that we chose it. It definitely pushed me to understand a new potential for myself in terms of running fast downhill.”

As superhuman as she may seem, sometimes she’s just like the rest of us. And yes, sometimes she even falls. “Yes, I definitely fall sometimes. When you’re mountain running, you can’t get upset at the trail for tripping you — especially when it’s your own mistake,” she says. “But, I love falls. Without them, I’d never push myself to get better. Plus, who doesn’t love a good scar, cut or bruise for storytelling? Us mountain runners are warriors.”

Getting back up again

Dani’s worst fall happened during the 2017 World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in Italy. A few months before the race, she’d severely sprained her ankle — while rock climbing, no less.

“Literally on the first downhill, I rolled my bad ankle and I just freaked out. I was so mad. Girls were passing me and my ankle started blowing up. I gave myself a couple seconds and I then I pulled myself together,” she says.

“I realized that sometimes you need to pep talk yourself really quickly. There wasn’t time for anything else. That was the big realization — that every time you get pushed down you need to get up immediately.”

Trusting her instincts

One thing that’s given her an edge on the trails is something she’s had from day one — the ability to let go and trust her instincts.

“When you run a downhill, sometimes the best way to do it is to lose control. Not in your running form, but by swinging your arms. I don’t know if that’s just me, but that’s my body instinctively saying this is how we’re gonna balance.” Dani says. “Your body doesn’t want to fall as much as your mind. It’s instinct. Give credit to your body and mind because they’re gonna take care of you. And if you fall and hurt yourself, don’t blame me.”

Excelling at so many different activities isn’t easy, but for Dani, balance is always the common denominator. She focuses on being well-rounded — a synonym for what she calls “circle-ness.”

“I’ve always been obsessed with circles and I see people as circles. As a circle, essentially your whole life is well-rounded. And if you’re well-rounded in what you do, then you’re well-rounded in how you treat people and portray yourself,” she says. “I think it makes you a more empathetic person. You get to have different experiences and that not only gives you different types of hard times, but also different types of rewards.”

Dani’s balanced bucket list is still growing. In addition to getting her skydiving license, she’d like to climb Denali or Everest, get another motorcycle and get better at surfing. But, she’s taking things slow in that realm for now. “You gotta keep it mild before the spicy hot,” she says.

Learn more about the fast, aggressive and agile Torrent trail running shoe that Dani wears.

How running saved a DJ’s life

Louisahhh has been touted as techno’s next superstar, but to get there she’s battled addiction and convention. Her story is the latest profile in our Huck x HOKA series, looking at mavericks who found a new perspective through running.

There’s a feeling Louisa Pillott sometimes gets when she plays. When the music sounds right, the crowd is psyched; things are going really well. “You become present,” says the Paris-based American DJ, who is better known as Louisahhh, a moniker her fans chant during her epic sets — like a war cry.

“You’re in your body, and you feel hyper-connected to the world around you. For me, it’s like an epiphany. I suddenly come to and I’m grateful and emotionally moved by the fact that I get to do this.”

Getting into the groove

It’s a sensation she only experiences while performing or running, her other passion in life. It might seem incongruous that one of the world’s most exciting electronic artists is a mad keen runner, but it’s true. It’s also not a stretch to say that if it wasn’t for running, Louisahhh might not be here at all.

Louisahhh started running just over a decade ago after a serious stint in rehab. “I was addicted to cocaine and diagnosed as hypomanic,” she says. “They tried to put me on medication to stabilise me, but I was adamantly opposed to it.”

Instead, she picked her own path back to health on the dusty trails through the Santa Monica Mountains in California. “It was not a terrible place to start. I would gallop around these beautiful trails with a giant discman listening to CDs. That image seems so archaic. It was only 2006 — I guess I had pretty limited resources back then.”

Louisahhh found running evened out her mood and allowed her sleep properly for the first time in a long while. It also made her feel happy, an emotion she’d never expected to feel again. A heartbreaking thought for anyone. “I came into recovery thinking, ‘This is what I have to do not to die,’” she says. “So to suddenly come into contact with something that I found I loved — that I didn’t need anything to do, all I had to do was get some shoes and get on the road — it was such a relief. It saved my life.”

Going against the grain

She moved to Paris. A great move creatively, as she started working with French techno wunderkind Brodinski and released some seminal tunes, but it was a less fun place to run than the hills behind Malibu. “In LA, I went for epic 25-mile runs without ever crossing my own path. Paris is much harder as I don’t like roads. But there are some parks with tracks and canals where you can run all the way to Amsterdam.”

“To suddenly come into contact with something that I found I loved — that I didn’t need anything to do, all I had to do was get some shoes and get on the road — it was such a relief. It saved my life.” Louisa Pillott

Is running considered unhip in her line of work? “When I moved to Paris I thought that. I was really focused on ultra-marathons and long-distance trail running with people who are in that world and super-nerdy. I was like, ‘I’m sober so I’m not going to your after-party. I’ll feel weird as everybody else will be super-fucked. I’ll be up weeping with joy running while the sun rises instead.”

“But in France literally the first group of friends I made, which was seriously lifesaving, were from the Paris Run Club, which is part of the global Bridge The Gap urban running crews. They were a group of creatives, everyone was a producer, or designer, or art director. I was like, ‘Ah this is where the cool kids are. No one told me!’”

Beyond that she also believes running makes her a better DJ. “It definitely does, as I ‘run-test’ all the tracks I listen to. It’s very visceral. If it makes you focus and dig in, then it’s going to really work on a dance floor. If I want to turn it off, it would be the same on the dance floor.”

“Running has made me realise that suffering is okay. Being uncomfortable won’t kill you. The trick is to gracefully accept that you’re uncomfortable — and keep moving.” Louisa Pillott

But the benefits for her head are bigger than just helping her perform well. She says, “Running has made me realise that suffering is okay. Being uncomfortable won’t kill you. If you’re having a down point in your career, or relationship, or if you’re suffering from anxiety or depression, it’s okay, it’s part of being human. Resisting it is not helpful. The trick is to gracefully accept that you’re uncomfortable — and keep moving.”

Huck is a youth culture channel. It celebrates and explores independent culture — people and movements that paddle against the flow. Find out more about HUCK.

Learn more about the innovative Clifton trainers Louisahhh wears.