Tag: mont blanc

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in pictures

HOKA athlete Guillaume Beauxis with his child as he crosses the finish line

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. 

HOKA athlete Harry Jones high-fives the crowd into the finish

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.

HOKA athlete Canhua Luo in action in the UTMB

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.

HOKA athletes Ruth Theresia and Kaci Lickteig chat and smile

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

HOKA athlete Audrey Tanguy at the finish line crying

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.

HOKA athlete Ludovic Pommeret runs into the finishing straight

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.

HOKA athlete Ludo Pommeret faces the media

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.

HOKA athletes and fans at the signing session

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.

Close up of the HOKA Evo Mafate

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.

Team HOKA line up at the signing session

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.

HOKA athlete Thibaut Garrivier smiles after the race

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.

HOKA athlete Thibaut Garrivier runs into the finishing straight

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

The start of UTMB

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.

HOKA athlete Tim Tollefson at an aid station

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.

HOKA athlete Harry Jones smiles through the pain and the dark

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.

HOKA athlete Ildiko Wermescher stands at the finish

Photo credits: PEIGNÉE VERTICALE

Running wild in one of the coolest jobs in sport

HOKA fan and Run the Wild founder Simon James looks out onto the mountain

Ever wondered how you set up your own running company? Wonder no more. We spoke to Simon James, founder of adventure running firm, Run The Wild, about his running journey and how it has led to one of the coolest jobs in the sport.

From a young age, I’ve always felt a strong connection with running. I grew up on the south coast of Wales, exploring the cliff tops, running along beaches and the winding trails through sand dunes. That sense of complete freedom has stayed with me and I believe is at the very heart of what trail running is all about.

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I love nature and camping, and as a teenager had the chance to go on a six-week expedition to Alaska. It was tough. But from then on, I began to seek out challenges that although might not necessarily have any tangible value, do provide meaning and purpose, and continue to frame my life.

Life starts to take its toll

As many do, I found myself pursuing a career in London with long hours in an office. This included the inevitable toll it can take on your health. One day a client suggested that I should join him in a hiking challenge along the West Highland Way. Except it wasn’t a walk, my friend decided we would run it. The only thing was, the furthest I’d ever run before was eight miles. This was 54 miles!

HOKA fan Simon James on the snowy mountains

But I did it, and something clicked inside me that day. It reawakened what I’d discovered in Alaska many years earlier. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Running all over the world

My running has taken me all over the world, even into the realms of mountaineering. I’ve climbed the high altitude peaks of the Americas and 8,000m peaks in the Himalayas. I think the message is common with runners about how running can change your perspective. I used to struggle with my weight and also depression, but running really was an antidote to those. It became very much part of my identity.

HOKA fan and Run the Wild founder Simon James out on the trails

It was in 2013, as I descended from a last summit attempt from Manaslu, an 8,000 metre peak in Nepal, and in a rather hypoxic state that the vision of Run the Wild came to me. It was something different, something that encapsulated running with exploring and adventures in the wild. I wanted something that was a step away from racing and the crowds, that incorporated the feel of an expedition, and yet gave this sense of freedom.

Within a few weeks, Run the Wild became a reality and the concept of “Exploring places… not running races.” was born.

Sunset on one of Run the Wild tours

Best day job in the world

Through Run the Wild I have been privileged to facilitate some incredible running adventures for individuals and groups. I love working in the outdoors, sharing knowledge, encouraging and supporting others while teaching skills that I have learned on my own journey. The people, the experiences and the environment are incredibly rewarding. I feel very fortunate to have what I believe to be one of the best jobs in the world!

Running along balcony paths beneath sweeping glaciers, standing on the top of mountain passes above the clouds is a pretty cool place to call your office.

HOKA fan Simon James with his Run the Wild group

Photo credit: Simon James

Simon works full time in the outdoor industry, looking after the day-to-day operation of Run the Wild and working as a trail running guide. In summer, he is based in Saint Gervais, at the foot of Mont Blanc, and for the rest of the year in the Chiltern Hills in the UK. He also works with young people on the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme as an assessor and instructor. Simon works on charity-based projects in Tanzania as well as leading groups up Kilimanjaro. He is an International Mountain Leader, Sports & Remedial Massage Therapist as well as Leader in Running Fitness.