The North Face 100: Top 10 Tips for Newbies

Continuing the great tradition of ‘Top 10′ lists which may delight, misinform, or annoy you, here is our list of Top 10 Tips for first-timers running the fantastically unmissable North Face 100 in the Blue Mountains in barely 12 days from now. Whether you haven’t run 100km before, or you just haven’t run this particular 100km… Enjoy!

The Hoka OneOne Australia Top 10 Tips for TNF100 Newbies

  1. If marathon distance is the furthest you’ve ever raced or trained, savour the moment when you pass the 42.2km mark. You still have 57.8km to go.

    You only get a buckle… if you don’t buckle.

  2. Keep your pack as light as functionally possible, but remember that most of the elite runners who carry a 59 gram rain shell are usually back in their hotel room before sunset.
  3. Guys, stick to one lycra garment – shirt, or pants. Not both at once. Please.

    Try to find that happy middle ground where technical fabrics and individuality meet.

  4. Try to spend more time running than talking about running. You’ll have more to talk about later.
  5. Death by chafing is worse than death by hypothermia, which is worse than death by effort. Lube everything and keep running. You’ll be fine.

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! And that’s just the shirt.. (prevention, prevention, prevention . . .)

  6. Press ‘start’ on your GPS watch 5 seconds before the race actually starts. Then you can press ‘stop’ before you get your Finish photo taken. Then yours will be different than everyone else’s. Difference is good.

    Typical ultra starting line…

  7. Shuffling 7km/h up Kedumba on 80km legs is about the same as running 34km/h on flat road without a backpack.
  8. No pain, no elevation gain.

    Fortunately, the sky isn’t full of vicious flying lizards.

  9. There is a hospital at the final checkpoint. You do not want to stay there. Keep running.

    Of course, some runners belong in a hospital.

  10. The nice thing about racing 100km is that nearly everyone gets at least one good patch. But it’s what you do with the bad patch that makes the difference. A runner has just dropped you, your legs hurt, your stomach is in a somersault, it’s so cold, and you ask yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ The answer is at the finish line. Just. Keep. Running.

Selfies, Selfies, Selfies, Boing!

So the Selfies Competition now draws to a close, even as we continue to receive cute, funny, and creative pictures of you and your shoes.

Hopes were high as we started with a ninja, thanks to Mathew Want.

Get some Hoka, grasshopper!

And of course we’re never happy to see any runner in a boot, but at least Barbara Hughes’ one Hoka has kept her from walking on an angle while she’s under repair.

Not a fan of the open toe thing – get better soon!

Chris Beavis set a theme with the first of the Dog Hoka selfies.

Why am I thinking of aliens?

Followed by personal trainer Manal Garcia…

Awwwww…

And our good Kiwi friend Sally Law.

This is one of our favourites… Thanks Sal!

And Manal again…

Bondi 2, when you’re tired of running ruff! Yep, that was a bad one :)

Adding some serious running back into the discussion, Jo Peterson smashed out 102km in his Tarmacs at Tarawera, kindly demonstarting the value that many people are finding from this road shoe on trail.

Jo loving a fantastic event.

And Jennifer Spark also hit Tarawera, and came away wishing she had another pair of Hoka!

And again we say, ‘Awwww.’ : ) Thanks Jennifer. Cool pic!

And of course there was Silvia Schweininger happily blister-free knocking out Ironman in her Evo.

Trail, triathlon, surface of the moon – whatever! Evo rocks! Thanks Sylvia.

And Jaysen Searle had us all super-impressed, smashing out Melbourne Ironman in about 8 1/2 hours.

Flying home at the 225.6km mark on a 226km day, Jaysen Searle – awesome!

Clearly, our most obsessed Hoka OneOne convert is ultrarunner and Coast2Kosci medic, Billy Pearce. Billy’s story is unique – he has one foot 2 1/2 sizes longer than the other. When he first got in touch over a year ago, we hoped our shoes would help his running but we weren’t sure if even the mighty Hoka could do anything for such a unique circumstance. Since then, Billy the Footmasher is in touch with us for a fresh pair every six weeks or so. And he’s still threatening to get a Hoka tattoo – which we do look forward to seeing one day, Billy!  : )

That’s about 6,000km worth of shoe, Billy ; )

And another ultrarunning character who regularly inspires us is Victoria’s Scott Knabel. If you haven’t already familiarised yourself with Scott’s story, he’s not content to go couch to 5km. He’s going couch to ultra, and you can check out his story at Scott’s Ultra Quest.

Scott Knabel – local legend (if you’re in Victoria, that is)

So now we get to the pointy end. We weren’t going to do any kind of runner’s up prize BUT this guy clearly needs our help, so there’s a $100 voucher for Garth McInerney. Garth, your selfie made it obvious – you need some Hoka OneOne in your running life!

Garth considers getting wheel transplants. Don’t worry, Garth, Hoka’s here to help!

And that just leaves the announcement of our winner. Drum roll……..

Congratulations, South Australia’s Sally Roffey!

This one had all the elements we were after – creativity, risk of physical injury, cross-training, and borrowed shoes. You made us chuckle, Sally, and you’re clearly hungry for a pair of Hoka OneOne. So, congratulations, for going the extra yard, you can now give Sadie’s shoes back and do yoga with your own pair from www.HokaOneOne.com.au.

Of course, everyone who does yoga or pilates to support their trailrunning or ultra habit is already a winner, but now Sally also wins herself a pair of Hoka OneOne. WOOHOO!!

Thanks so much to everybody who submitted or commented on photos. It’s great to see how you’re all enjoying your Hoka OneOne and what it’s doing for your run. Check out our Facebook and follow this blog and our Twitter feed for more chances to win, as well as news about latest models and the growing number of retailers carrying the Hoka OneOne range.

And keep sending photos anyway – we love seeing what you’re up to!

 

 

 

 

 

Running’s Hard Enough.

Iron Man Ad Hoka

Hoka OneOne mans up.

If you’re a manny man man looking for your next hardass running shoe, don’t take our advice or listen to the hundreds of endurance athletes and longtime runners singing the praises of our genius design team. Take the advice of your favourite manny magazine, it’s right there in this month’s issue of Men’s Fitness.

We all wore Hoka OneOne trail shoes which have thick padded soles. They cushioned your feet and prevented blisters. Runners in cushioned shoes fared better.

CCF11032013_00000

One competition end, another begins, and some hot fan love.

Just answer the question at the end in the comments section for your chance to WIN!

Our Facebook competition was massive fun and everybody who wrote in made our day. We were going to give our prizes randomly but then you all started telling us your stories, penning poetry, and writing love ballads about running shoes.

We understand this, don’t worry. They make us feel special inside too, from our feet, through our calves and shins, up inside our knees, all over our quads and hamstrings, ITBs, butts, lower back, and core. Just like any miracle running shoe should!

So before we launch our next little competition, we just wanted to share some of our favourite answers from the competition to win a pair of newly released 2013 running shoes from Hoka OneOne.

The new Bondi 2 is so HOT Hoka had to make it super-breathable. Feel the cooling breeze rush across your feet in this baby...

The new Bondi 2 is so HOT Hoka had to make it super-breathable. Feel the cooling breeze rush across your feet in this baby…

Danielle Cullen was on of the first respondents to really get our attention. Why?

I do endurance horse racing (80 – 320km) and my horse will love me (and you!) forever if I get off and run next to her more often!!

That’s a nice distance for covering by heart-powered motor, we didn’t know there was a sport with horses that went that far, and the idea that a pony might also become a fan of our superlight, super-cushioned running shoes was intriguing, to say the least. Nice one, Danielle!

It never occurred to us to sell horse shoes. Thanks for the idea Danielle!

It never occurred to us to sell horse shoes. Thanks for the idea Danielle!

From the unusual to the familiar – Tristan Watson told us a story that we frequently hear from runners in one form or another. Maybe they just want to do their local bridge run. Maybe, like Olivia Stefek, another Facebooker, they’re after a City2Surf PB. Maybe like Kiwi triathlete Suzie Clark they’re having no end of calf and achilles pain, as they contract their calf to swim, extend it to ride, and then smash it to bits in an unforgiving shoe on the run leg. Tristan, though, is out there, and dreaming of distances that blow people’s minds.

Well I have been running again for the last 3 years with ITB issues, patello-femoral pain, and medial meniscus issues, all of which, and I am being serious here, have dissipated since wearing the Stinson Evo. I have conquered long runs up to 8hrs. Climbs and descents that I never thought possible, and these shoes have been a major factor in allowing me to pursue my dream of running 100 miles. I hope to run C2K in 2014.

Think about the hill sessions you do in training, how dead your legs feel on the last repeat. And that’s after, what – half an hour? two hours? C2K is short for Coast to Kosciuszko. It’s a 240+km run from the east coast port of Eden to the very top of Australia. For most runners, it’s more than 30 hours of running up one very long hill. Once more, think about how smashed up you feel from one hour of hill training. Good luck Tristan. Live the dream!!

Red for quickness, black goes with everything - wicked new black, red, and white Evo for shredding trails anywhere and everywhere (and maybe even the occasional Iron Man)

Red for quickness, black goes with everything – wicked new black, red, and white Evo for shredding trails anywhere and everywhere (and maybe even the occasional Iron Man)

And as exciting as it was to see all the applications from runners who are new to Hoka World, we do our background checks. One cheeky entry said

I have heard so much good stuff about these shoes and I’m desperate to try them for myself! (but I’m so poor from over committing to some expensive races this year :P )

Perhaps the triathlete submitting that one should have changed their job description from ‘Government Lawyer’ to something more struggle-grade! Besides, we figure that with the pounding these shoes save you, they’re also saving at least two visits to the physio/masseuse/chiro of your choice. Bargain, Marvin!

New Bondi Speed - a more typical choice for triathlon. More breathable upper, glovelike interior, greater ankle comfort, and funky new speedlace and toe bumper.

New Bondi Speed – a more typical choice for triathlon. More breathable upper, glovelike interior, greater ankle comfort, and funky new speedlace and toe bumper.

As many other entertaining, moving, and funny entries as there were, Daniel Richmond from Perth deserves not just a mention but a place in Hoka history for his unsolicited poem. If he can run as well as he can rhyme, he should be near the podium at this year’s Kep Ultra, that’s for sure!

In 2012 it was “Time to Fly”, I saw these new Hoka One One’s & gave them a try.
My feet they felt awesome & recovery was great, finding these Hoka’s it must have been fate.
Hills were a breeze & trails were fun, all I wanted to do was get out & run!

TNF100 came around fast,but with Hoka’s on my feet, all I had was a blast.

2 hours thirty I smashed off my time, and I was ecstatic as I flew over that line!
Everyone asked, “So what’s your secret Dan”, i smiled & said, “Hoka One One, I’m a big fan”.
Couldn’t possibly run in anything else, now get out there & grab some & see for yourself!
Evo’s, Tarmacs’s & Bondi’s too, I own every pair, now how about you?!… Oh what a shoe

Love Hoka One One.

Huh? Huh? See what I mean?

Melanie could have looked HOT in the new grey/fushia women's Evo on the left, but instead she's going to RUN hot in the cyan, white, lime Tarmac on the right.

Melanie could have looked HOT in the new grey/fushia women’s Evo on the left, but instead she’s going to RUN hot in the cyan, white, lime Tarmac on the right.

And of course the win did ultimately go to Currumbin‘s Melanie Black, a mum of three who wrote in saying that she’d like to win a pair of the new cyan, citrus, white women’s Tarmac so she

can smash my Parkrun PB of 17:34 and hopefully improve the plantar fasciitis that is giving me grief at the moment.

We’re big fans of anybody who wants to smash their PB, the community-focused team at Parkrun, and we recognise that plantar fasciitis is EVIL and must be stopped – so, Melanie, we hope your sweet new running experience from Hoka OneOne helps you achieve your goals! Congratulations.

Our next competition is not for a pair of shoes. It is for some tasty limited edition gear out of the USA. Only ten of these have been brought into Australia, and if you want it, you need to tell us in the comments below

WHY, in 30 words or less, do you NEED this very cool limited edition Hoka OneOne baseball cap in your life?

Entertain, inform, or completely blow our minds in 30 words or less and this Ltd Ed. Hoka OneOne cap could be yours.

Entertain, inform, or completely blow our minds in 30 words or less and this Ltd Ed. Hoka OneOne cap could be yours.

Hoka OneOne shelves are now full

The shelves at Hoka OneOne Australia HQ are now full! Hit up your local running or tri store or visit us online now to order yours!

And we will shortly be announcing the winner in our Facebook competition and starting a couple of new ones for you. Thank you for your support! It’s been great to hear from so many of you about what you want from Hoka OneOne and what they have already done for you.

We do appreciate that this is a very different shoe. For some people it’s confronting, even annoying because it appears to so fully go against everything they think about shoes or even about running. But for others, it’s the key to their next race, it’s a chance to run again, it’s their big hope for their next Iron Man, it’s a weapon in successful adventure racing, and for some, like Perth’s speedy young Scott Hawker, it’s their partner in course records and podium finishes.

More to follow, including a lucky winner of some flash new running shoes, but for now . . .

Shelves are now loaded!!Bondi Speed 2 v 1

Cyan/white/lime Bondi 2 Lady Tarmac cyan Lady Evo fushia/grey OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Lady Tarmac fushia

 

New Hoka OneOne: competition winner & new range arriving

Here’s a quick update! We know a lot of you are anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new range of Hoka OneOne in Australia/New Zealand because of the messages and emails we’ve been receiving, because we’re anxiously waiting too, and because so far there have been over 100 entries in our competition to win the first pair out the door. If you haven’t entered that contest yet, make sure to hit our Facebook page and share and comment on the right post for your chance to win.

So, with thousands of big superlight running shoes arriving, we are now just waiting for them to clear the examination process at Customs. We expect they’ll pass because they have studied very hard! But we’re now waiting to get word on arrival time, which could be this morning, could be this afternoon, could be later tonight when I’ve already taken my camera and gone home.

Obviously, we hoped to be getting them on to shelves and out the door first thing this morning but instead we’re biting our lips and wringing our hands just like you! On the upside – not too late to enter our competition if you haven’t already. As soon as the delivery turns up we’ll be closing our competition and announcing the winner.

The new 2013 range should be starting to appear in stores by Wednesday, and is already available online at the Hoka store. We’ll be down at the Huskisson long course tri this weekend with the Elite Energy crew if you want to get along for a seaside swimming/cycling/running party. Be among the first to buy from us at Huski this weekend and receive new edition Hoka OneOne running singlets with your new shoes.

………. wai  -  ting …………….

hoka share 2013

Running shoes for 2013: R4YL magazine

Tarmac 2013

I have to say that we are fans of Run 4 Your Life magazine. They constantly demonstrate the maturity needed to consider and appreciate a range of different approaches to running and running technology. We’re especially stoked that they have recognized that Hoka OneOne is a new concept done well.

MBT, for those who don’t know the brand, is Masai Barefoot Technology, developed from the idea that many Masai in Africa protect their feet by tying pieces of car tyre underneath them. We see a marked difference between Hoka and MBT, despite initial visual similarities. Aside from the differences in weight and performance, MBT try to achieve their goal of enlivening the muscles by creating an instability platform. Hoka keeps the muscles alive on the run for longer by providing a dependable stability platform.

Bondi and Tarmac Jan 2013 r4yl cover

Our first website winner for the year . . .

Congratulations to our first winner of some limited edition Hoka OneOne running gear.

If you like running in polo shirts that is :)

Pete, if we can call you Pete – considering you’re only known to us via our Facebook as ThePete – we loved your story and we hope you love your Hoka OneOne polo. Sorry it’s not a pair of Bondi 2 but you’re just going to have to wait 18 more days for those like everybody else, ourselves included.

Here’s a pic of Pete smashing Melbourne Marathon 2012, and loving every quick second of it apparently in his Tarmacs.

Pete, Melbourne Marathon 2012

Pete, Melbourne Marathon 2012

Hit us up in messaging with your shirt size and postal address, Pete. We’ve got one of these styley shirts for you. 2 more winners to be announced along with their stories this week. It’s not too late to wow us with your own Hoka moment for 2012. Check out some of the massive accomplishments, including course records and world firsts, our Team Hoka runners achieved in 2012. And 2013 is going to be even bigger . . .

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Congratulations Pete. Who’s next?

Maximize Your Minimal

Wear less, for longer. It’s not quite running naked, but how far have you ever actually run naked?

MAXMIN

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,406 other followers