Competition time for Hoka runners!

Everyone loves winning stuff and we love photos of you loving your run in Hoka OneOne!

So, here’s a simple way to win a limited edition Hoka OneOne running singlet for at least one guy and one girl out there. As always, novelty prizes for extra creativity are available, but as far as mandatory gear goes we’d like photos of your run in your Evo, Tarmac, Bondi, Speed, or Mafate at either The North Face 100km or 50km on the weekend. You can stick them on our Facebook wall, put a link up in comments here, or email them to Roger@HokaOneOne.com.au.

Winners will be pulled out of a shoebox on Monday May 27 at noon so get posting!

We’ve decided to put Anne Mackie in the draw ourselves, after she nailed the women’s veterans win over 100km in her Stinson Evo in a smoking time of 14:25:14. Great run Anne! Great pic by Running Wild’s Ben Berriman.

Anne Mackie owning it in her Stinson Evo at TNF100 2013. Pic by Ben Berriman.

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.

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.

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Team Hoka USA: Jason Schlarb

Jason Schlarb has been travelling about New Zealand, running juicy semi-alpine terrain and fighting off that occasional bane of the ultra-traveller – lurgee!

In just over a week’s time he’ll be toeing the line at Tarawera with some of the best runners that ultra and trail running have to offer in 2013: Sage Canaday, Anton Krupicka, Emelie Forsberg, Tim Olsen, Brendan Davies and many more. He will of course also be lining up alongside Hoka OneOne Australia’s own David Eadie, Nikki Wynd, and Scott Hawker, who you’ll also be meeting on this blog over the next couple of days.

Jason Schlarb, blogging at www.jasonschlarb.com.

Jason, when did you start running in Hoka, and what has kept you running in them since?

Dave Mackey sent me a pair of Bondi in Iraq… I was a skeptic at first, but it only took one run. 

What is your currently preferred model and why?

Bondi- light, fast and just enough traction.  The Bondi gives me all the cushion I could ever want, but is still light enough for a fast race or workout.  The oversized surface area under foot on the Bondi provides all the traction I need for almost all my trail running.  I also really love that the Bondi is flexible and allows my foot to flex in a natural and efficient way.      

 

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.

New Hoka OneOne Bondi to hit Australia and NZ in February

The new Bondi 2, with its increased breathability, lighter upper, and internally seamless mid and forefoot will be here in just over 4 weeks. Before Brazil, France, Britain, Korea, Spain, all of South America and possibly even Canada and North America, you’ll be able to pick up these sweet new superlight runners from http://www.HokaOneOne.com.au and your local running specialist, assuming that they have already embraced the future.


Bondi 2013 all 3 Bondi 2013 Cyan nice1

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