Hoka One One, a division of Deckers Brands, took home the win at the 105-mile Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc race. It’s sponsored athletes Caroline Chaverot and Ludovic Pommeret, both from France, won first male and female finisher at what is commonly regarded as one of the toughest running races in the world.
“The UTMB is to trail running what the Tour de France is to cycling, so having a Hoka One One as first male and first female is just incredible—a dream come true,” said Jean-Luc Diard, HokeaOne One co-founder and VP of Innovation. “We are equally proud to see so many runners attending the race using our running shoes as they make their own dreams come true.”
Ludovic Pommeret, who won in a time of 22 hours and 2 minutes, was the first elite athlete to wear Hoka One One running shoes in major ultra races. From 2009 on, he travelled around the world with Hoka co-founder Nicolas Mermoud to test and win races in Hokas.
Caroline Chaverot led the women’s race from the start, fighting off stomach pain and leg cramps to stay ahead of a persistent second-place finisher Andrea Huser. She finished in 25 hours, 15 minutes and 40 seconds. Chaverot redeemed a DNF from last year, when she succumbed to stomach and leg issues at the 65-mile mark.
Julian Chorier, another Hoka France athlete, placed eighth overall after pushing hard to stay in second and lead the pace for most of the race.
The 105-mile (170-kilometer) race around Mont Blanc is the headline of UTMB, which includes five races and 7,500 participants. UTMB racers rack up more than 32,000 feet of climbing as they traverse through France, Switzerland and Italy. This year’s conditions included considerable heat and thunderstorms.
Photo courtesy Hoka One One, Ludovic Pommeret and Caroline Chaverot celebrating their top finishes at the UTMB 2016
