E is for the Environment
The issue of sustainability and how brands show up for the planet since UTMB, where there was news of a glacial flood in Nepal at the exact same moment of a deluge of big brands branding the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc resort. That included the boisterous, self-appointedly radical Nike ACG helicoptering a pickle juice vending machine up a mountain.
There’s a brand that’s perfect for people who are incapable of reading a room. But maybe it’s more common than we want to believe for runners not to be able to read a room.
It’s naive of me, perhaps, but I see products that center the planet and sustainability as paramount to our future. I say “naive” because I keep finding out that I’m somewhat in the minority in prioritising a habitable future.
I posted my interview with Kilian Jornet last week. Aside from his status as a runner, Kilian is also co-founder of Nnormal, a running shoe brand borne out of the desire to create and produce but leave as little trace of their existence as possible. The brand commitments clearly outline durability, repair, and recycling. Everything possible to keep Nnormal gear out of landfill.
One of the first brands that I featured back in 2023 was Hylo. They caught my attention for similar claims to Nnormal’s, desiring to be a zero-waste product. When I spoke to Hylo co-founder Michael Doughty, he openly wrestled with the contradiction of producing shoes – maybe the part of our running outfit that hits landfill fastest – when preserving the planet was such a priority.
The fact that they also aimed to create the kind of shoes that at least matched their competitors in terms of performance is an indicator as to why it’s so difficult to launch a new running shoe brand using Green issues alone. Hylo has somewhat pared down its messaging to more general ideas about preserving and appreciating the environments we run through.
On LightSpray tech is another one that shies away from the sustainability issue. I see the revolutionary robot tech as being able to shorten the supply chain, lessen waste, and remove transportation miles, with production able to be located closer to the kinds of hubs that can afford a $300 shoe.
It’s estimated that upper-related carbon emissions are 75% lower for LightSpray shoes, so why isn’t On leading with that messaging?
However much more time that runners spend outdoors, naturally connecting to nature more deeply than our friends and colleagues, if a shoe (or a water refill station during a marathon) slows us down, we don’t want it. In this sport – and it is still a sport – personal records win every time.
Put simply: runners want to be fast. The focus is on their position in the room, rather than the room itself or anyone else in the room.
Read my interview with Kilian Jornet
It’s a simple Q&A, and you can redeem one of your free articles for the month, but your support is very welcome.
I’ve got a very cool piece on the one-man team behind Kilian’s conquering of all 72 of the USA’s scalable 14,000ft peaks coming very soon. Next week, probably. Yeah, as much as chatting to the greatest runner of all time is cool, I still kinda prefer telling the story of what’s happening behind the scenes.
Zoë Rom has been on a running fiction tear
After testing out some pithy lists about Strava captions and runfluencers, Zoë has hit gold over and again with some deep satire about UTMB’s acquisition by hell, and now a fictional running brand. It’s great stuff. Go read it. Go subscribe. Go send it to a friend. That’s how it works over here.
And here’s my interview with Zoë from earlier this year. It’s titled about conspicuous consumption because her podcast is about food culture in the running world. And it’s great.
Another note on shoes
A very cool moment in Chamonix was stealing 15 minutes with Bekah Broe, Hoka’s Senior Director of Product for performance footwear upon the launch of the Tecton X 4. Here are some choice questions and quotes from that chat:
What is the starting point of a new shoe?
“One of our big jobs at Hoka is talking to as many runners as we can, spending as much time on the trails with them as we can, and spending time with our athletes. Our job is not to necessarily assume that there is a problem. Our job is to be curious so we can understand what we need to do to improve an experience, or to build a completely new experience if that’s something that runners are looking for.”
How to ratify testing by elite athletes with the average runner’s
“In a trail running environment, you have to acknowledge that the gap between the elites and the rest of us is so much bigger. We’re talking days longer, which is hard to wrap your head around. It’s a really important reason why when we’re wear-testing, it’s a wide variety of paces and it’s a wide variety of time that you’re giving people time to test. People are making a huge investment in that product, so we want to make sure it’s giving them the longevity experience that they’re looking for.”
How has the relationship changed between performance shoes and everyday runners?
“People that we talk to on the trails here, they know all the athletes, they see what they’re wearing. There’s a lot of savvy and trust that trail runners put into seeing these icons and their heroes use the product. I think trail runners, we also do a lot of homework and research. I think buyers are way more informed than ever before. They’re going to ask more about the technology, how we build it, who’s using it, and they’re really careful about the experience they want to have. I think you have to understand your own preference, because if you’re asking forty hours, it doesn’t matter what works for Vincent.”
Where does storytelling come into designing a product?
“What’s interesting about trail is you can’t lie to yourself about what doesn’t work. There’s so much data in road that it’s almost a controlled environment. You can convince yourself if you don’t actually like something, because it says it’s going to make you faster. Trail runners have to feel it out on their own. A trail shoe is going to tell you if it’s going to work for you after 50 miles in a very different way. It’s great if a shoe feels great when you first put it on, but we’re actually a lot more interested in how it feels at the end of a 20-mile run.”
A final note on Hoka and UTMB 2026
I know that half of you are sick of reading about UTMB while the other half of you have been clamoring for more, but here’s almost the last of it. (Until next time.) I sent a few questions to the broader Hoka team about this year’s big event. Here are the unedited responses:
From a branding perspective, how successful was UTMB 2026 for Hoka?
“UTMB 2026 was a standout year for HOKA across athlete performance and brand visibility. As the title sponsor, HOKA’s presence extended well beyond the finish line with branding elements and activations throughout the village like the FlyLab, which showcased the newly launched Tecton X 4, timed directly to race week. Athlete performance backed up the visibility as several HOKA athletes podiumed, including Emily Schmitz’s third-place finish at UTMB and Hans Troyer’s third-place finish at CCC. Pairing a flagship product launch with race-week storytelling and strong performances across the roster is exactly the kind of moment HOKA looks to build around, and by that measure, 2026 delivered.”
There has been some backlash about the level of branding in Chamonix in terms of sustainability. As a title sponsor, what responsibility does Hoka have in terms of leading the way?
“As title sponsor of an event rooted in a mountain community and brand that was founded in the very same mountains, HOKA recognizes that leadership here means looking closely at how the brand shows up physically in Chamonix, and that’s a balance HOKA continues to evolve as the partnership matures. HOKA continues to be transparent about its sustainability commitments, publishing progress annually through Deckers Brands’ Creating Change report. Our Product & Materials Destruction Policy (found on Deckers.com/responsibility) outlines our commitment to divert waste and keep products in use longer. Year over year we strive to reuse as much signage and displays as possible.”
I noticed a diversity of storytelling by Hoka around UTMB. How does that reflect Hoka’s brand values?
“HOKA’s brand mission centers on empowering people to push past limits, and that mission is meant to apply broadly, not just to the athletes on the podium. Telling stories about carbon impact alongside women’s performances and individual athlete journeys reflects HOKA’s core values of inclusivity, curiosity, and human-centered storytelling. It’s also consistent with the “Humans of HOKA” ethos the brand has built over time, which celebrates community and resilience as much as it does competitive achievement.”
Thanks for reading,
Raz xx
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