THE MAKING OF CARBON X
The blue of the Pacific Ocean. The noir of the lava fields. The lack of leg hair and pot bellies. Some things are instantly apparent when landing in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, for the annual Ironman World Championships. What also became clearly evident on arrival for our visit in October 2019 was that everyone was seemingly wearing Hoka shoes; an Ironman badge of honour to file alongside the M-Dot tattoo and faded Ironman Lanzarote race tee.
Hoka One One (pronounced O-Nay O-Nay) were founded in 2009 by two former Salomon employees (Nicolas Mermoud and Jean-Luc Diard) in Annecy, France, wanting to create a shoe that allowed them to run downhill faster. The brand stood in contrast to the era’s minimalist ‘barefoot’ movement spearheaded by Born to Run author Chris McDougall and exemplified by the Vibram Fivefingers, which themselves were a response to the heavily-cushioned trainers that dominated the run market in the 2000s. Both Hoka and minimalist shoes, though, offered low heel-to-toe drops and encouraged athletes onto their mid and forefoots to improve running economy.
Derided as clown shoes upon
