Hoka Challenger ATR Review

Recently I was given an opportunity to try out a pair of Hoka One One shoes, with the only ask that I do a write-up of my experiences in them, for better or for worse.  Since I had heard generally positive feedback from a few people about their own experiences with the Challenger ATR, I was keen to lace up a pair and see how they go myself.

A bit of history to begin with. I've tried Hokas before and I have had issues with the the narrowness of the forefoot with my apparently quite monstrously wide feet. I have a pair of of the Hoka Clifton's that I love nearly everything about, except for the amount of room in the forefoot.  So I did a bit of research ahead of time and was pleased to discover the Challengers have a bit more forefoot room and wouldn't cause the same sort of issues I had with previous shoes.

Ethical

I had to speak with someone from Hoka One One to get an answer to whether their shoes are vegan or not. It isn't listed on their site and there isn't anything definitive on the web already.  However I'm happy to report that the answer to the question of whether Hoka shoes are vegan is...

"The answer is yes. No animal products into the shoe." - Hoka Product Development

So that's a big tick in the ethical column for Hoka One One.

Fit and Feel

So my number one concern was about the width of the toe box and I'm happy to report they are indeed wider than the Cliftons.  They still aren't extra roomy by any means, but there was enough space and I didn't experience any toe squishage in my running.

It should be no surprise to many who have tried Hokas, but this really is really an amazingly comfortable shoe.  It is very light for such a well cushioned shoe (283g for UK men's size 9.5) and felt quite nimble as I was running along some fairly uneven surfaces. They really shone when I went over rocks and other sharp and hard surfaces as the extra cushion protected my feet from the terrain.  Of course you aren't going to get a lot of ground feel with this sort of shoe, but this is an asset on many surfaces and is certainly appreciated on the longer runs.

The upper offers a good amount of protection and didn't make my feet especially hot. I did manage to tear the fabric on the top front on some brambles, but that isn't too much of a surprise if you know how overgrown the North Downs Way tends to be.

There hasn't been a lot of wet weather to try these shoes out on, so I can't say how they will perform in slippery and muddy conditions.  I did manage to get out in them after a decent shower and deliberately stomped through a number of deeper puddles to see how well they drained.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the squelchy feel gone within a few minutes and very little water was retained in the shoe even after repeatedly dunking them on each of my laps of the park.

After about 100 miles. Small tear on front fabric the left shoe from brambles.

Durability

The only damage is the tear in the upper from brambles, the rest of the shoe is showing very little wear. The rubberised tread is fully intact and there is only a small amount of wear on the exposed EVA material. With only 100 miles on the shoe I wouldn't expect too much wear and tear in any case. Given their current state, I can see getting 4-500 miles out of each pair, which is pretty good value.

Not much wear yet on mixed, but very hard terrain.

Looks

Many of the earlier Hoka's looked very... distinctive. Looking more remedial than sporty, they have been an example of many runner's preference for function over form.  However I think this shoe is a bit different and the Challenger is actually a pretty trendy looking shoe.  Julie, my resident fashion advisor, has even agreed to be seen with me when wearing them, which is a clear sign that the folks at Hoka are on the right track here.

Ready to race!

Verdict

I put these shoes through a fairly challenging set of conditions with road, rocks, grass and trails and I can safely say I'll be using these shoes again. It doesn't even have to be the really long stuff either, as I've enjoyed using them for shorter local jaunts around the park as well for the ultra distance runs. The combination of shock absorption, compact fit and moderate traction make these ideal for most mixed trail conditions.

Overall I really enjoyed using the Challenger ATR and look forward to taking them out on my next trail run.

North Downs Way 100

Bugger.

My second attempt at the 100 mile distance has ended once again in a DNF.  A man could get quite disheartened at this point.  But let's rewind a bit and go over the events leading up to me handing in my bib at mile 91...

This year has been all about getting fit and fabulous for my second attempt at the 100 mile distance. The South Downs Way 50 went really well. I even remembered to blog about it and everything.  That was the first > 26.2 mile race where I really felt like everything clicked. Managed my nutrition, effort level, mental stamina and hydration.

Then came the London to Brighton 100k, which didn't go too shabbily either. Not my best effort and had much more road than I liked, but a good steady race.  Finally, I did a couple of tune up efforts, like duoing the Endure24 (50 miles) and a good long training run at Endure12 (55 miles). All said, combined with my increase in mileage, everything has been going really well.

Diet wise, while still 100% vegan, I've probably been a little slack in getting enough of the good stuff into me. A few too many falafels and not enough green smoothies.  While not great, it has still had me powering through weeks of up to 100 miles of running.  Isn't it great that even when you are slack in your diet, you can still do awesome because everything you eat is always plant powered goodness? A perk of the lifestyle really!

So everything leading up to the race was lined up for a good one. The North Downs Way 100 was my chosen event and I was in good shape. Also I'd checked out at least half the course and I had the bestest crew anyone could ever ask for (xoxo Jules!).

I'm going to skip a bit ahead here, otherwise this is going to be a very long race report and there are plenty of those around already... Let's let a picture say a thousand words and jump into a pictorial journey through the race itself.

It was 6am off we went!  It was going to be a warm day, but at the start it was just beautiful, quiet and brilliant.  I love the first 10 miles so much - they fly by so quickly and you feel so great.  Also you know you are at the start of an exciting adventure, but haven't started properly hurting yet.

Off to a beautiful foggy start

Quiet morning roads

Damn England, you moody as all hell

I think the pictures sum up the first part of the race really well.  I was feeling great and the countryside was gorgeous.  Seriously uplifting stuff!

Rolling hills

The first part of the course is fairly gently rolling. No properly steep climbs until Box Hill and just tons of lovely English trails.

At this rate I'm going to have to write a poem about English countrysides...

Feeling great!

Everything was ticking along nicely, the miles just falling by.  Was on top of my nutrition and my funky new Hoka Challenger ATRs made the hard ground much easier on my feet.  At around mile 25 you hit the steeper hills, such as Box Hill.  These are always a bit of challenge, but while steep they are relatively short and manageable.

But like any good story, it isn't all beautiful fields and smiling selfies. It started getting quite warm (for England anyway) and was about 90% humidity, which made for some challenging middle miles.

Loved how this field looked. But didn't like the heat and walked here for a bit...

Quite a bit of road and some exposed sections

Hot and bothered!

But as the saying goes "...this too shall pass..." and the warm weather passed into a cooler evening.  I was running on pace and feeling surprisingly strong.  I think the warmer weather during the day forced me to slow down and left me with plenty of energy in my legs.

New longest run, in good time as well!

Seriously, the North Downs Way is stupidly beautiful at times

I breezed past my longest run ever in really good time, with plenty left in the tank.  I fact, I felt like I was speeding up a bit as it got cooler and I was able to open up a bit on the trails.

Dusk in the wheat fields

And the sun comes down

It is around 70 miles that I notice my right foot is a little sore.  Nothing terrible, just something I could feel each step.  Fast forward 5 miles and my foot has betrayed me! Every step is painful and it is all I can do to keep my pace up to the aid station where Julie is waiting for me.  Up until now I'd flown in and out of aid stations with no fuss, but this was the beginning of the end unfortunately...

I spent about 45 minutes here laying down, seeing if my foot just needed a rest and then I could carry on.  I knew I had stacks and stacks of time, so if I could just manage the pain I could always walk it in...

It was 7 miles to the next checkpoint and I set off... Into 7 of the most miserable miles of my running. I couldn't even walk without stabbing pains all down the right hand side of my foot. But a text from Julie said she had someone at the next aid station who might be able to help, so I gritted my teeth and hobbled on.

Mile 82, Detling aid station, and I was desperate for any relief.  I just needed to be able to walk as I'd have plenty of time to march it in.  After a generous volunteer helped by spraying my foot with his icy spray I was hopeful I could save this race!  I marched out and back into the night with my foot in pain, but at a manageable level.  Sadly it wasn't to last.  After another 3 miles, the pain came back with a vengeance.  And this time he brought reinforcements.  My left foot started hurting from compensating as I limped along and pain was shooting all the way up my leg every step.

The terrain levelled out and was very runnable, but I wasn't in any shape to carry on.  Talk about frustrating. 70 miles of great running, 20 miles of agony and being forced to stop 10 miles before the finish.

God dammit.

I texted Julie to come pick me up, my race was over.  It was intensely frustrating, but I know that sometimes these things happen and you have to learn from the experience.

Doesn't look like much, but hurt like the dickens

So while it wasn't the ending I wanted, it was certainly an amazing experience.  Foot issues aside, it was my best executed ultra race and I'm proud of both the great running up to my injury, and of my pushing through 20 more miles to try and gut it out (hopefully that won't do any permanent injury though).

As I use a trekking pole to hobble around the house today I'm already thinking of my next race and how I can use this as fuel to power me to my race challenge!  Onwards and upwards!