Mile & Stone Counts the Shoes at UTMB

The newly launched Mile & Stone newsletter takes a deep dive into the shoes that are worn to run the three main UTMB events.

Every year, trail shoe manufacturers visit the major events in France (Templiers, Dacia UTMB Mont-Blanc) to gather statistical information and get an idea of their importance in the market. Mile & Stone has consulted the results of studies carried out over the last three years by several players on the Dacia UTMB Mont Blanc and brings you the results.

It’s worth reading the whole article, and well, worth signing up for the newsletter as well, but what sticks out to me is that aside from Hoka and Salomon leading the pack (not a surprising finding, given that both brands are French) several brands are doing much worse than I anticipated: Adidas, Nike, On, The North Face all have a strong presence on the podiums or an seemingly endless marketing budget, but are barely worn among the wide field of runners. So, why we all sort of agree that elites runners are influencers, their influencing might not move the needle as much as anticipated.