Five Inov-8 Athletes In Top-10 At Mont Blanc Marathon

inov-8 Press Release / 02.07.2013

inov-8 athletes smashed one of Europe’s toughest mountain marathons, placing five runners in the top-10 men and women.

The 2013 Mont Blanc Marathon attracted a world-class field of 2,000 athletes, all of whom departed Chamonix, France, on a gruelling Alpine course that involved 2,500m of brutal ascent and 1,500m of daredevil descent.

In the men’s race, inov-8’s Alex Nichols (US) stormed to a seventh place finish in a time of 3:48:54, with team-mates Florian Reichert (Germany) ninth in 3:55:45 and Oli Johnson (UK) tenth in 3:56:32.

The race, which was part of the Skyrunner World Series, reached a highest point of 2,201m altitude at Aiguilles des Possettes and finished with a leg-sapping climb to the spectator-packed summit of Planpraz.

Alex, who like Florian ran in inov-8’s Trailroc 245 shoes, said: “To place three male athletes in the top-10 of such a high-profile race is awesome.

“I gave it absolutely everything over a tough course. My legs were in pieces on that last climb but I kept pushing and pushing and almost caught the sixth-placed runner.”

The 28-year-old from Colorado added: “I had a disappointing race at Zegama on my last visit to Europe in May, but my performance here at Mont Blanc has definitely put that right.

“I was fired up to make amends and I feel I did that.

“I can’t wait for the rest of the season now, especially the Pikes Peak Marathon on my home course in Colorado. I finished second in that race last year and really want to go one better this year.”

In the women’s race, Anna Lupton (UK) finished seventh in 4:55:16 and Shona Stephenson (Australia) placed ninth in 4:57:23.

All five top-10 finishers are part of inov-8’s team of athletes currently attending the company’s first-ever athlete retreat, based in the Alps.

The retreat began on Friday when several of the athletes competed in the Mont Blanc Vertical Km race – a time-trial event which saw runners dash up an insanely steep 1,000m vertical height climb in a bid to be the fastest to the top.

Florian Reichert, again wearing Trailroc 245 shoes, was the first inov-8 athlete in twelfth place.

In both the marathon and vertical km races, inov-8 athletes wore the brand’s new apparel range, which has been launched this summer.

The retreat will continue until Saturday, with athletes testing exciting new product, including the spring/summer 2014 race ultra pack series, and training alongside their international team-mates at altitude.

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