Who has worn the Hoka Clifton for a marathon?

Hokas are stupid shoes. Only morons wear them

Houston Bound wrote:

I am running Houston next month with a goal of breaking 3:15. Training has gone well and I ran a 1:30:11 1/2 back in October. I ran that race in the Asics Gel Lyte 33 3. They felt pretty good for the 1/2. My concern is that they may not be cushioned enough for the concrete of Houston. I have a pair of Hoka Clifton's and they are very spongy and surprisingly light. I just wanted t get some feedback from anyone who has used them in a marathon. Is anyone else running Houston? What is your time goal?

I found the Hoka to be 10s/slower per mile at the same heart rate for runs at 7 min pace or under. The faster the pace, the worse the hoka performed (for me.) I wear them for recovery run 730-8 min pace and the HR's are more in line with my Brooks. I'm guessing is that at faster speeds, the hoka compresses more and you lose energy. Too bad....I figured they would be great for a course like Boston with all the downhill.

Don't listen to either of these two. I've used the Clifton's for runs up to 15 miles since I've had it. Over the 350ish miles I ran in them I've done everything from 200 meter repeats on the track @ 31s, 400s @ 66, 800 in 2:20 at the end of a workout, mile repeats @ 5:20 pace, and 4 5k races on hilly courses ranging from 16:50 to 17:20. The shoe is springy and light (as you know) and has a ton of cushion. I am looking to run a sub 2:45 marathon in 2015 and will most likely use the Clifton for the race. Hope that helped, good luck in your race. The only people that hate on Hoka's are the ones that haven't tried the shoe out and probably run in a Brooks Beast or New Balance 990.

Facts are facts. Nobody is running fast marathons in Hokas...sorry. Not one of their athletes has even broken 2:19 marathon in them

Come on idiots. There's a big difference between a 2:19 and a guy wanting to run 3:15.

I have been running in my Cliftons for almost 4 months. I ran a mile road race in them in August. I then ran a half in them. I then ran a marathon in them in October. I liked them because they were very light and I wanted to guard against muscle cramping because of the pounding compared to trails. I wore the Bondi before the Clifton and I did think they were 10 seconds/mile slower but I am not seeing that with the Clifton. I ran 3:13 in them and my legs felt great. I did only go about 90% so that probably helped. Since the marathon, I started doing speedwork and have run down to 5:20 pace in them for short periods of time.

I wouldn't run my fastest 5k in them but I would have no problem running in them if I really wanted to race a marathon.

I am 50 and the extra cushioning is really nice. I probably wouldnt have switched 10 years ago but they have made it possible to run more miles this year than ever before.

I'm not saying that they work for everyone, but they have good cushion and light weight...what the OP was asking about.

faczzz wrote:

Facts are facts. Nobody is running fast marathons in Hokas...sorry. Not one of their athletes has even broken 2:19 marathon in them

Get your facts right! Tyler Andrews, sponsored by Hoka, just ran a 2:16:59 in the Cliftons at the California International Marathon.

Houston Bound wrote:

I am running Houston next month with a goal of breaking 3:15. Training has gone well and I ran a 1:30:11 1/2 back in October. I ran that race in the Asics Gel Lyte 33 3. They felt pretty good for the 1/2. My concern is that they may not be cushioned enough for the concrete of Houston. I have a pair of Hoka Clifton's and they are very spongy and surprisingly light. I just wanted t get some feedback from anyone who has used them in a marathon. Is anyone else running Houston? What is your time goal?

Be smart , go with what your used to. Unless you have trained and raced in the shoe don't risk it. Hoka still has some work to do , shoes are marginal at best.

Bullet to the brain wrote:

Be smart , go with what your used to...

Classic. POD

IrunInCliftons wrote:

Don't listen to either of these two. I've used the Clifton's for runs up to 15 miles since I've had it. Over the 350ish miles I ran in them I've done everything from 200 meter repeats on the track @ 31s, 400s @ 66, 800 in 2:20 at the end of a workout, mile repeats @ 5:20 pace, and 4 5k races on hilly courses ranging from 16:50 to 17:20. The shoe is springy and light (as you know) and has a ton of cushion. I am looking to run a sub 2:45 marathon in 2015 and will most likely use the Clifton for the race. Hope that helped, good luck in your race. The only people that hate on Hoka's are the ones that haven't tried the shoe out and probably run in a Brooks Beast or New Balance 990.

Clifton's what?

Hoka's what??