Camille Herron leaving Hoka, going to ... ?

Maybe I’m having an off night, a bit depressed maybe, I don’t know. But a thread dedicated to pondering the next sponsor of Camille Herron just feels like one of the lamer threads in Letsrun history.

Altra fails the “new to ultra/trail” test, so that seems unlikely.

Puma was the first name that came to mind for me.

You're having an off night, this is nowhere peak lameness for LR.

It’s Li-Ning running shoes or Anta.

ONLYFANS?

Dani Moreno one is big as Tollefson and Herron are past their prime and Moreno is just truly coming onto the world trail scene... thinking Moreno lands with Nike or Salomon. Tollefson could join Bowman in podcasting purgatory.

I don’t know how anyone types with a straight face that Herron is past her prime. She set multiple American records within the last two weeks, some her own, which is kind of the opposite thing.

You’re likely right. Should have kept my comment to myself. She is a very good ultra marathoner just felt like a bit of a stretch to be discussing what little arm warmers she’ll be promoting on her socials. Like, what other job is someone getting paid >30K and having folks clamor online to see what on their footsies.

Dani is not as solid as you say. She really hasn't won anything noteworthy. If you look at the Salomon series races she has placed "well" in you'll see she is way off the front. There are few top ladies in series and a lot of B tier women so in essence she isn't one of the best in trail by a long shot, sub ultra world. Same with herron, she is overpriced considering she is racing events that aren’t popular nor draw top athletes. I mean her events dont even have prize money so she is protected from top african ladies even. Hoka nor any top brand is willing to pay her for sandbagging uncontested, uncompetitive track ultras. I think Hoka is trying to get top girls in mountain as they pretty much have the top tier men in short to long but for women they are lacking with short and even mid range ultra. Herron hasn't really flourished in trail ultra where the majority of top women are primarily heading/racing. January 1 announcements gonna be insane!

In 2 days should start a whole new thread titled just that.

Craft is my guess.

Camille stated in her post that the company she is signing with is new to Ultra/trail.

Craft is not new to trail running. Heck they have a shoe called the Ultra Trail.

This also eliminates Brooks. They've been in the game with shoes for a while.

It's not On either. Or New Balance. Or Altra.

Puma has no skin in the game for the trail/Ultra world as of now. They've got the carbon plated shoes already. They've been spending a lot on athletes and a lot on women athletes. They also have the $$$ to compete with the "big boys" of trail running. That, as of now, is the most logical guess.

I feel like it could be Skechers but they've had some shoes in the Ultra category for a while (MaxRoad Ultra and the RazorTrail or whatever it is called. They've got the carbon plate technology and the marketing $$.

Maybe Diadora? Li-Ning? Although neither of these two would move the needle for their US sales overall by signing her..and Herron isn't moving the needle at all worldwide, sorry Camille.

A couple of disorganized thoughts here:

- I think Puma, like so many others have suggested. They are all-in on distance and certainly don't have a trail presence now.

- I wonder if she was cut/offered a reduced contract, or if she genuinely left on her own? Hoka would be fools to cut her. I think she is one of the better-recognized Hoka athletes, and with Scott Fauble leaving and Steph Bruce retiring, they are running out of social media posters.

- But then again, we were shocked that Saucony didn't keep Molly Seidel, and turns out Saucony went on to experience massive revenue growth with the success of the Endorphin line. Perhaps dollars are better spent in developing product and messaging compared to sponsoring athletes.

- The fact that two other ultra runners were not renewed makes me think that Hoka might be pulling away from the trail business line. Perhaps they wished to keep Herron, but she understood that more trail developments were unlikely.

imagine an athlete that takes a free flight and accommodations to an event to appear on behalf of a sponsor and uses that time to go around looking for a better deal while on the current sponsors time. grateful on the gram because it's good for the brand, but always looking for a better deal to feed the need for attention. her latest track stunt 100 mile "record" was to put a result down after all her DNF's at competitive events this Fall to get her new contract over the top. she's cashing in with a company looking to make strong headway in the domestic usa market. she'll never be a UTMB star

also, hoka marketing strategy is evolving. more money towards events and less for athletes. plus, athletes under contract have to commit to a schedule that is heavy with UTMB series races in the MUT scene.

puma sounds like a good guess. lululemon might also be a possibility (big brand, new to trail?), but their aesthetic doesn't quite match with camille.

update - dani moreno just posted she's leaving rabbit as her apparel sponsor as well, so it sounds like she has a deal lined up with another brand.

Rouge IPA shoes.

Atalanta NYC

She is joining the flockers and heading to Oiselle!!!

I mean they are all about women and aren't currently in the ultra/trail world...at least from what I remember.

You mention Saucony and it reminds me of how much she and the world of shoes have changed. She used to post here and sometimes mentioned that she did nearly all her running in the Saucony Killkenny.