A year that started with a mind-blowing record run and ended with an all-conquering award win… 2024 rocked our world. Twelve months of sweat, grit and resilience across trails, mountains and gyms worldwide boiled down into one end-of-year blog post. Here we go.
JANUARY
The year starts with an almighty bang as INOV8 athlete Jack Scott wins the 268-mile Spine Race, dubbed Britain’s most brutal ultramarathon. Not only that, but he also smashes the course record – set previously by Jasmin Paris in 2019 – by more than 10 hours, with Damian Hall in second place.
Jack is immediately thrust into the national media spotlight and takes it all in his stride, retelling incredible stories of his 72hrs 55mins on the Pennine Way, England’s oldest National Trail.
Just a few days later he’s on stage at the National Running Show in front of a mammoth crowd, then selflessly poses for photos with excited ultra running fans for more than two hours. What a guy.
At 57 years young, INOV8 legend Nicky Spinks finishes joint-fourth woman at the Spine Race in 111hrs 40mins.
Elsewhere, we launch a new repair service from our UK brand stores as part of the RENOV8 project to keep gear in motion for longer. At the same time, doors open at our first city-based UK brand store, in Sheffield.
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FEBRUARY
We excitedly reveal our new look and feel following a first rebrand in 21 years of proud INOV8 history. Gone is the hyphen from our newly simplified name, while the foot logo is replaced by a bird’s talon signifying our past, present and future.
To mark the major milestone, we launch the first shoes from a coming-of-age footwear collection that incorporates our biggest-ever design changes. The changes include a new foot-contouring fit to work naturally with the foot, enhancing strength and movement for runners, hikers and gym athletes.
“The new identity and footwear collection are game changers,” INOV8 founder Wayne Edy tells journalists.
“They’ll supercharge us into the next two decades with a modern look and feel, while retaining the heritage upon which we’ve built our success.”
Key product launches this month:
TRAILFLY, TRAILFLY SPEED, MUDTALON, BARE-XF, F-FLY
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MARCH
Friend of the brand Jasmin Paris makes headlines across the globe by becoming the first woman to complete Barkley Marathons, the world’s most notorious ‘100-mile’ ultra.
She completes her fifth – and final – loop in a total race time of 59hrs 58mins, narrowly beating the 60-hour time limit and sparking incredible scenes in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee, US.
Damian Hall goes close too but fails to finish his fifth loop following a navigational error in the dark.
Elsewhere, we open our sixth UK brand store, this time in York, while on the other side of the English Channel, the INOV8 France athlete team meet-up and begin their preparations for a big season ahead.
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APRIL
The month begins with the launch of our new RAINFLY trail running shoes with incredible OCTOPLUS suction grip. Safe to say, it fools lots of people!
Truthful animal inspiration, however, is not far away as soon afterwards we launch new waterproof hiking footwear inspired by mountain goats. Using innovative rubber cleats shaped like the alpine acrobat’s super-grippy hooves, our new ROCLITE collection begins sticking it to the competition.
The 2024 Lakeland Trails series gets off to a flying start at Hawkshead. The event series once again proves a big success throughout the year, with our retail partner Pete Bland Sports always in attendance, whatever the conditions.
Another UK event, the iconic Three Peaks Race, sees 562 finishers, with huge numbers clamouring to get entries for 2025’s now-sold-out 70th anniversary race.
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MAY
Yannick Noel crushes the competitive 112k ultra race at Volvic VVX in France to take the win, with INOV8 team-mate Manu Gault in third. And they’re not the only ones enjoying some podium time – Andy Berry, Nichola Jackson and Ludvik Fernandes all achieving top three placings at big races in May.
Going super-long is Laura Swanton Rouvelin, one of only four finishers to make all the cut-offs at the brutal Hardmoors 200-mile trail ultra. Sarah Perry, meanwhile, sets a new women’s record for the 630-mile South West Coast Path (England’s longest National Trail) in 13 days, 11hrs and 31mins.
Alle Bailey stars on the front cover of Women’s Running magazine, opening up about alcoholism, depression, ultra running and much more ahead of a 13-date UK stage tour.
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JUNE
Top training athlete Shelby Neal joins INOV8 and immediately books her place at the 2024 CrossFit Games by placing 5th at the North America East semi-final.
Attention then shifts to the Turf Games in London and a brilliant weekend sees 4,000 athletes put to the test through super-competitive workouts.
Back at HQ, the party begins as INOV8 officially celebrates 21 years in the innovation fast lane. Celebrations are heightened with news that the new
TRAILFLY running shoes are landing awards and five-star reviews.
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JULY
Nichola Jackson retains her women’s English Fell Running Championship crown for a second year then heads to HQ to join other UK INOV8 athletes for session on inspiring future design developments.
The INOV8 long-sleeve running top worn by Jasmin Paris when making history at the Barkley Marathons goes up for auction, raising £5,000 for charity.
Ambassador Claire Allen completes an incredible 4,000-mile hike around the entire coastline of Great Britain, doing so in 50 weeks and using five pairs of INOV8 footwear.
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AUGUST
Chamonix once again stages the world’s most famous trail running festival, UTMB, with thousands thronging to the mesmerising mountain location.
INOV8 athletes Yannick Noel and Laura Mayniel both record outstanding top 10 finishes among elite fields – Yannick placing 9th in the 176km UTMB race and Laura 10th in the 145km TDS event.
The F-LITE MAX – our most technical fitness shoe ever – launches. Featuring new patent-pending TPU heel stabiliser technology, it brings greater foot control when lifting heavier weights, a revamped anatomical fit for more natural comfort, as well as improved grip and agility.
The CrossFit Games take place in Fort Worth, US, but the community is left heartbroken by the loss of athlete Lazar Dukic, who tragically dies during the competition. Shelby Neal places 23rd.
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SEPTEMBER
Former Royal Marine Commando Mitch Hutchcraft begins his epic 12,000km triathlon challenge from England to Everest. The INOV8 ambassador swims the English Channel in brutal conditions before starting a bike adventure to India that will last into early 2025. He then hopes to run and hike to Nepal before summitting the world’s highest mountain.
Meanwhile, Sarah Perry is at it again, this time breaking the women’s record by four hours at the 180k 13 Valleys Ultra in the English Lake District. Sarah’s finishes first woman and fifth overall.
Engineered for the extremes, the ROCLITE PRO MID GTX gets its launch. Our most technical hiking boot ever made, it immediately sparks big interest.
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OCTOBER
Following a hiatus, we re-enter the road running space with a shoe that reconnects runners to the road. Bucking the carbon plate and high-stack trends, the ROADFLY immediately stands out from the crowd and draws lots of attention.
“This is the type of shoe that the running shoe market has desperately needed for many years” says Sagasu Running, and “I would not change anything about this shoe INOV8, you have a winner” adds Road Trail Run as the reviews start to flood in.
Elsewhere, Sarah Perry (yes, again) sets a new Backyard Ultra UK women’s record of 59 laps (245.8 miles), and Yannick Noel (yes, again) wins the Endurance Trail Race at the prestigious Les Templiers festival in France.
The Turf Games roll into Manchester and deliver another epic weekend of workout competition.
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NOVEMBER
The events come thick and fast with Kendal Mountain Festival, The Running Event and Rogue Invitational all drawing big crowds.
Our Endurance Session at Kendal Mountain Festival sells out, with a huge audience engrossed by the stories of 2024 ultra running stars Jack Scott and Jasmin Paris. Up in Scotland, Tayla Kalise Howe is among the INOV8 athletes raising the bar at Rogue.
The new TRAILTALON range of shoes land and become an instant favourite with our athletes. An evolution of the popular ROCLITE series, the super-versatile TRAILTALON shoes tear through mud just as confidently as they cruise over hard paths.
Living and breathing the brand, INOV8 staff member Lee Demain completes a ‘40 workouts in 40 hours challenge’. Throughout the year, fellow team members achieve inspiring feats in their sports too.
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DECEMBER
Dani Speegle – a 5 x CrossFit Games athlete and one of the fiercest competitors in the sport – rejoins the INOV8 athlete team ahead of 2025.
The popular powerhouse also emphasises her desire to continue the progress made by her #GirlsWhoEat movement. Dani says: “We want to empower women to live their lives unchained by societal norms. We are fuelling our bodies to change the narrative, to inspire, and to create the unimaginable.”
The year ends with another major product award as the TRAILFLY is named ‘Trail Running Shoe of the Year’ by Run 4 Adventure.
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