Published October 17, 2018 03:20PM
Kona 2018 Running Shoe Count: Hoka Reigns Again
A look at the running shoes the world’s best triathletes are wearing.
Runners on the Ironman World Championship course. Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Ironman
Running shoe industry expert David Jewell of Runningshoeinsight.com stood out on the Ironman World Championship run course for the eighth year in a row to collect data on which running shoes the world’s best triathletes are wearing. For the first time ever, he counted the shoes during the final, more-spread-out mile of the marathon instead of the first to ensure a higher level of accuracy. After dethroning Asics in 2017, Hoka One One once again prevailed as the most-worn brand—capturing the feet of 17.7% of the athletes. A big mover was Nike in second place, going from 5.7% in 2017 to 14.9% in 2018.
| Brand | 2018 | 2017 |
| Hoka One One | 17.7% | 18.1% |
| Nike | 14.9% | 5.7% |
| Asics | 11.9% | 12.4% |
| Saucony | 11.2% | 12.6% |
| On Running | 7.9% | 6.9% |
| New Balance | 7.0% | 8.0% |
| Adidas | 7.4% | 7.3% |
| Brooks | 6.3% | 8.5% |
| Newton | 3.9% | 5.4% |
| Skechers | 2.3% | 3.7% |
| Altra | 2.0% | 2.0% |
Other brands that show up: Salming, Zoot, Salomon, Topo, Reebok, Fila, Vibram, Kalinji, 361, Do Win, Puma, and others.