Of all the questions that we get at Spartan Race HQ, many of them revolve around gear, specifically shoes.  Having the right footwear for a Spartan Race is a big part of the equation for race day success and Spartan was excited to announce our partnership with inov-8 shoes earlier this year as the official shoes of Spartan Race.  In fact, Spartan HQ rocks the shoes on and off the course ourselves!

inov-8 staffers in Chris's old pants

Recently, our own Chris Davis headed into the inov-8 offices to get fitted for a new pair of shoes.  We’ve been following his weight loss journey and road to the Spartan Ultra Beast September 22^nd that began with him at 696 pounds and has him currently weighing in under 300.  With only a hundred pounds to go, some new shoes would help him meet his goal and assist in his training.  Chris is a Spartan Race veteran, so he knows what kind of courses we throw at athletes and what he’ll need to be successful in training and on the course.

Helping in the effort was the amazing team at inov-8 who invited Chris

Getting Fitted

and Spartan staff onsite to get him laced in for his upcoming Amesbury race and his training towards the Ultra Beast!  The inov-8 team of Caitlin,  Nicole, and Lizzie will also be joining Chris to run their first and his third Spartan Race in Amesbury on August 11^th.  

From a recent blog post by inov-8,  Caitlin Fenn explained how they chose a shoe for Davis and what he can expect from his new kicks:

“Chris used to have trouble with fitting into his shoe size, and now we are helping him choose a shoe that will help him scale walls and climb mountains. Chris was a little worried that he wouldn’t be able to fit into a size 13, because he has a wide foot and had heard that our shoes were narrow. He also used to have to wear a size up because of the width of his feet. But since he’s lost so much weight, he was back to his normal shoe size, and they fit great!

 Chris had never worn minimalist shoes before, so we are transitioning him slowly. We gave him a pair of Road-X 255, our 3 arrow, 9mm drop road running shoe for his road and hard trail training, and a pair of Terrafly 313 GTX (also a 3 arrow 9mm drop) for his hiking on the mountain. He said he could feel the difference between his motion control shoes that were prescribed to him for over pronating. He liked the lightweight feel of the minimalist shoes and we talked to him about natural running and pose running, that with training, could help strengthen his feet and ankles. He was also excited because his last shoes held water and mud and had no grip during the Spartan Race in PA he did last weekend.”

We’ll be tracking Chris’s progress and finding out about his new shoes!  And stay tuned to hear about some other inspirational inov-8 Athlete’s we’ll be introducing you to and check out the inov-8 website for more information on how you can get into your own pair!

Inspired and want to get in on the Spartan action?  Get registered today!

About inov-8: inov-8 designs products to be lightweight, minimal and functional. Inov-8 shoes give runners the confidence and freedom to run hard through any environment and over any obstacle. The aim of our footwear is to keep the foot close to the ground so that runners can feel and adapt to the terrain beneath them. We offer a range of soles and cushioning. Each shoe provides the optimum grip and comfort for the terrain — from road to rocks, mud to sand, the mountains to the box.

Tags: chris davis, inov-8, spartan race