Field Journal

Written by: Daniel Neilson // Photography: Jake Baggaley // Film: Summit Fever Media
Produced in Partnership with HOKA and Pro:Direct

Less than three years since her first ultra, Charlotte Fisher is enjoying podium finishes. We join her as she takes her first run in the HOKA Mafate 5, on her favourite trails of her native Isle of Wight.

It’s time for the long run. The one you’ve been preparing for. The culmination of weeks, probably months of training. Perhaps you approach it with a sense of excitement, or maybe a glance of nervousness, or, more than likely, a pulsating mixture of the two. The morning of the long run is the one you spring out of bed, perhaps with a tingle in your tummy. The preparation is over, your clothes laid out. Nutrition tested and planned. You’re at the start line, tightening your laces, adjusting your running vest. And, whether you’re running alone, with friends, or as part of a race, you’re off. It’s happening. There is now only one step after another to the end. You now have the luxury of time. Time with your thoughts, time to explore conversations with your friends, time to think, to plan, time to reflect. Every long run is a test, every long run is an adventure.

For Charlotte Fisher, her most significant long run was a circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight back in November 2024, banking a fastest known time in the process. But it wasn’t supposed to be that way. She wasn’t supposed to do it. Or at least not then. In November. But, like a long run, nothing in life is ever predictable. It’s a matter of rolling with the bumps, and, to extend the metaphor a little too far, the ups and downs.

We meet Charlotte jumping off the ferry on the Isle of Wight early on a summer morning. The sea mist is washing the skies white, but it’s warm and atmospheric. We’re doing a long-ish one, not the 114.4km on the Isle of Wight coastal path when Charlotte bagged her FKT, but 18km along some of the finest, and most iconic, coastline in southern England.

We set off from Brook Bay on the south-western coast of the Isle of Wight, heading east past Shippards Chine and Compton Chine. Chine is a word only used on the Isle of Wight and in Dorset, and means a deep, narrow ravine, usually formed by water cutting through the soft Isle of Wight sandstone.

Through Freshwater Bay and past a memorial to Alfred, Lord Tennyson, the Victorian Poet Laureate and island resident. It’s the highest point on this side of the Isle of Wight, before the chalk ridge that forms the backbone of the Isle of Wight, comes crashing into the sea at The Needles, the three chalk sea stacks, one abutted by a lighthouse, that is one of the most famous sights in England.

It is an opportunity for Charlotte to get a first test of the new HOKA Mafate 5, its pinnacle technical trail shoe, its increased cushioning and protection designed specifically for longer distances. It’s also a chance to learn more about Charlotte and, as her Instagram bio has it, ‘a talent for running abnormally far’. It’s an undeniable truth. Since beginning her ultra-running passion just two years ago, she finished second female in the Lakeland 100 and third female in the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB. Both remarkable achievements, and now she has qualified for the UTMB itself in Chamonix.

‘For me, my biggest achievement was my first ultra,’ she says. ‘I had so little expectation of it. But there was also my performance at Ultra-Trail Snowdonia this summer because I knocked off 13 hours from my previous time the year before, which in a year is quite a big improvement.

Long-distance running, she explains, has been transformative. ‘It’s helped my mental health immensely. The extra time outdoors has led me to live a healthier, alcohol-free lifestyle. Just general fitness and wellbeing promote mental health for me.’

Although she excels at ‘abnormally far’ distances, her runs aren’t just about miles and times. ‘For me, the joy of running is being outdoors. It’s a moment where my brain can just get some calm and focus on the task at hand. It’s like meditation for me. I have such a busy life that when I’m out running… that’s my time.’

‘My bread-and-butter trails are the coastal paths around Compton and Freshwater Bay,’ she explains from where we find her today. ‘They’re where I get my elevation in, and I personally find they’re the most beautiful trails on the island.’

It has also brought her closer to the natural world of the Isle of Wight. ‘Due to high mileage and running at all times of day, I see lots of foxes, badgers, and even occasionally a pig,’ she laughs.

Charlotte runs like a natural, too, quickly getting into the flow. It looks effortless. As we return to the start point, we ask her first impressions of the HOKA Mafate 5, the first time she’s run in them.

‘I’ve worn HOKA shoes for every ultra I’ve ever run. I find them really comfortable and responsive. I don’t get foot issues when I wear them, and they’re the shoes I can always rely on.

The Mafate 5s were comfortable straight out of the box, and they’ve got great grip on the trails I’ve been using them on. They feel supportive and durable, which is important because I clock up a lot of miles. Comfort is the number one key for me.’

‘I can’t wait to take them to the trails of Chamonix to train for UTMB next summer.’

For more details on the Mafate 5s, visit prodirectsport.com