Field Journal

Written by: Daniel Neilson // Photography: Jake Baggeley, Jake McKenna & John Summerton // Film: Summit Fever Media
Produced in Partnership with HOKA

These are for the long run. The run you’ve been thinking about, building up to. The HOKA Mafate 5 are designed for serious distances and a serious amount of time on the trails, whether in one go or back-to-back training runs. They’re built to protect your joints from the constant thud of a long run and to protect your feet from the stones, rocks, and roots of the trails. Unapologetically spongy – or ‘plush’ to use HOKA’s parlance – with the HOKA Mafate 5, you’ll be bouncing over the finish line, knees intact.

We’ve heard from Lucy Gossage and Charlotte Fisher, ultra-distance runners who are very good at what they do, and they swear by HOKA running shoes for the trails. We spoke to them after their first runs in the Mafate 5, and the results were overwhelmingly positive.
Lucy Gossage, winner of the 268-mile Montane Winter Spine Race across the Pennines, said: ‘I’ve been using HOKA since I first did the Montane Winter Spine Race and I just find them super comfortable. That’s the most important thing for me: comfort. The Mafate 5s are shoes I feel I could wear all day and keep going without getting sore feet, which for the kind of stuff I do is pretty important.’

Charlotte, trying them out for the first time on the Isle of Wight while looking ahead to the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB), said, ‘I’ve worn HOKA shoes for every ultra I’ve ever run. I find them really comfortable and responsive.

‘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.’

​All very good first impressions. And, truly, like all HOKA shoes, they are very comfortable from the start. The other first impression is that sponginess, that plushness; HOKA claim there is more cushioning in the Mafate 5 than ever before.

​But how are they after a bit of time? I definitely don’t cover the distances that Lucy and Charlotte do (nor anywhere near as fast), but in the build-up to the Beachy Head Marathon, I’ve been training in them for a few weeks and have so far clocked up around 120km wearing the Mafate 5.

​The overall sentiment from wearing them is one of confidence. Confidence that they’ll keep me injury-free and confidence in my footing on the sometimes very slippery chalk trails and woodland where I train. Some shoes feel heavy and sluggish, or just a little fragile. Not these. The HOKA Mafate 5, given its cushioning, is exceptionally responsive on the trails. These are shoes that move with you, picking up the nuances and micro-adjustments in your feet and toes, working with them. There is none of that clompy feel some maxi shoes have, and, as a result, no concerns over stumbling on that upcoming root.

The secret, perhaps, is what HOKA call the MetaRocker. Sadly, it’s not a nickname for a San Francisco post-punk fan, but it is a balance rocker in the shoe that matches the runner’s gait, springing you forward. It stops that flattening in the middle of the shoe, even in my size 11s. It helps too that the shoe cradles your heel from the midsole. A positive lacing helps too. I found them snug and close. The tongue is best described as minimalist, but it is at least unobtrusive, as it can be a literal sore point in some shoes.

HOKA’s designers have also incorporated a dual-density foam designed to protect you from what’s below the shoe, as your body lands on top of it three times a second. It’s a delicate balance between connecting with the ground below you and not feeling every rock and root, but HOKA has achieved it with these.

Adding to this is an aggressive Vibram Megarip outsole with 5mm lugs. In genuinely tricky terrain, it performed brilliantly, and that is accentuated by the cushioning that envelopes the rocks and sinks confidently into the mud. Speaking of which, the HOKA Mafate 5 also has an attachment for a lightweight gaiter (sold separately).

Every run has a different reason. Every runner is different. The HOKA Mafate 5 is not going to be your fastest pair of shoes, but if it is cushioning and comfort you’re after – for, yes, the long run – then these are the best I’ve ever tried.