GP14 World Championships 2026 at Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club - Runners and Riders - Sail-World.com

The IRONMAN World Championship run course has always brought us some late-race heroics and drama. This year, Kona was no different, with the winning move in the race not happening until after mile 20 of the run course. We almost had both winning moves in the men’s and women’s races happening at the exact same moment on course; this writer can’t remember a time when that’s ever happened in Kona. Alas, the race had other plans. But we’re not here to relive the race itself. Instead, we’re here to look at the shoes that the fastest runners in the field used this past weekend. As a reminder, this is not the top 10 finishers at the IRONMAN World Championship; no, we’re looking specifically just at the time they took to run the marathon. As has been the case for a while, we see a lot of variety amongst our top 10 men and women runners, with Adidas, ASICS, HOKA, New Balance, Nike, On, and Puma all represented. ASICS had the most athletes wearing their shoes, followed by On and HOKA, respectively. Something interesting, though: there’s no real consensus on models worn even within these brands, outside of “part of the carbon racing line.”

October 04, 2026Words: Images: A summer sun is coming up over the Rift Valley as the runners begin to gather. In Eldoret, Kenya, on the roads and trails that have carried generations of world-class runners over clay, grass, rock and pavement, a group of nine athletes laces up for an early-morning session at the Lornah Kiplagat Sports Academy. By the time morning light reaches the track, the work is already underway. Huddled at the edge of the track is a team of Nike Running experts closely watching the athletes, who include some of sport’s top runners. Among them: Jacob Kiplimo, a half-marathon world-record breaker and Brigid Kosgei, an Olympian and marathon world-record setter. During the next few days in late July, these athletes — along with Eliud Kipchoge, the first man to run a sub 2-hour marathon distance, and Faith Kipyegon, the world’s fastest woman miler — will run in shoes the rest of the world hasn’t yet seen, testing prototypes; comparing them with previous versions; and sharing feedback with product, sports marketing and performance specialists who have traveled thousands of miles to hear what they have to say.

The 32-inch wheels have been making their way into XCO for months, but it is clear that we are only at the beginning. After the prototypes that have already competed in the World Cup, the real arrival could take place starting this winter and, above all, with the start of the 2027 season. The responses from the riders point to more 32" MTB for 2027