STRAVA CHALLENGE BACKGROUND

I sign up for a lot of branded Strava Challenges–I’m usually already running the mileage or vert needed to achieve them, and I’m super interested in how brands use the platform.

Hoka’s recent “Be the GOAT Challenge: Vertical” stood out for me:
Timed to celebrate the release of the latest iteration on Hoka’s most popular trail shoe, the Speedgoat 6, the challenge was to run/walk/hike 11,000′ of gain between July 15th and Aug 15th. There were a handful of prizes for the overall winners and a digital badge and, fairly unique for these challenges, a physical pennant flag for everyone else that finished.

After signing up I pretty much forgot about it. I finished & here’s what they sent me:

The branded mailer, flag, stickers and postcard were all nicely done: nice printing and the “GOAT” and “Hoka x Strava” text were embroidered. With nearly 64,000 participants and over 8,000 finishers they must’ve sent out a lot of mailers! Not sure why they didn’t reference the challenge’s raison d’être, the Speedgoat 6 launch, on the flag or stickers.

Anyway, it all arrived ~5 months after the challenge concluded so it wasn’t ’till I read the card that I remembered what it was all about.

REVIEW & BIG IDEA SUGGESTIONS

“GOAT” makes sense – both as shorthand for Greatest Of All Time, and as the name of their flagship Speedgoat shoe, but the rest of the campaign elements kinda confused me. Why 11,000′ of gain? 11k’ in 30 days isn’t G.O.A.T-worthy by trail running standards–and it’s the Speedgoat 6 launch not, uh, the 11. And why 30 days?

If they’d made the gain goal 60,000′ the GOAT title would’ve felt more appropriate. A 6,000′ goal would’ve included a lot more finishers, and 6,000 meters could’ve highlighted their French roots while being a more aspirational: it’s nearly 20,000′

In any case, if both the Speedgoat 6 launch & the Strava community were a BIG priority I’d have considered running the challenge for 36 (6×6) days, supported by a new content piece every 6 days. Content like this:

• Hoka athlete-influencers running steep iconic routes, like:
  • Haleakala Sea to Summit, Maui, HI: 10,000′
  • Cactus to Clouds, CA: 10,000′
  • The WURL, SLC, UT: 18,000′
• Run clubs doing a “gain day” – changing their route to include as much gain as possible: send ambassadors to run clubs with a bunch of Speedgoat 6 demo shoes and get video of participants running the steepest stuff around. The wider range of scenic to absurd hill repeats the better!
• Emphasize Hoka brand store locations: they’ve got at least 8 in the US, let’s see their employees’ closest favorite hill. It might be just the steepest street in the neighborhood or a parking garage’s stairs but the Speedgoat can tackle that too—and we’ll all get to see where these stores are located.
• Push the competitive angle: the winner of the challenge got a year’s supply (12 pairs) of shoes and entry into a US UTMB race. Good motivator! Expand it to also offer coveted golden-ticket race entries to the top 3 on the leaderboard on say, the 6th (it’s the Speedgoat 6 remember?) day. Record live Facetime calls with the top 10 as they run, or get ready, on the 6th day. What trail are they choosing? What’s their nutrition and weather-related plan?
• A series of local 6,000′ gain routes: maps and quick video cuts from routes close to the top 6 US trail-running cities.
• Closing ceremonies: highlight the grand prize winner and make a compilation of FaceTime closing check-ins from a diverse array of leading participants.

Get the plan out to the PR team ahead of time, push the content’s greatest hits out on social — all of it on the Strava challenge & club pages, and on trail-runner targeted emails, and cement the Speedgoat as the top-of-mind trail running shoe for the core user group.

All that takes a lot of planning & prioritization, and I’m sure Hoka had their hands full just trying to execute their proven GTM playbook.

Still, if Strava keeps growing I bet we’ll eventually see promos like this: where the Strava challenge becomes a focal point for supporting marketing activations, rather than a supporting activation itself.

For now, Hoka got another strong IRL brand touchpoint, AND the names & addresses of Strava super-users, like myself, who like to run up hill!
Plus, they did something different.
Thanks Hoka!

Last modified: June 17, 2025