GLOBAL running shoe company HOKA staged its Speed Camp recently at the Philsports track oval in Pasig City, with participants, including top varsity athletes, giving high marks to the newly-launched Mach X 2 running shoes during the day-long session held under noted track and field coach Emerson Obiena.

The camp had the runners, some of them HOKA Running Club members who had ran the HOKA Trilogy, being taught the proper form and technique in sprinting, which included drills supervised by Obiena, the father-coach of ace pole vaulter Ernest John.

The mentor had help from Khrizzie Ruzol, the 2019 SEA Youth athletic meet gold medalist and UAAP Season 85 women’s pole vault champion; former Palarong Pambansa and National pole vault champ Sean Harry Narag, National Open U18 titlist Francis Allen Sillar, Mejen Sumbongan and Jessamarie Libres.

“Sprint drills can significantly improve a runner’s time. For a lot of these runners, understanding the importance of proper execution is a game-changer,” Obiena, a pole vault silver medalist in the 1993 Chiang Mai Southeast Asian Games, explained. 

Based on the consensus of the campers who wore the HOKA Mach X 2 during the workouts, Obiena said the shoes drew raves for “its good cushioning, adaptability and responsiveness. “The Mach X 2 performed well. It’s joint-friendly and reactive. Each step felt smooth, and this technology definitely supports a runner’s ability to boost speed.

“Definitely, the running shoes is good for tempo running and cross training,” Obiena, who also wore the shoes during the workout, said during the session that concluded with mini tests for the participants to display what they learned from the event.

HOKA Phils. Marketing Manager Sharon Salvacion said the “Mach X 2 is engineered to enhance runners’ performances and times. We’re thrilled with the positive feedback we’ve received from participants about the shoes.”

An improved version of the highly-popular Mach X, the second-generation running shoes boasts an extra-resilient high-tech midsole and an extended patented Pebax plate providing greater support and propulsion, according to Salvacion.

“These enhancements become formidable tools for runners who are aiming for peak performance,” she noted.