October 2025. A month that will go down in INOV8 history. From Reunion Island to Tennessee via the Pyrenees and Asturias, our athletes overloaded on grit and guts to reap the glory.
Yannick Noël – Diagonale des Fous
Widley-regarded as one of the world’s toughest mountain ultramarathons, this 177km brute on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion always draws a stellar field of uber-strong distance runners. This year was no different.
Amongst the strongest was Yannick Noël who, just seven weeks after finishing 7th around Mont Blanc, ran one of the races of his life to place 2nd behind fellow Frenchman Baptiste Chassagne.
Yannick clocked 24:27:33 for the south-to-north crossing of the island, racking up a mammoth 34,000ft of ascent in the process.
He said: “My performance was above my expectations. I couldn’t imagine such a result, I am so happy. It was one of my best performances – I ran a complete race and made no mistakes.
“My favourite moments were the sunrise and the finish, which was crazy emotional. The hardest part was the climb of the famous Maïdo – about 2,000m of vertical gain under the heat of the sun.
“It completes a good year for me. I think one of the main reasons for my success in 2025 has been a better sleep pattern. I’ve also done more training of a higher quality and practiced for the specific of races. For example, I did a lot of work in advance of Diagonale des Fous, so I was ready to face the big steps on the island path."
Yannick’s Race Kit Picks: TRAILFLY™ MAX | RACEPAC 8 | ACTIVE CAP
Read More: A Day In The Life Of Yannick Noël
Tom Spencer – U23 Sky Running World Series
Set up in memory of Esteban Olivero, the hugely talented INOV8 France athlete who tragically lost his life in 2023, the under-23 world sky running crown was decided at the series final in Spain.
The Asturias mountains was the setting for a tough, technical 17km race that included 3,100ft of ascent.
INOV8 youngster Tom Spencer went out hard from the start and returned the victor in a rapid 1:18:02, ahead of Spanish duo Ibai Lallra and Marcos Villamuera.
It was Tom’s second win in the series following his triumph at the Corendon Tahtali Run To Sky Race in Turkey. He also recorded 2nd place finishes at Tatra Trail (Poland) and Mourne Sky Race (Northern Ireland).
He said: “After a fun season of races against some great runners, I was really pleased to win the U23 world series.
“Going into the final race, it was a shootout for the overall series title, so I climbed hard and held onto the lead until the end.”
Tom’s Race Kit Picks: MUDTALON™ SPEED | AIRLITE PRO VEST | RACE ELITE WAIST
Read More: Top Downhill Running Tips
Sarah Perry – Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships
Sarah Perry made history when setting an incredible new Backyard Ultra Women’s World Record of 95 laps (also called yards).
Competing at the 2025 Big's Backyard Ultra Individual World Championships in Tennessee, US, she exceeded the previous women’s world record of 87 laps, set by American Megan Eckert in 2014.
In the process, Sarah also set a new UK national record, bettering Matt Blackburn’s previous record which also stood at 87 laps.
The INOV8 athlete was the last woman standing in the race, with Eckert racking up 92 laps as her nearest challenger.
Sarah eventually dropped from the race with an increasingly sore back injury shortly after completing lap number 95. In total, Sarah was racing for 95 hours (almost four full days).
She said: “The first thing I said when I finished was that I was disappointed to not get to at least 100 yards. With some time to reflect, I'm very proud of what I achieved. I had a really difficult race, but I did what I set out to do: my very best! I left it all out there and ran until I couldn't anymore.
“I'm shocked but thrilled to have the women’s world record. I may only hold on to the crown for a short while, but the experience was mega and will be etched in my memory forever.”
Sarah’s Race Kit Picks: ROADFLY™ MAX | RACEPAC 8 | AIRLITE PRO TEE
Read More: Q&A With World Record Holder Sarah Perry
Angels Llobera – Brama 100k
The Brama 100k is a tough three-stage mountain ultra in the Eastern Pyrenees mountains. The epic route winds its way through lots of rugged landscape and totals about 20,000ft of ascent.
Angels bounced back from her recent disappointment at being unable to compete in Chamonix by taking the win in a time of 14:13:14.
Angels' Race Kit Picks: TRAILFLY™ ZERO | RACEPAC 20 | AIRLITE PRO TEE
Read More: The Gear You Need To Tackle An Ultra
The results of Yannick, Tom, Sarah and Angels were backed up by those of several other INOV8 athletes throughout the month of October.
The team continues to grow from strength to strength.
*Photo Credit (in order): Grand Raid Reunion - Imaz Press, Urriellu Visual, Jacob Zocherman & Brama Stage Run.
