Saucony Off Record: six runners, 210 miles and a London-to-Paris challenge in under 36 hours

Six runners, 338 kilometres and a target of under 36 hours. On 15 October, Saucony will launch Off Record, a challenge linking its Covent Garden store in London with the site of its future Paris shop. More than a simple relay between two European capitals, the project puts the spotlight on the power of teamwork, physical and mental preparation, and the role of equipment in an unconventional endurance adventure.

The challenge will start at 11 p.m. on Thursday 15 October from Saucony’s Covent Garden store. The six athletes will set off into the night towards Newhaven, cross the Channel and then continue through France to Paris. The goal is to reach the French capital in under 36 hours and set a new fastest time for the route.

A live GPS tracker will record the group’s progress and verify the duration of the challenge. Saucony is framing the adventure around measurable performance, without reducing it to a straightforward race against the clock.

Six backgrounds, one shared ambition

Behind the advertised 210 miles, Off Record is first and foremost the meeting of six individual journeys. Freeman Williams, Lorraine Schaefer Pérez, Maud Merite, Raul Wilmott, Darren Chidas and Kya Hammerton make up a varied team that brings together former track athletes, competitive swimmers and runners who discovered the sport more recently through running communities.

Since July, the six participants have been preparing for the attempt together through training, individual support and team-building. It is a long-term programme designed to meet the demands of a relay over this distance, where the ability to string efforts together, manage fatigue and maintain team cohesion will be decisive.

For Maud Merite, a French runner based in London, the route carries particular symbolic weight because it connects the two cities she considers home. Kya Hammerton, a dialysis nurse and 3:16 marathoner, sums up the group’s mindset: “We’re all different people, with different backgrounds, but we’ve come together to run as one.”

That philosophy echoes Saucony’s “Run As One” tagline, which places community and shared experience at the heart of the sport. To support the six runners, Unsanctioned Athletics, the brand’s strategic operational partner on the project, has taken responsibility for route planning, course reconnaissance and safety. Pursuit Performance, meanwhile, is handling the athletes’ preparation through individualised coaching and physiotherapy support.

The Saucony Endorphin Speed 6 at the heart of the challenge

The other key element of the project is the equipment. All six runners will wear the upcoming Saucony Endorphin Speed 6, the latest generation of one of the American brand’s signature franchises, historically built around speed, faster sessions and race day.

The shoe, which is due to launch soon, features refined cushioning and a new nylon plate. Saucony positions it as a model designed to support runners through fast training sessions and competition. Off Record will give this new version a distinctive proving ground, in conditions that go far beyond the format of a traditional road race.

Across a collective effort covering 338 kilometres, the shoe will have to strike a difficult balance between responsiveness, comfort and support over the course of the relay, as the runners move through the night, cross the Channel and continue along French roads. This is not, however, a standardised product test. Above all, the project is a sporting and editorial adventure designed to put the athletes and their preparation in the spotlight.

“Off Record is about seeing what can happen when six runners come together around an ambitious goal, explains Florian Sievers, Saucony EMEA Senior Director of Marketing. Covering the distance from London to Paris in 36 hours is a huge physical and mental challenge, but the story is just as much about everything it takes to get there.”

The marketing executive also highlights how the group has evolved since the start of its preparation: “Over months of training and coaching, we’ve watched six individuals become a close-knit team, supporting and pushing one another towards a shared goal. They now have 210 miles ahead of them, with the Endorphin Speed 6 on their feet, and we can’t wait to see what they can achieve together.”

An adventure designed as a documentary series

With Off Record, Saucony also wants to extend the experience beyond the challenge itself. The footwear brand plans to document the entire adventure, from the months of preparation to the finish in Paris, through a campaign trailer and a six-episode series focused on the runners, their stories and their experience before and after the relay.