Family and fitness are crucial for Hayden Hawks, who triumphed in the 100km CCC race at the UTMB Mont Blanc festival. Running across the globe allows him to unite his two passions.
Hawks, a 33-year-old from Utah, has always been drawn to the great outdoors, much like many fellow trail runners. However, his journey into the sport was anything but direct.
Originally focusing on basketball and baseball with aspirations of joining the Boston Red Sox, Hawks later shifted to distance running, securing a scholarship for cross country and track and field at Southern Utah University.
He admits that he suffered with burnout and fell out of love with those disciplines after university and is now grateful for a close friend’s perseverance in getting him back outdoors and exploring the American countryside.
‘I had a friend who would trail run. He was telling me to come a run with him, up this peak that was close to our house,’ he says. ‘So I figured it could be a good way to build some strength, maybe have some fun in the mountains.
‘Growing up, we did a lot of hiking, a lot of camping, outdoor activities as a family. I grew up in the outdoors, we were never indoors. Working with my dad, my grandpa had a farm, so we would do things there, different things like that.
Hawks savours his Courmayeur to Chamonix triumph in the Swiss Alps this summer
Hawks loved his time in Mont Blanc and is taking the family to New Zealand over winter
The Utah-born 33-year-old initially fell out of love with distance running at University
‘I loved being outside, loved the mountains. I saw this as an opportunity for my love for the outdoors and my love for running coming together.
‘As soon as I started, as soon as I signed up for my first races, I fell in love with it. I loved the lifestyle it brought, I loved the people I was associating with within it. I fell in love with trail and realised it was the path I wanted to take.
‘I wanted to be a pro runner but I didn’t know I wanted to be a pro trailer runner. But I’m really happy it’s all come together and I’ve been able to take that path.
‘I think being outdoors is something we try to incorporate into our family as well. We’re in Annecy right now, with the two kids. We travel round the world with the kids, chasing my race schedule. We also do it because we want to expose the kids to the outdoors, different cultures, different environments. It’s been awesome to experience that as a family.
‘It’s something I have a passion for and I’m trying to teach my kids that too. I see it in their eyes when I take them out bouldering, or out a hike, different things like that. We’ve spent all summer picking blueberries in Chamonix and the kids fell in love with the Chamonix Valley.
‘We’ll spend this winter in New Zealand, their summer. We spend six months in the US and six months abroad, being engulfed in nature and everything else we can do.’
Hawks, recognised as one of the best runners at 100km around the world, is now back to his best and ready to excel after some difficult years.
Having won the CCC in 2017, Hawks always wanted to return to the Chamonix Valley and claim a second title in the race.
This year’s success in the CCC was his second victory in the event, following his win in 2017
Seven years after his first success, the American was able to do just that. Though he had to wait seven years between victories, Hawks admits that his second win was worth the wait and gives him the validation he needed when it comes to his career.
‘The first time I won the CCC was pretty incredible,’ he says. ‘It was early in my career, I was only around a year into my career and it was my first 100km.
‘Winning was life-changing. It confirmed that I was doing the right thing, trying to be a pro runner. It brought so many opportunities, not just financial, but opportunities with different races, travel and everything else.
‘This one is similar in that the sport is growing, it’s getting more competitive every year, there’s a lot more opportunities for people to make a living and do this full-time. So to get a win like this, in the biggest 100km in the world, will do so much for me in terms of my contracts, sponsorship opportunities.
‘But mentally and for me as an athlete, I don’t do this for the money. I do this because I love it, because it’s a passion, it’s a lifestyle. To do this after a major injury last year and some rough years between the 2017 win and this summer.
‘I had a lot of good races in between but I just wasn’t able to nail this race down again. So to be able to do that again means a lot to me. Being able to share that with my family and friends was special.’
Hawks has introduced his kids to the joys of the great outdoors, often taking them bouldering
Whilst Hawks’ main goal remains victory at the Western States — an endurance trail run that goes through California’s Sierra Mountain range — he remains content with what he is doing right now.
Though the American could attempt the longer distances, he admits that when it comes to races such as the ones he participates in, fuelling properly is the main aspect of training, rather than learning to cope with the extreme distances.
‘I’m chasing Western States right now,’ he admits. ‘That’s my main goal, it has been for years. I’ve been second and third, so I’m still chasing that win.
‘Until I get that one, until I’m content with that, I’ll just continue to do what I’m doing rather than moving up to the UTMB distance. I’m very happy with what I’m doing in my career.
‘Fitness matters. It’s important to be fit and it’s important to train, work really hard. But there are so many other elements that go into ultra marathons. I feel that 5kms and 10kms are about pure fitness. Whoever is fittest on raceday, whoever has trained the best probably wins. Most likely they’re going to be the best.
Hawks insists he isn’t in the sport for money, but wins like his at the UTMB certainly help
‘Ultra marathons are more mental, more logistics and getting those things down. A lot of the time we’ll say it’s an eating contest than a running one. If you’re not eating, not taking on the proper carbohydrates and hydration, you won’t last. You won’t be able to finish strong.
‘There are too many things that come up in these races that means you have to adapt. So it’s preparing for all those things as well.
‘Then there’s the mental aspect. Being out there for 10-20 hours is not easy. You go through a lot of low points and have to fight through. You have to be mentally strong and tough. It’s rare that it comes down to the fittest person who wins. It’s more often the person that has prepared the best, who has the right game plan and has executed that. I think if you focus on those elements, you’ll do better than just focusing on fitness alone.’
For more information on the supplements Hayden uses to fuel his performance, go to
