When New Balance launched its five-year sponsorship of the Marathon du Mont‑Blanc in June 2025, it wasn’t a signal flare but more of a calculated summit bid. This event isn’t a novelty weekend; since the first Mont‑Blanc Marathon in 1979, it’s become one of the world’s most storied trail races, drawing over 12,000 participants, 300 elite athletes, and competitors from 88 countries across eight gruelling distances.
But for the folks in Boston, this move follows a long ascent into trail running territory. In 1977, a couple of years before the marathon hit Mont‑Blanc, New Balance brought out their seminal trail silhouette, the 355. Jump ahead almost 50 years, and we’re now blessed with the Hierro series – a trail shoe that in its short history has already earned serious respect on rocky paths. (If you’d like to read all about the history of New Balance’s trail running history, you can do so here.)
Again, this partnership isn’t sponsorship fluff. New Balance and the Club des Sports de Chamonix-Mont‑Blanc are promising to amplify live coverage, launch ‘The Young Race’ talent programme, elevate the 42 km marathon profile (not that this race needs any more elevation), and minimise transport-related CO₂.
It’s the kind of layered, long-term activation you rarely see – a strategic foothold, not a fleeting flash in the pan.
Few brands make moves this deliberate. True, New Balance has taken summer in stride with the relaunching of legacy styles like the 1000, giving nods to chunky Y2K silhouettes. But in the realm of running, they’ve taken nothing for granted – the Hierro V9 shows competition-level credibility, the Rebel V5 shows speed, and their partnership with Marathon du Mont‑Blanc proves endurance, elite-level grit, and genuine belonging.
New Balance didn’t treat Chamonix as a backdrop – even though it is arguably the nicest looking backdrop on planet earth – their campaign threaded into feed stations, climbed singletrack alongside amateurs, and showed up at terrace DJ sessions. They didn’t arrive to hijack an experience; they came to co-create one. When they talk about “building a sustainable future for trail running in the valley” it’s not corporate platitude; it’s an action facilitated through improved broadcast, youth engagement, and carbon-conscious logistics.
Now, let’s take a minute to look at the all-important athletes and their podium places.
Davide Magnini returned from a two-year injury hiatus to take 1st place in the flagship Marathon du Mont‑Blanc.
Raoul Raus secured 2nd, doubling down on the New Balance imprint on the podium. All of this after what looks like a pretty serious fall.
Théo Détienne, just 24, dominated the brutal 92 km ultra to claim victory.
Looking at this race from afar – with jealousy and envy coursing through our veins – has been tough. Simply because it looked like so much fun. As an irreverence-filled Manchester-based publication, this is a sentence that seldom comes out of our mouths. And this time we’re referring to running up mountains. Times change.
This sentiment only holds testament to what New Balance did at the Marathon du Mont‑Blanc. They not only made it look like a great time, they actually made it a great time, and everyone seems to have come away feeling like they were part of something special. Maybe next year we’ll sign up. Maybe.
Shop the Hierro V9 here and feel like Davide Magnini as you walk to get your Saturday morning flat white. Or use them for what they’re designed for and go run 92km up a mountain. Up to you.
