At first, the results of this weekend’s 100-mile ultramarathon in Henderson, Nev., seemed clear. Rajpaul Pannu, a 33-year-old runner sponsored by HOKA, had set a new course record in the 2025 USATF 100-mile Road Championships, breaking the finish line tape with an impressive time of 11:52:46.

He’d even set a new personal best from the previous year, when Pannu also came in first place.

It was only when spectators watched a livestream of the Jackpot Ultras that one of them spotted a problem with Pannu’s shoes: They were too big.

Apparently, Pannu was using the HOKA Skyward X, a trainer with a massive 48mm stack height in the heel. That puts the shoe 8 mm over the USATF competition rules for acceptable running shoes. After initially giving Pannu the win over the weekend, race organizer Aravaipa Running disqualified Pannu’s win, moving his participation to an “open result.”

“We recognize that this is an unfortunate situation, and we acknowledge Rajpaul’s incredible performance,” the group said in an Instagram post. “However, as a USATF National Championship event, we are committed to upholding the standards set forth in the rulebook to ensure fair and consistent competition for all athletes.”

Runner Claims Ignorance

As for Pannu, he seemed to take the news with equanimity. In a social media post about the disqualification, he attempted to explain how he made the mistake.

“‘As a pro runner, shouldn’t he know?’ Yes and I hold myself accountable,” Pannu wrote. “It’s important to note that I’m not a full-time professional athlete. My main job is in education. I’ve been a teacher longer than I’ve been a pro runner and do my best to balance both. No one on the course cared about the stack height of my shoes. Not even the USATF official. The protest was filed by someone who watched the livestream. I’m choosing to take the high road in hopes of shedding light on how all championship events could be better sanctioned.”

Pannu then congratulated Cody Poskin, who became the first-place winner after Pannu’s disqualification. Poskin logged a time of 13:26:03, while second-place winner Nathan Brown finished in 13:59:23 and Braden Roggow claimed third with a time of 15:36:55, according to the race results.

In a GearJunkie review of the HOKA Skyward X, we noted that the carbon-plated training shoe “had a whopping 48mm stack that’ll turn the heads of even the most dedicated high-stack enthusiasts.” 

“It only took a few runs to realize that the Skyward X was a very good shoe that defied our expectations, rendering any initial skepticism moot,” reviewer Will Porter wrote. “The ride is just as plush, energetic, and responsive as advertised, from tempo efforts to weekend long runs.”

Whether it’s suitable for competition or not may be a moot point for Pannu, however. He’d never tried the shoes until the week of the race, when he first logged a Strava run in the plush trainers. After cruising through 101.5 miles in about 11 hours and 52 minutes, Pannu titled the session “the best training run of my life.”