Mokimor – What Does It Mean And How Do You Say It?

Runner on a trail through a forest

We often get asked, what’s with the name Mokimor? Well. It’s a good question. 

We had other names. We had originally decided on something else. But it didn't sit right. It was too generic and didn’t have any real meaning behind it. So we decided to start again. 

Me, and my partner Alice, sat staring at a blank whiteboard. We both wanted a name that encapsulated what we love about running.  We started chucking up words that described running to us, here in the UK.

Trails. Nature. Outdoors. Exploring. Adventure. Mud. Rain. Hills. Alive. Relaxed. Escape…

It went on for a while. We realised that the runs that we loved the most, the ones that stuck out most in our hearts, were the ones that changed our whole outlook on a day and made us feel alive.

Trail runner on a UK hilltop in overcast weatherTypical overcast UK weather. Perfect for running.

We’ve all had those days when you’d planned to go out for a run but the sofa and a TV-binge are calling louder. It’s cold, dull and dreary outside. It’s warm and cosy inside. You reluctantly get changed, deliberately procrastinating over what kit to put on. Spend way longer than needed planning a route on your phone. Finally, you lace-up the running shoes and head out, saying to yourself that you just need to do a few miles before you can head for home. 

The first minute of cold, dampnesses is never nice. But then it all starts to change. The negativity subsides and there you are, soaking wet, warm and sweaty. The path ahead is empty, it seems like everyone else is on a rest day staying indoors. It’s just you and the Great Outdoors and although it’s not a perfect day, it’s beautiful. You feel alive, you feel energised. You run far longer than you meant to and you get back home – muddy, tired and buzzing. 

So that was it. We knew that we wanted a name that celebrated the reality of running in the UK. It’s not all blue skies and sunshine. We put two words together. One describing grey, overcast, drizzly weather. The other, describing the UK countryside that so many of us run on, or dream of running in when we are pounding the tarmac. 

Mokey – Derived from Moke, meaning misty, drizzly, overcast weather in old English dialect.  

Moor – as in moorland, an open area of hills covered with rough grass, especially in Britain*.

We put the two words together to make Mokimor

We pronounce it mo-key-mor. 

*We also found out at a later date that there’s an old Cornish word for sea, mor. We think this fits pretty well, as loads of us love running on the coast path around our island and Cornwall has a pretty special place in our hearts. Often in pretty Mokey weather too. So, we may well add that to our explanation of our name in the future?

Eddie K
Founder, Mokimor