The Running Event (TRE), the largest running industry trade show in North America, was held November 29 to December 1, 2022, in Austin, TX. Established in 2006, TRE has become the “go-to” event for footwear, apparel, accessory, and service brands to display their newest technologies, products, and gadgets. The event is also a great place to make connections with other trail running industry leaders and professionals and learn about running in all of its forms. The three day event featured 279 exhibiting companies, 38 educational sessions, and welcomed more than 1,350 retailers and event management professionals, and over 3,200 total individuals.**
On the show floor were familiar brands such as Brooks, HOKA, Osprey, Birkenstock, The North Face, Nike, GU, Salomon and Garmin, as well as up-and-coming players including Lowa Boots, Vionic, BioLite, Sayso Shades and Farm To Feet. Mixed in with the expo were several outdoor/trail running specific events and presentations including a “Trail Cleanup,” “Summit at Switchback” networking event, and a presentation by the American Trail Running Association (ATRA), “Connecting To The Trail Curious Community,” featuring ATRA president Adam Chase, ATRA event specialist Peter Maksimow, Head of Public Relations and Trail Strategy at Saucony, Sharon Barbano, and Event Director for TransRockies Events, Kevin Houda McDonald.
ATRA President Adam Chase and Founder Nancy Hobbs. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
ATRA first became involved with TRE in 2018 when organizers launched their first trail-specific running content at The Trailhead. Revamped this year, “Switchback at The Running Event,” highlighted the outdoor industry and trail running specific content. In 2022, TRE aimed to increase the “Switchback” content with more outdoor related brands, discussion panels and activities. Four representatives from ATRA attended the event to help support this new and growing focus on the trail and outdoor industry at TRE. These ATRA representatives included Chase and Maksimow, as well as event specialist Robert Sherburn and executive director Nancy Hobbs.
Chase spoke on his gratitude for leading the ATRA educational panell and how it raised discussion that furthered ideas of inclusion in trail running, “The panel was packed full of information and suggestions as to how to help trail running grow and be more inclusive. As I told the three panelists ahead of time, the emphasis of “Connecting to the Trail Curious Community” was on the “I” of DEI and all three, Sharon Barbano, Peter Maksimow and Kevin “Houda” McDonald had great insights into ways to invite road runners, hikers of all ages, shapes, sizes and colors feel welcome to group runs. We discussed safety, the low cost of entry, incentives of post-run bubbly water and/or beer, and making the activity non-competitive or threatening. All three of the panelists kept the discussion lively and I believe the audience benefited from their diverse advice and thoughtful answers to my questions. It was flattering to be up there with all three of them!”
Author and running shoe expert Brian Metzler. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
Sherburn presided over the ATRA table and facilitated in-person discussion and networking with brands and key figures in the trail running space. He had the following to say about the energy in the room, trail-related content and promising connections with current ATRA members and potential members, “Traffic was certainly up at this year’s TRE and the stoke was high for the Switchback Base Camp. The latest iteration for the growing trail running niche at TRE, Switchback hosted a meet-and-greet networking event kicking things off on Wednesday morning November 30. In addition, Summit at Switchback followed on Thursday afternoon, as a dedicated hour to re-group, rest, and connect with like-minded attendees. The Training Camp Theater saw robust attendance each day. Every panel on a variety of topics including, Removing Barriers to Entry and Building a Diverse Community enjoyed a full house and lots of engagement from attendees. I made contact with many of our existing ATRA members and thanked them for their continued support. Additionally, I reached out to prospective members with personalized invitations.”
Maksimow spent most of his time documenting the event through his photography, and also made connections with several prominent shoe brands. He was intrigued by cutting-edge shoe technology coming into trail running featuring the recent integration of carbon plates into trail running from the road running shoes. Maksimow shared his reflections on the event and the new focus on “supershoe” development, “We have all been anticipating it, finally a TRE show back where we could be bare-faced and interact freely. What a great feeling to be back in person, sans masks! TRE 2022 was the largest event to date, hosting the most vendors since its inception in 2006. That just shows the consistent growth of the running industry, regardless of world striff, economic downturn, or pandemic.
The common theme of the show, as far as trail shoes goes, was carbon, carbon, carbon. The trend has finally hit the mainstream trail world with the likes of The North Face, Scott, Hoka, Saucony, Craft, Terrex, Nike and the list goes on. Much like the road supershoes, these are typically maximally cushioned and have a carbon plate sandwiched between the soft, marshmallowy midsole. It has taken a few years for the carbon trend to make it into trail shoes–compared to road shoes–but now most brands have now incorporated the technology into the trail market.”
Scott Running, a 2022 TRE exhibitor, recently designed one such high-performance carbon-plated racing shoe, the Scott Ultra Carbon RC, using a Carbitex plate. Learn more about the shoe, key technological features, and how it was designed with the aid of Cody Lind, elite ultrarunner sponsored by Scott Running in the video below.
Maksimow was also impressed by a new shoe brand Vimazi, and shares his thoughts on what makes them unique, “One of the standout shoes that I tested was Vimazi, a “Pace-Tuned Shoe” with six specific pace ranges, from 4:30-5:30 min/mile up to 10:00-12:30 min/mile. The founder and scientist behind the brand, Scott Tucker, has helped pioneer trail running shoes while he was president at Montrail Running and involved in creating shoes for Pearl Izumi and Scott Sports. Watch out for this brand as two trail-specific models will debut in 2023.”
Hobbs was delighted to be back at TRE this year after missing the 2021 event and said, “The vibe this year was electric. The action was nonstop starting with morning runs along the river trail, education sessions throughout the day, happy hours, and evening get togethers. This has become the top running industry event to learn about new products, to network, and to interact with old and new friends in the business.”
If you are a running industry professional, race director, or run specialty owner, consider attending next year’s TRE to be held November 28-30 in Austin, Texas.
Sean Van Horn from long-time ATRA member La Sportiva. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
** According to the TRE 2022 Editor’s Report.
