Post-Event Recap: TrailCon Preview Builds Momentum for Two-Day Event in 2025
July 16, 2024
A new event has officially launched for the trail running community: TrailCon: The Trail Running Industry Conference, an annual gathering of trail running brands and enthusiasts, media, industry executives, and thought leaders.
Designed to provide a forum for dialogue, inspiration, and collaboration to help shape the future of the global sport, the debut event kicked off with “A Taste of TrailCon,” a preview held on June 26 at The Village at Palisades Tahoe. The event attracted 379 retailers, brands, athletes, race directors, and media.
Staged against the stunning backdrop of Olympic Valley, Calif., the event consisted of panel discussions with 20 speakers, including some of the biggest names in trail running, like Catherine Poletti, Craig Thornley, Billy Yang, Sally McRae, and Wes Allan, focused on four key growth areas in trail running – Events, Media, Brand & Athlete, and Retail – and concluded with a vibrant networking happy hour.
A Taste of TrailCon panelist David Callahan, Co-CEO of UltraSignup, expressed excitement about the energetic event leading into next year’s two-day edition.
“I think TrailCon has a bright future, and I’m excited to see what next year brings,” he said. “I’m really excited to watch the maturing process of this industry into its next phase. I believe there are bright and innovative things on the horizon for us all.”
Intentionally scheduled between the iconic Broken Arrow Skyrace and the Western States 100, two of the trail running industry’s premier races, TrailCon is the brainchild of trade show industry veteran Doug Emslie, an avid runner and the majority owner of Raccoon Media Group, along with two partners: professional runner Dylan Bowman, CEO of Freetrail and co-race director of Gorge Waterfalls and The Big Alta, and Alpenglow Sports Owner Brendan Madigan, event creator and race director of Broken Arrow Skyrace.
Bowman spoke enthusiastically about the preview event’s positive attendee feedback, which will help shape the programming for TrailCon 2025.
“We were delighted by the strong response from the community for the first trail running event of its type in North America,” he said. “On behalf of Brendan Madigan, Doug Emslie, and myself, I would like to wholeheartedly thank all our speakers and attendees for their support in launching TrailCon, a much-needed platform for our sport, and look forward to welcoming them back to TrailCon 2025.”
In an exclusive interview, TSNN caught up with Emslie to learn more about TrailCon and what participants can expect from the 2025 gathering.
What are the plans for TrailCon 2025 and what will be its main components? Will there be an expo along with a conference?
This year was a Taste of TrailCon, just four hours of content and networking. Next year will be two days and while mainly focusing on the industry and its challenges, we will start to introduce some consumer elements. Big topics will be DEI and sustainability—as the sport grows, how do we get a broader representation of participants and how do we protect our trails?
As far as an expo, that hasn’t been decided yet, as that’s part of the discussion with the brands and how they want to activate. But it certainly won’t be a traditional one.
Why launch the event as a B2B rather than a B2C?
The industry is at a crossroads and needs a platform to discuss its issues that have come from rapid growth. B2C is important and we will start to introduce that next year.
What were some of the biggest industry topics and issues covered in the panels at A Taste of TrailCon?
The consolidation of races with the big guys buying up the independents, the challenges of brands selling direct to consumers, and the challenges of live streaming races. Live streaming is accelerating participation and growth of the industry.
Coming away from this preview event, do you feel like you generated some good interest and momentum, and what are your hopes and intentions for the show next year?
The event has met with universal approval, as all stakeholders want to discuss the major issues and help shape the future direction. It’s important that we keep the debate going in a civilized and collaborative way and include all stakeholders. We definitely have good momentum for next year.
Attendees were very engaged, wanting more time to debate and to network. This is a passionate community that wants to develop the sport and be inclusive. Expanding to two days will allow everyone to get involved in the discussions.
TrailCon 2025 is set to return June 25-26 to The Villages at Palisades Tahoe.
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