OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — Thanks to industry veteran Doug Emslie, the trail running world will meet up in Olympic Valley on June 26, 2024, for the kickoff of a new annual event, the Trail Running Industry Conference (TrailCon), bookended by two premier races, the Broken Arrow Skyrace June 20-23 and the Western States 100 June 29-30.
TrailCon 2025 will bring together running brands, media and thought leaders at Palisades Tahoe and create a forum for trail running on a global scale. This year’s “A Taste of TrailCon” will host panel discussions on June 26 focused on four key growth areas in trail running. Feedback from this year’s event will be used to collaboratively shape the programming for TrailCon 2025.
Emslie is the Chairman of Cuil Bay Capital and the Raccoon Media Group, and the Organizer of the Boston Run Show and the Boston Outdoor Show. His TrailCon Co-Founders are Brendan Madigan, a local Tahoe resident, Owner of the 49-year-old specialty retailer Alpenglow Sports and Creator and Race Director of Broken Arrow; and Dylan Bowman, pro-runner and CEO of Freetrail, a driving force behind trail industry media, and Co-Race Director of the Gorge Waterfall and The Big Alta events.
“I’m very lucky to be able to combine two of my passions at the same time — events and running — with the launch of TrailCon,” Emslie said. “I’ve been helping my friend Dylan Bowman, who’s been building a media business in the trail running community called Freetrail. I told him that I thought the industry needed an event, as it was growing fast, and it needed a forum to discuss current issues and help shape the future direction. We’d been discussing it for a couple of years and then Brendan Madigan, the race director of Broken Arrow, had a similar idea. So, we joined forces.”
The initial goal, Emslie said, was to bring together race directors, brands, athletes, retailers and the media to discuss the current issues in the industry. “Our target was 200 attendees, but we are currently heading toward 350-plus. The first proper event is June 2025; however, we wanted to give the community a feel for what’s coming with a Taste of TrailCon this June. We hope to build this out eventually into a festival with a series of events for both trade and consumers; however, initially, it will be mainly industry-focused.”
Reach Doug Emslie at demslie@cuilbaycapital.com
