On September 27, six athletes were tasked with running 3.2 miles up the technical dirt hiking trails of Colorado's Steamboat Ski Resort--climbing 2,200 feet with an average grade of about 12 percent--with the chance to set a new fastest known time (FKT) and win a massive prize. While normally that kind of "Type II fun" is just for the sake of testing yourself and earning respect within the trail running community, what made this FKT attempt vastly different was the opportunity to earn an athlete sponsorship deal with a trail running shoe brand for the 2024 race season. Yes, that's correct, Merrell created an event to challenge runners to establish a new FKT and was prepared to reward the fastest athlete in each gender with a respectable financial stipend and loads of gear while welcoming them to Merrell's elite athlete team through the next year.

Related Keywords

Salida , Colorado , United States , Colorado State Forest , Aum Ghandi , Reid Burrows , Rachel Tomajczyk , Merrell Test Lab , Mercedes , Morgan , Feet Running Company In Salida , Colorado State Forest Service , Running Company , Four Pass Loop , Fastest Known Time , Terrell , Trail Running , Jeff Garmire , Anthony Kunkel , Sara Aranda , Iegle Gaither , Mercedes Siegle Gaither ,