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.