OLYMPIC VALLEY, Calif. — Thanks to industry veteran Doug Emslie, the trail running world will converge on Olympic Valley on June 26, 2024, for the kickoff of a new annual event, the Trail Running Industry Conference (TrailCon), headlined 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 in Palisades Tahoe and create a forum for trail running globally. This year, “A Taste of TrailCon” will host panel discussions on June 26 focused on four key growth areas for 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 Raccoon Media Group, and the organizer of the Boston Run Show and Boston Outdoor Show. His TrailCon co-founders are Brendan Madigan, a Tahoe local, 49-year-old owner of specialty retailer Alpenglow Sports, and the creator and race director of Broken Arrow; and Dylan Bowman, a professional runner and CEO of Freetrail, a driving force behind the trail industry’s media, and co-race director of the Gorge Waterfall and The Big Alta events.
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“I’m very fortunate to be able to combine two of my passions at once – events and running – with the launch of TrailCon,” Emslie said. “I helped my friend Dylan Bowman, who started a media company in the trail running community called Freetrail. I told him I thought the industry needed an event because it was growing so quickly, and needed a forum to discuss current issues and help shape future direction. We had been talking about it for a few years, and then Brendan Madigan, the race director at 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 media to discuss current industry issues. “Our goal was to attract 200 attendees, but we’re currently moving toward 350+. The first real event will be in June 2025. However, we wanted to give the community a taste of what’s to come with a Taste of TrailCon in June. We hope to make it a festival with a series of events for both professionals and consumers. However, it will initially be primarily industry-focused.”
Contact Doug Emslie at demslie@cuilbaycapital.com