Elite Endurance Athletes Primed for
The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship
World’s top long-distance runners return to the Bay Area for biggest purse in trail ultrarunning
SAN LEANDRO, California, November 19, 2008 – The North Face Endurance Challenge, a national trail running race series for outdoor athletes seeking to explore their personal limits, culminates in grand fashion on the Pacific shores north of San Francisco on December 6, 2008. The event, in its second year, offers distances of 10K, Half Marathon, 50K, and 50 Miles. It is also the championship event of the global series, where 50-mile participants will compete for the largest prize purse in North American trail ultrarunning. The male and female winners will each receive $10,000.
Many of the world’s most elite endurance runners have registered for the event in hopes of going home with the big prize. The entrant list is highlighted by members of The North Face Endurance Team including , Nikki Kimball, Sam Thompson, Diane Van Deren, Kami Semick, Joe Kulak, Leigh Schmitt, James Bonnett, Guillermo Medina, and Helen Cospolich. Many other elite athletes of the sport, such as Prudence L'Heureux, Anita Ortiz, Uli Steidl, Michael Wardian, Zac Miller, Geoff Roes, Tsuyoshi Kaburagi, and Topher Gaylord are racing for this year’s chance at taking home a piece of the $30,000 prize purse.
In addition to novice and elite runners, the winners of the regional The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-mile races in Bear Mountain, NY, Bellingham, WA and Madison, WI, will be brought out to San Francisco to race for the title of champion (Washington, DC was cancelled due to tropical storm Hanna in early September). The North Face will also be welcoming the winners of the global 103-mile The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc, Chamonix, France.
In addition to the notable cash prize, bragging rights and title, both the male and female winner of The North Face Endurance Challenge Championship will win an all-expense paid travel and entry package to either The North Face 100 in Beijing, April 2009, or The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, August 2009.
“Endurance running is a sport that spans the globe,” says legendary The North Face endurance athlete Dean Karnazes. “We are a thriving community with healthy competition that encourages and inspires each other and others to go farther than ever thought possible. Running in some of the world’s greatest landscapes is an extraordinary experience.”
The start and finish area of The North Face Endurance Challenge will be a celebration of endurance, and a place to relax, recoup and cheer on fellow runners and competitors. Gore-Tex, Accelerade, Zune, Boa, and The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero Program are slated to be on-site, exhibiting top endurance products and initiatives that help make the Endurance Challenge a success. This is an opportunity for families, friends and the core running community to enjoy the beautiful Marin Headlands.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Results of The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-mile Championship, plus the other three distances offered in the event (10K, Half Marathon, and 50K), will be posted at www.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge by Monday, December 8, 2008.
Dates and locations for The North Face Endurance Challenge 2009 events will appear on the website later in December 2008.
Prepare for your next race and purchase what the competitors are training in at www.thenorthface.com or
http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/end_training_prep2.html.
About The North Face®
The North Face, a division of VF Outdoor, Inc., was founded in 1968. Headquartered in San Leandro, California, the company offers the most technically advanced products in the market to accomplished climbers, mountaineers, snowsport athletes, endurance athletes, and explorers. The company's products are sold in specialty mountaineering, backpacking, running, and snowsport retailers, premium-sporting goods retailers and major outdoor specialty retail chains.
Press Contacts:
Pamela Bennett
510.618.3654
pamela_bennett@vfc.com
