The North Face Endurance Challenge Lands in Bellingham, Washington

Four-region, nationwide running event for outdoor athletes seeking to explore their personal limits.

SAN LEANDRO, California – March 26, 2008 – The North Face®, the world's premier supplier of authentic, innovative, and technically advanced outdoor apparel, equipment, and footwear, today announced the second stop on The North Face® Endurance Challenge in Bellingham, Washington. The May 10 event is 90 miles north of Seattle and 50 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Hosted by internationally recognized endurance athlete Dean Karnazes, The North Face® Endurance Challenge is a four-region, nationwide running event for outdoor athletes seeking to explore their personal limits.

The event, which offers distances of 10K, Half Marathon, 50K, and 50 Miles, is the series’ second stop in Washington state and first time in Bellingham. Fifty-mile participants will compete for a chance to win $10,000 and a trip to the championships in San Francisco, California.

“The success and popularity of this year’s kick-off event at Bear Mountain was o verwhelming,” said Steve Rendle, President of The North Face®. “We are excited to offer athletes of all levels an opportunity to push themselves in a fun, competitive, inspiring environment.”

The Bellingham course meanders its way amongst rock-climbing areas and bat caves, punctuated by breathtaking views of Mount Baker and the North Cascades to the east. The views of the San Juan Islands to the west, plus the vast Skagit Valley to the south add to the beauty of the course. Elevations bounce between 200 and 2,500 feet, but do not include any huge, sustained climbs. Traverses of broken ridgeline require nimble feet while highly technical sections demand mountain goat skills, with two roped sections to aid in a climb. Overall, the Bellingham courses should be an impressive trail-running test that delivers a balance of fire roads, single track, and double track.

The North Face® Endurance Challenge is again expected to attract some of the country’s top ultra-endurance runners. In addition to host Karnazes, several The North Face® Endurance Team athletes will attend, including 2007 USATF 50-mile national trail champion Nikki Kimball  , and 25-time Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run sub-24-hour finisher Tim Twietmeyer. Many other runners are primed to embrace The North Face® Endurance Challenge as an opportunity to complete a distance they have never previously covered.

“I’m thrilled to continue to share in the enthusiasm around endurance and testing one’s limits,” said Karnazes. “Many people around the globe joined us last year to get outside and test their preconceived notions of what is possible. I’m looking forward to seeing them, and others, as we continue the journey with The Endurance Challenge.”

The North Face® 2008 Endurance Challenge Series totals four regional events and one Championship event. From April through December 2008, four endurance events will span the country, starting in Bear Mountain, passing through the Seattle area, Washington, DC, and Madison, Wisconsin, and culminating with the championship in San Francisco, California. Each men’s and women’s regional 50-mile champion will take home $1,000 and a trip to the Endurance Challenge Championship in San Francisco in December, where $10,000 will go to the top male and female 50-mile finisher. This is the largest prize purse for ultrarunning.

As part of its commitment to community and conservation, The North Face®, in partnership with The Conservation Fund's Go Zero program, will be planting trees to zero out the carbon emissions of this event, including set-up, break down, and transportation.

For more information, please visit: challenge.thenorthface.com.

Be sure to check out Dean Karnazes' Desert Grand Slam, as he runs in five daring desert races.

About The North Face®
The 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.