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The North Face does quite a bit of its branding work in the ultrarunning space - they have their own race series, sponsor high-level athletes, and have Dean Kar

The North Face does quite a bit of its branding work in the ultrarunning space - they have their own race series, sponsor high-level athletes, and have Dean Karnazes as a spokesperson. But the reason I call it branding is because most actual ultrarunners flock to other shoe brands - Hoka One One, Altra, Brooks. They also know Dean wasn't all that of a top elite in the sport... ever. And the secret is most of North Face's top ultrarunning athletes aren't winning the races actually running in their shoes. All that said, it's a pretty fringe sport and it isn't a bad thing they have gotten involved - as they provide some cash into a sport whose top athletes make in a year what a top software developer makes in a month.

amaks 10y ago
Well, shoes have very individual fit which especially important in ultras.
dwyerm 10y ago
> top ultrarunning athletes aren't winning the races actually running in their shoes. I recall 1993 when Rockport sponsored the Leadville Trail 100. They released a specialized trail-running shoe called the Leadville Racer. At the same time, someone invited the Tarahumara to give the race a try and Rockport offered them their fancy shoes. They changed back to sandals at the race's first aid station. Then the next year they set a race record running in the same sandals -- the ones they built out of leather straps and discarded tires from the Leadville landfill.
- yoodenvranx 10y ago
  Isn't this a part of the book "Born to run"?
  - dwyerm 10y ago
    It could have been, but I haven't read the book. I was doing race operations for the LT100 (FoxPro 2 and NetWare Lite), so I saw a lot of it personally. I used this RunnersWorld article to get my dates right: http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/tarahumara.html http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/tarahumara.html
- ErikAugust 10y ago
  Ha - awesome that you saw this first-hand. It is definitely in Born to Run.

amaks 10y ago

Well, shoes have very individual fit which especially important in ultras.

dwyerm 10y ago

> top ultrarunning athletes aren't winning the races actually running in their shoes. I recall 1993 when Rockport sponsored the Leadville Trail 100. They released a specialized trail-running shoe called the Leadville Racer. At the same time, someone invited the Tarahumara to give the race a try and Rockport offered them their fancy shoes. They changed back to sandals at the race's first aid station. Then the next year they set a race record running in the same sandals -- the ones they built out of leather straps and discarded tires from the Leadville landfill.

yoodenvranx 10y ago
Isn't this a part of the book "Born to run"?
- dwyerm 10y ago
  It could have been, but I haven't read the book. I was doing race operations for the LT100 (FoxPro 2 and NetWare Lite), so I saw a lot of it personally. I used this RunnersWorld article to get my dates right: http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/tarahumara.html http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/tarahumara.html
ErikAugust 10y ago
Ha - awesome that you saw this first-hand. It is definitely in Born to Run.