I’m not a runner. At one point, I almost was, but the simple joy of walking and the efficiency of cycling left this pastime in an exercise no man’s land.

But last summer, when my knee wasn’t letting me ride the way I used to, I turned to a bit of trail running to keep the heart rate up and, to my surprise, had a lovely time.

A very lovely time.

In a few short miles a week I started to discover why this sport has taken off in recent years.

The Problem
But as I did, I realized very quickly there were no events for someone like me to add the joy of achievement to my hobby.

For this reason I loved the concept of the Discrete Peak Series, but even the promo photos made it clear that unless your knees were at a certain point or youth or health (mine were not), the event may not be for you.

Early bird discounts on the #DiscretePeakSeries hosted by @JulianCarr! Learn more:https://t.co/Amr5yDpcuz #pushpeaks pic.twitter.com/f1SZ6BT5xz

— Protect Our Winters (@ProtectWinters) May 3, 2016

So although I had my eye a couple of these races, I didn’t pull the trigger.

One Step Further
But last week during my usual rounds on Twitter I saw something. A brand that took the idea of a trail running event and made it something virtually anyone could do.

Join us every second Thursday for the inaugural Pow Mow Trail Trials! Link below for all info & online registration.https://t.co/1WocuheUAa pic.twitter.com/YNh5SzLTKl

— Powder Mountain (@PowMow) July 6, 2017

Will there be climbing? Yes. It’s taking place on top of a mountain after all. But the emphasis seems to be less on distance/vert and more of running/fun. In their words:

“Pow Mow Trail Trials is a timed fun run series for our growing local running community. Our goal is to familiarize our guests with Powder Mountain’s summer trail network, while enjoying beautiful landscapes, tacos, refreshments and raffle prizes at the end of each race.”

Details beyond that are a bit scarce, but the direction is awesome.

Strong Concept
There is something undeniably thrilling about crossing a finish line. But for trail runners and those just getting into the sport, the only options have been clustered on the far end of difficulty spectrum.

In other words, the only way to feel that thrill is to go all-in. Something most folks’ schedules are bodies don’t allow. Ultra-junkies may scoff, but I love that Powder Mountain and Salomon are trying to give the same opportunity to the rest of us.

All with the bonus of giving their skiers more ways to stay involved during the warmer months and non-skiers a taste of what their mountain has to offer.

Good stuff.

About Gregg & SlopeFillers
I've had more first-time visitors lately, so adding a quick "about" section. I started SlopeFillers in 2010 with the simple goal of sharing great resort marketing strategies. Today I run marketing for resort ecommerce and CRM provider Inntopia, my home mountain is the lovely Nordic Valley, and my favorite marketing campaign remains the Ski Utah TV show that sold me on skiing as a kid in the 90s.