Event Recap | 2024 Chuckanut 50k

Packet Pickup

Packet pickup was Friday night before the race and was where we saw the most amount of our engagement, particularly with runners. This is also where we heard a common refrain through the weekend, “oh, we didn’t know SCARPA made trail runners!” Most people we talked with throughout the weekend had familiarity with the brand through climbing, approach, ski, hiking, and mountaineering product, but little to no knowledge that there was also a full trail running lineup.

Interacting with runners before the event, we had a lot of positive responses to the shoe lineup in general, as well as positive sentiment towards both shoes available to try on, the Golden Gate ATR 2 and the Spin Planet. Most everyone who tried on both pairs of shoes enjoyed the fit, with runners slightly preferring the stiffness and feel of the Spin Planet, while spectators/friends/partners tended to enjoy the cushion in the Golden Gates. Almost everyone was surprised at how wide the shoes fit versus their perception of how European shoes would typically fit them.

Despite this general trend, we did have one runner who was looking to retire an old pair of Hokas and was struggling to find a shoe that fit properly. He tried on a pair of Golden Gates and after cruising around the parking lot, elected to run the 50k in a pair of demo shoes!

Race Day

Race day was a fair bit slower at the booth than packet pickup, as for most of the morning there were few, if any, spectators. The race started at 7am with the first wave of runners, with most finishers coming in between 1pm and 3pm. We did talk to a good handful of spectators and supporters as the day went on, and again mostly received “oh, we didn’t know SCARPA made trail runners!” We did interact with more people that had no knowledge of SCARPA and were able to talk about the brand with them.

Overall, this was an incredibly positive event for SCARPA’s brand awareness in the trail running scene, and a great event to be a part of. The only other non-local brand sponsoring the event was Trail Butter, leaving SCARPA as the only trail-run specific brand with a presence.

Morris ran the 50k in a pair of Golden Gate Demos, and remarked how comfortable they were and good he felt afterwards