U.S. Trail Running Conference coming to San Luis Obispo in 2018

Trail running industry leaders, race directors, sponsors and athletes will visit San Luis Obispo County next year when Race SLO co-hosts the sixth annual U.S. Trail Running Conference.

The interactive three-and-a-half day educational conference — sponsored by The City of San Luis Obispo — will be held from Aug. 28-31 in conjunction with the SLO Ultra & MTB trail run and mountain bike event that begins Sept. 1.

The conference has been held in Colorado each of the past five years, Race SLO Founder and CEO Samantha Pruitt said in a news release.

“We are fired up to be hosting the US Trail Running Conference,” Pruitt said, “which will be an ideal addition to our SLO Ultra trail run and mountain bike race weekend of events, as we showcase our county’s extensive trail system, collaborate with industry leaders, then celebrate the fast growing sport of trail running.”

The annual conference offers interactive sessions and expert panels covering specific subjects such as best practices, marketing, sponsorship, race management and athlete engagement that are each critical to holding successful endurance sporting events, the release said.

This year’s conference in Estes Park, Colorado, drew 175 attendees from 20 states and included more than 50 professional race directors and 15 running brand vendors.

For more information and to register as either an industry professional or an athlete for the conference, go to: ustrailrunningconference.com.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 6:14 PM with the headline "U.S. Trail Running Conference coming to San Luis Obispo in 2018."