Nike Announce The Arrival Of The Ultrafly Trail At UTMB

I’ve often wondered about Nike’s commitment to the trail running scene. For years now a pioneer in road and track racing, with innovations such as their Vaporfly and Dragonfly models, all I can think for their trail offering are a few models such as the Zegama, Kiger and Pegasus Trail.

And as for showing up at events? Not much springs to mind other than a handful of sponsored athletes repping the brand. That us until now.

This summer saw the launch of the eagerly anticipated Nike Ultrafly, their first ever carbon plated trail racing shoe, boasting everything you’ve come to expect from one of their flagship shoes including ZoomX foam. But this shoes is built for tougher terrain with a more secure upper and a Vibram Litebase outsole.

So, fast forward a couple of months and as usual the running world descended on Chamonix for the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc, and so did Nike with an Athlete Camp.

The camp offered the chance for a handful of athletes and influencers in the running space to experience the Ultrafly along with product customisation on their hydration packs, athlete talks from some of those competing during the week, and what they called an ‘exclusive member service’ which allowed attendees the chance to receive expert recovery advice and treatment.

Most exciting of all, was their Scavenger Hunt in the mountains. The activity, powered by the Nike app, quizzed runners before leading them to various checkpoints on the world famous Alps, requiring a photo of each checkpoint before the next location was revealed - all a super engaging way for participants to experience Nike’s trail offering.

The UTMB week ultimately saw some of Nike’s athletes podium in the flagship races and proved Nike’s credentials in the running arena they are perhaps least accustomed to, not least because of their Athlete Camp activation.

Let’s see if in the next few years they can top the podium and topple the likes of Salomon who have dominated the space in recent history.