The North Face named Atmosphere as a presenting sponsor of The North Face 2016 Endurance Challenge Series Ontario event, which will be held at Blue Mountain Resort on July 16-17, 2016.

Atmosphere, which operates about half its 50 outdoor specialty stores as shop-in-shops from FGL Sports flagship Sport Check chain, will be the official retail sponsor for the event and have title sponsorship of one of the longest races of the event, the Atmosphere 50K.

“We’re proud to be partnering with Atmosphere, a company that truly believes in the importance of getting outside and enjoying the outdoors,” says Scott Gellis, General Manager, The North Face Canada. “Now in its third year in Canada, the Endurance Challenge motivates runners at all levels to experience the trails and push their physical limits. Through this partnership, we have an opportunity to introduce more Canadians to the sport of trail running.”

The iconic Endurance Challenge race series was born out of ultra-marathon runner Dean Karnazes’ 2006 quest to run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days. The North Face launched the race series the following year and it has since grown into a full-weekend festival with a challenge for every fitness level. In 2014, Ontario was added to the race schedule and since then, the event has seen an increase in participants year after year.

“We are always looking for new ways to connect with, and support outdoor enthusiasts in Canada, and partnering with The North Face Endurance Challenge Series is yet another way to accomplish this,” says Keith Lambert, Sr. VP, Supply Chain & General Manager, Atmosphere.  “We’re thrilled to be a part of such an inspiring event that continues to grow in popularity among Canadians year-after-year.”

Registration for all distances in the Blue Mountain stop of the series is now open. The Endurance Challenge Championship offers the largest prize purse in the sport of trail racing ($30,000 total), awarding $10,000 to the top male and female runners in the 50 Mile distance.  The series of weekend race festivals takes place between April and December in six locations across North America with each event including seven distances ranging from 5K to 50 miles and a Kid’s 1K race.

The 2016 race schedule includes:

  • April 9-10 – Algonkian Regional Park, Sterling, Virginia (Washington DC)
  • April 30-May 1 – Bear Mountain State Park, Bear Mountain, New York
  • July 16-17 – Blue Mountain Resort, Blue Mountain, Ontario, Canada
  • September 17-18 – Kettle Moraine State Park, Eagle, Wisconsin
  • September 24-25 – Park City Mountain Resort, Park City, Utah
  • December 5-6 – Marin Headlands, San Francisco, California

FGL Sports Ltd. is Canada’s largest national retailer of sporting goods, offering a comprehensive assortment of brand-name and private-brand products and operating more than 400 stores from coast to coast, under the following corporate and franchise banners: Sport Chek, Sports Experts, Atmosphere, National Sports, Intersport, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Hockey Experts, the Tech Shop, Pro-Hockey Life and S3.