The is one of the latest panel discussions from TrailCon 2026 that Freetrail has published.

This past summer’s third-annual TrailCon event was the best one yet. In this state of the sport panel, David Callahan, the co-CEO of UltraSignup, Stephen Holmberg, the founder and CEO of Insight Accelerator, and Jenny Karn, Senior Director at the Sports & Fitness Industry Association discus what the trends, data and rise in mainstream visibility reveal about health of the trail running economy, including race participation, format shifts, consumer habits, and more.

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Author

UltraSignup

Founded in 2009 by a trail runner for trail runners, UltraSignup is trail running's home for race registration, results and rankings — hosting more than 6,500 events across North America, more than any other platform in the sport. Beyond race registration, UltraSignup produces original journalism, video and podcasts through Trailhead Media, tours the country with its Dirt Circus festival events and stewards the U.S. Trail Running Conference. Find your next race at ultrasignup.com.
At UltraSignup, we believe trails are for everyone. UltraSignup exists to bring the trail running community together to push beyond: further than we thought we could, into the wild places worth standing up for, and toward a bigger future for the sport.