In August, Strava marked the iconic and prestigious Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in Chamonix with a special two day event, TrailBlazers. It brought together its community members, grassroots partners and journalists in the Alps to shine a light on the rising popularity of trail sports, and discuss how access to the outdoors can be more inclusive.
To tackle the important issue of representation in trail running, hiking and access to the outdoors generally; Strava hosted a panel event to give a platform to some of its key partners as well as the influential figures paving the way in increasing inclusion and accessibility to the outdoors. Panellists included Strava partner, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys of Black Trail Runners, and Haroon Mota, who set up Active Inclusion Network and is a champion of increasing diversity and inclusion in the outdoors.
Strava also hosted a trail run and hike in the mountains, and the team were joined by Strava’s CEO, Michael Horvath, as well as other members from the senior leadership team, who took part in the outdoor excursion. The event celebrated the adventure and exploration that the outdoors provides and coincided with new Strava data which revealed that the growth rate of trail sports is outpacing the growth of running and cycling on paved routes. In the last two years alone, Strava has seen the number of hikes uploaded grow by over 100%.
Seven Hills were delighted to join Strava on the ground in Chamonix, supporting the panel preparation and working closely with the Strava team to secure UK journalist attendance. We also supported with a data story about the UK’s favourite hikes, with coverage secured in The Daily Mail.