EXEC: Outdoor Brands Chase Run Opportunity at The Running Event

December 8, 2025

The Running Event (TRE), held last week in San Antonio, TX, drew more outdoor brands to the Switchback section of the industry trade show this year, many of whom were seeking ways to drive growth in the run specialty channel.

According to figures published by Diversified Communications, parent company of TRE, 60 outdoor-focused exhibitors participated in Switchback, up from 45 presenters at last year’s show.

Overall, TRE, which moved the show to San Antonio due to renovations at the convention center of its former site in Austin, TX, packed 357 exhibitors within 100,000 square feet, up from 336 in the 90,000-plus square feet of space at the old exhibition hall.

The exhibitor numbers were below the over 190 that showed at the first outdoor-focused Switchback Spring held in June in Nashville, TN. While some outdoor specialty stores were in attendance, many of the outdoor brands exhibiting were there to drive growth in the run specialty channel. SGB MEDIA