The best conversations in this industry happen when the right people are in the same room. Outside Endure was built around that idea.
On May 28th, 2026, athleteReg and FinisherPix brought together event directors, athletes, and industry leaders for an afternoon of honest, unscripted conversation during the Outside Industry Conference at Outside Days in Denver. The group spanned bike, run, ski, and tri. Everyone in the room is building endurance sports and shaping where it goes next.
Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside, opened with a view point: the endurance world has done a great job serving the core enthusiast. The growing opportunity is building better on-ramps for the casual athlete and the person who hasn’t found their way in yet.
Mike McCormack of Breck Epic described the afternoon as absorbing rather than listening: “Event producers, content creators, athletes and media people, everyone connected by purpose and passion. I didn’t leave the campus. I floated from it.”
What the room was saying
Victoria Brumfield of USA Triathlon framed the bigger picture: “Races create the ecosystem around sport.” With LA28 and the Olympic triathlon coming home to America, the conversation turned to what that moment could mean for event participation well beyond the closing ceremony.
Corinne Shalvoy of American Trail Running Association brought it back to the event level. There is room for every kind of event in this sport, from grassroots and low-key to highly produced and competitive. “Define what you want to be. There is enough space for everybody.”
Jenn Dice of PeopleForBikes made the case that trail access and bike infrastructure aren’t just policy issues, they determine who gets to show up at the start line. Shawn Sullivan of Running USA spoke to youth, retention, and the value of learning from endurance verticals outside of running.
On the event promotion side, Jamil Coury from Aravaipa Running talked about how live-streaming Cocodona 250 propelled live event coverage to an opportunity for event and sport exposure to the masses. Mike McCormack unpacked what it actually takes to build a brand that participants feel genuinely connected to. Rebecca Brough and Rebe Dunn pushed the conversation toward access, the gender gap in cycling, and the active role events can play in welcoming newcomers.
The operations panel got honest about the hard stuff: scale, crisis communication, vendor relationships, destination partnerships. Lance Panigutti of Without Limits Productions has navigated wildfires, weather calls, and everything in between. His approach: when something happens, communicate it openly, authentically, and fast. Athletes can handle hard news. What they can’t handle is a hollow press release that leaves them guessing.
The athlete panel brought it home. Brittany Charboneau on joy. Annijke Wade on adaptive access. Rachel Entrekin on trail running’s growing visibility and what events can do to make newcomers feel like they belong. Amy Charity on what makes riders come back year after year to events like SBT GRVL.
Lonnie Somers of Hal Sports offered a line that stayed with the room: “The finish line isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of what’s possible for you.”
This is the beginning
Outside Endure was a first. It won’t look exactly the same next time. But there will be a next time, and if Denver was any indication, this community has a lot more to say.
More to come.
If you’re an event director looking to grow, connect, and build the kind of events people return to, athleteReg is here for it. Log into your event director dashboard to see what’s new, or start your free account today.
