Dan Dehlin Wins Grand Island Trail Marathon

Grand Island, Michigan – Dan Dehlin, seasoned trail runner and upper Midwest Vasque sales rep, placed first in the Grand Island Trail Marathon this past Saturday July 28th in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Vasque, a leading outdoor footwear manufacturer, was an official shoe sponsor of the event.

At 27, this is Dehlin’s first win for this particular race and he claims, “after two years of finishing second, I was set on climbing up to the top spot.” The trail includes single track, two track, and narrow dirt roads with stunning views of Lake Superior from 300 foot sandstone cliffs. As an athlete who gets to test trail running gear first hand, Dehlin states that “after 26 miles, you never think it will come down to a sprint, but it must have been the new Vasque Aether trail running shoes that pulled me through.”

Also finishing this race was Dehlin’s colleague and Vasque Senior Product Manager, Brian Hall. Hall finished over 45 minutes ahead of where he finished this same race two years ago and proudly states, “I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to blend my passion for trail running with my profession.”

Both Dehlin and Hall will be working the Vasque booth throughout the Outdoor Retailer Summer Trade Show later this month in Salt Lake City, Utah. At the show, they will compete in the third annual Uphill Challenge event hosted by Trail Runner magazine where athletes race to see who can cover the greatest distance on an incline trainer in 15 minutes. Don’t miss Dehlin and Hall competing on August 10th at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively (booth # 5050). Last year’s event attracted an uproarious crowd to see who would win the titles of King and Queen of the Mountains.

ABOUT VASQUE
As a company that designs footwear to fit the specific needs of its customers, Vasque has a team of accomplished athletes that report straight from the mountains and trails. This hands-on relationship ensures that Vasque shoes perform in real conditions time after time. The Vasque commitment to developing products inspired by those who wear them has naturally created forty years worth of long-term brand loyalty. The current product line includes award-winning trail running, multi-sport, hiking, backpacking, and mountaineering collections, with a kids’ line due out this fall.

As a testament to its support of trail runners, Vasque is sponsoring the 2007 Vasque North American Trail Tour. To learn more about the 75 trail running events ranging from 5k’s to Ultras, check out www.vasque.com.