Montrail and Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories Unite to Co-Sponsor Ultrarunning Team

February 24, 2006 (Seattle, WA and Sharon, PA) — Montrail and Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories today announced a new alliance — the co-sponsorship of the Montrail-Nathan Ultrarunning Team. Montrail, which manufactures trail running footwear, has sponsored an endurance running team since 1997 and ultrarunning events since 1995; grassroots support of the trail and ultrarunning community has been a foundation of the company’s marketing ever since. Nathan, as the new co-sponsor of the team, will help outfit the team with apparel and its own products, which include hydration and nutrition systems, running packs and accessories for elite runners and other endurance athletes. Other sponsors of the Montrail-Nathan Ultrarunning Team, including Clif Bar, First Endurance, Petzl, and Smartwool, will help, as Nathan’s credo states, “enable athletes to redefine what is humanly possible.”

The Montrail-Nathan Ultrarunning Team is composed of 90 athletes competing nationally and regionally in Ultrarunning races. Notable athletes include Hal Koerner, Colorado Trail record holder and Karl Metzler, perennial winner of the Hardrock and Wasatch 100 mile races. Krissy Moehl Sybrowsky not only manages Montrail’s running promotions program, she became the youngest woman to complete the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning in 2005. Team members also take on other phenomenal bipedal feats, such as David Horton’s record-setting run of the Pacific Crest Trail last year, or Sue Johnston’s climb of all 48 New Hampshire’s 4,000-foot peaks in every month of the year.

While Montrail and Nathan clearly aim to support individuals’ larger-than-life endurance goals, they also rely on athletes’ feedback as key to product development and evolution. “Last year, Nathan was fortunate enough to have our first round of prototypes tested by the amazing athletes on the Montrail team, who not only refined products, but helped develop new categories such as the Women’s Series,” says Nathan’s Marketing Director Megan Russell. “We look forward to building that relationship and supporting the team in our new co-sponsorship role.”

Montrail embraces its relationship with such a technical and user-focused brand as Nathan. Sybrowsky reflects, “This is a natural collaboration. Montrail offers the best footwear available, supporting our athletes from the ground up, and Nathan fuels them to the finish line.”

About Montrail and Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories

Montrail is committed to creating the best-fitting, high performance and high quality footwear for outdoor enthusiasts. The Seattle, Washington-based company, established in 1993, distributes its products throughout the United States and in 29 countries worldwide. Montrail is recognized as the best-selling outdoor footwear brand for trail running, hiking and climbing. For more information, visit www.montrail.com.

Nathan Human Propulsion Laboratories’ line of hydration and nutrition systems, running packs, accessories, and reflective gear are designed by and for elite athletes, so that athletes of all levels can redefine their own “humanly possible.” Nathan’s Human Propulsion Laboratories are the beautiful and grueling terrain in which we compete and develop our products, so that endurance athletes, like ultrarunners, can go further and faster. Based in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, Nathan Performance Gear is a subsidiary of Penguin Brands, Inc. For more information, visit www.NathanSports.com.

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