Vasque Welcomes the Gore-Tex Brand for 2008 North American Trail Tour

Red Wing, MN (November 26, 2007) – With the widely acclaimed 2007 Vasque North American Trail Tour rapidly drawing to a close, lead sponsor Vasque Footwear today announces an exciting new partnership for the upcoming season. Joining Vasque as a supporting sponsor for the 2008 series will be W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., a recognized leader in high-performance climate comfortable fabric innovation, design, and production.An award-winning designer and manufacturer of trail running shoes, Vasque launched The North American Trail Tour in 2007 as an event-based sponsorship program. During its first year the tour included more than 75 short to mid-distance trail events throughout the United States (see http://vasque.com/in-action/trailtour/ for the schedule). Retail partners included Ute Mountaineer, Hudson Trail Outfitters, Extreme Outfitters, and the Seattle Running Company. Each event brought together consumers, retailers, sales reps, and athletes of all levels from the trail-running community.

Welcoming Gore as a supporting sponsor enables Vasque to expand the tour’s reach even further. In 2008 the series will include more than 100 trail races with events scheduled to be held within the United States and Canada.

“From our perspective,” says Brian Gallagher, Global Marketing Footwear Strategist for Gore, “this is a great opportunity. We are deeply committed and invested in the running market, so it’s only natural for Gore to get involved. Vasque has been both a reliable partner and customer, using our product technology in climate comfort to build some of the best trail-running shoes in the industry. By teaming up for 2008, runners will benefit.”
Mark Dinndorf, Vasque Brand Manager, is equally excited for the new season. “We’ve had nothing but positive feedback from everyone involved with the trail tour,” says Dinndorf. “Our race participants and retail partners benefited from the events. I’m sure that 2008, especially with Gore on board, will be even bigger and better.”
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In 2006, Vasque received Outside Magazine’s Gear of the Year award for the Blur, a great shoe for multiple distances, fast-paced runners, or those making the switch from road to trail. Vasque continues to receive countless accolades from gear testers around the world for the quality of their shoes.

Based in Red Wing, MN, Vasque is a leading manufacturer of performance outdoor footwear. For more information about Vasque’s products and retailers, visit www.vasque.com or call 800-224-4453.

W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., based in Newark, DE, is a leading producer of high-performance consumer products, including GORE-TEX® Fabric. For more information go to www.gore.com or call 800-467-3839.

GORE, GORE-TEX, are trademarks of W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. ©2007 W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc., 295 Blue Ball Rd., Elkton, Maryland, 800-431-GORE, gore-tex.com
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