There is a slogan from the Ninghai Trail Challenge that has resonated deeply:“Champions win at the moment they set off.”

This phrase captures the essence of trail running. True victory is not in the glory at the finish line, but in the courage to take the first step at the start line. It reminds every runner: no matter how far the finish, setting off is itself a victory.

In 2023, 可隆 teamed up with the Ninghai Trail Challenge operations team for the first time to jointly create the distinctive spring 可隆 Donghai Yunding Trail Race. Now, 可隆 and the Ninghai Trail Challenge operations team have joined forces again — 可隆 becomes the title sponsor of the Ninghai Trail Challenge, signing a five-year pact.

So what changes will this new "set off" bring to China’s trail running scene?

The Ninghai Trail Challenge was founded in 2013. That year, 79 runners gathered in front of Miaoxiang Temple in Ninghai — there was no starting gun, no fancy start arch; someone shouted and the runners set off. This experimental event, jokingly called a "race director showdown", brought together a group of pioneers in China’s trail running movement.

No one expected that this small gathering of 79 people would, over the next decade, grow into a towering presence in Chinese trail running.

2017 was a pivotal year for the Ninghai Trail Challenge going global. That year the race joined the Ultra-Trail World Tour (UTWT) system, and participation jumped to 1,600 runners.

In 2023 the Ninghai Trail Challenge celebrated its tenth anniversary and reached a historic high point. It officially became a stop on the UTMB World Series — the only stop in mainland China that year.

All 4,500 race slots sold out within five hours of registration opening. Almost every top domestic trail runner — the top 30 men and top 20 women — showed up, a lineup fans called "the strongest in history." This was Ninghai Trail Challenge’s answer after ten years of growth: from 79 to 4,500 participants, from a county-level trial race to an important stop on the international trail running map.

In 2024 and 2025 the Ninghai Trail Challenge continued to climb in popularity, with a significant increase in foreign athletes. This means the event has become a must-contend destination for top domestic and international trail elites.

This year, after 12 editions, the Ninghai Trail Challenge enters a new phase by partnering with professional outdoor brand 可隆. With more than 50 years of history in outdoor products, 可隆 has deep roots across multiple outdoor fields: it is an Olympic official sponsor, an equipment sponsor for Antarctic research and expedition teams, and an official partner of the China climbing team — a brand that has refined its expertise.

In recent years 可隆 has been moving deeper into the trail running arena, developing in a more professional direction. So 可隆 teaming up with Ninghai is a meeting of two specialists — what sparks will fly from this collision of expertise?

When a professional outdoor brand meets one of the representatives of China’s trail running professionalism and competitive level, the 2026 Ninghai Trail Challenge is destined for a historic upgrade.

According to information obtained, the event schedule will be extended from two days to three, and the participant quota will expand to 7,500. That means the race will accommodate more runners — from elites to mass participants — each able to find their own course in these hills. The three-day span also allows a more relaxed schedule and a better race experience for runners.

At the same time, more top international athletes will be invited to raise the professional and competitive standard further. Behind this move is 可隆 and Ninghai’s determination to build China’s most competitive and influential trail running event. When world-class runners gather in Ninghai and prize money rivals top international races, 可隆 will help consolidate the event’s industry standing.

This is not just an expansion in scale, but an upgrade in standards. 可隆’s entry injects an international perspective and professional operational capabilities into the event. From course design to athlete services, from media to commercial development, the two parties will jointly push the Ninghai Trail Challenge to become a new benchmark for Chinese trail events and expand Ninghai’s influence in the global trail running community.

More importantly, 可隆’s "Your Best Way to Nature" philosophy was first put into practice with the Donghai Yunding Trail Race as the first commercial trail event to achieve carbon neutrality. Teaming up with the Ninghai Trail Challenge means 可隆 can replicate this mature "zero-carbon race" experience on a larger stage.Beyond competition, this is about a high-quality trail experience that connects deeply with nature.

The five-year pact is a firm commitment to that goal. 可隆 and Ninghai are not aiming for a one-off spectacle but long-term cultivation; not following a trend but defining industry standards.

For 可隆, investing in trail events is never a one-off; it’s a larger strategic play.

The spring 可隆 Donghai Yunding Trail Race emphasizes "small and exquisite" and "free posture", advocating for "running in your freest posture" — letting participants feel the beauty of the mountains and fields rather than simply chasing speed and conquest. This differentiated race character makes Donghai Yunding stand out among many trail events.

The Ninghai Trail Challenge’s autumn identity as a UTMB World Series stop is proof of its course quality, race organization, and international influence, and underlines its unique position in China and Asia’s trail running map.

可隆 sponsoring the Ninghai Trail Challenge means it now achieves full-year coverage of the trail event IP. From spring entry-level experiences to autumn top-tier races, from "free running" to "competitive challenge", 可隆 builds a clear growth pathway for runners.

Newcomers can experience the joy of trail running at Donghai Yunding, while intermediate runners can push their limits at the Ninghai Trail Challenge. This also lets 可隆’s voice in the trail event space run through the whole year, creating sustained brand exposure and showcasing 可隆’s trail product line more fully.

A deeper logic is that 可隆 supporting such a top-tier race is the most direct way to convey its professional, high-performance brand DNA to the market. When elite runners battle on Ninghai’s courses and the race’s influence radiates across the national trail community, 可隆’s brand image will become deeply associated with keywords like “professional”“competitive”“top-level”.

Of course, an outdoor brand’s professionalism must ultimately be proven by its products — and the best place to test products is on real race courses.

During the 可隆 Donghai Yunding Trail Race period, 可隆 released the Dawn series of trail running products so participants could experience them on muddy, slippery courses. The Ninghai Trail Challenge, however, is a higher-level stage.

The Ninghai Trail Challenge’s 100K course includes mountains, scree, mud, streams and more, with total ascent exceeding 5,000 meters — demanding extreme levels of slip resistance, fit, and durability from gear. When elite athletes wear 可隆 equipment on such courses and their feedback returns to 可隆’s R&D labs, 可隆’s product performance will continuously evolve through that positive loop.

Over the past four years 可隆 has built a complete product testing and iteration system. From Jin Yuan to Deng Guomin, from domestic elites to international runners, countless top athletes have run in 可隆 gear across various courses, and their real feedback has driven continuous product evolution. The Ninghai Trail Challenge will provide 可隆 an even broader testing platform and tougher validation scenarios.

More importantly, Ninghai’s participants span from elites to the general public. That means 可隆’s gear can prove itself not only on top athletes but also build word-of-mouth through everyday runners’ experiences. For a brand, this "from elites to the masses" penetration is far more convincing than standalone lab data.

From 可隆’s 2023 title sponsorship of Donghai Yunding, to signing Jin Yuan in 2024, to formally signing Deng Guomin in 2026, and now sponsoring the Ninghai Trail Challenge with a five-year pact, 可隆’s trail running layout is becoming increasingly clear, step by step.

With Deng Guomin as a star athlete to complete the elite roster, and now teaming up with the Ninghai Trail Challenge to perfect the event IP, when the "athlete" and "event" — the two core resources — are both in place, 可隆’s professional ambition begins to emerge across these hills.

From the event perspective, 可隆 has completed a year-round event IP matrix — "spring at Donghai Yunding, autumn at Ninghai Trail" — letting runners’ growth be traceable every step of the way. From the product perspective, 可隆 has built a full validation system from elites to the public: elite feedback drives product evolution, while mass runners’ experiences build brand reputation. From the philosophy perspective, 可隆 aims to turn sustainability from slogan to action, making "coexisting with nature" a perceptible experience for runners and the strongest emotional bond between brand and users.

When runners enjoy "free running" at Donghai Yunding, push their limits at the Ninghai Trail Challenge, and complete every run accompanied by 可隆 gear, 可隆 stops being just a brand and becomes a companion on runners’ growth journeys. This shift in identity is 可隆’s real ambition.

The five-year pact sends a clear signal: 可隆’s investment in trail courses is not short-term but a long-term commitment, aimed at becoming a key force in advancing China’s trail running development.

As Ninghai’s slogan says, "Champions win at the moment they set off" — 可隆 choosing to set off now is a reflection of its belief in the wide horizons of the next five years.