Marathon Sports opened its first store dedicated entirely to trail running in North Conway, New Hampshire, in August, capping a brand strategy that began with a reluctant trip to France.

In 2025, Ben Cooke, president of the running specialty retailer with 32 stores in New England, traveled to Chamonix, France, home of the 105-plus-mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB). The event hosts numerous brand activations and shoe launches, and Cooke went to scout it. "I begrudgingly went," Cooke told Retail Brew. Then he didn't want to leave.

"I honestly was just absolutely blown away by the theater of it," Cooke said.

Cooke knew the US has highly regarded ultramarathons, but none match Chamonix's international draw and brand participation. "You could say, 'Well, I hope someone does that,'" Cooke said. "Or you could be the type of person that says, 'I'm going to do that'—and that is exactly what I set out to do."

The retailer moved quickly. Marathon Sports acquired eight trail races ranging from 5K to about 75 miles, assembled a women's trail-running team with the Altra brand, and launched Dirt Camp, a three-day trail-running excursion in the Berkshires' woods.

Cooke also searched for the site where his envisioned race could someday start and finish. He wanted what he called the "Chamonix of New England"—a mountainous recreation hub with hotels and restaurants. He landed on a gateway to the White Mountains: North Conway, New Hampshire.

A store built to convert road runners

Holly Wiese, founder of 3 Dots Design, a Boulder, Colorado-based retail design firm focused on running, cycling, and outdoor stores, designed the space. She had already designed numerous stores for Cooke, but this brief was different.

"The main objective of his brief was, 'Holly, I want trail runners to open the front door and feel like they have found their place, they found their people,'" Wiese told Retail Brew. At the same time, she wanted the store to entice rather than intimidate road runners who are trail-curious. "If you've never done it, hopefully this is your gateway to the adventure," she said.

The building, originally an airport hangar, spans 4,000 square feet with exposed roofbeams and skylights—a rough-hewn shell that suits the outdoor vibe better than a typical drop-ceilinged mall store. Two mannequin runners in midstride stand atop a platform of rocks near the entrance, poised to bolt for the trail network less than a mile away.

The shoe wall is fashioned to look like granite, New Hampshire's state rock. A rocky trail installed on the floor lets shoppers test how shoes will handle on actual runs. The floor trail aligns perfectly with a trail in a wall-sized photo of the nearby White Mountains. A regional map on another wall highlights local trails, with a QR code to navigate to them.

Brand partnerships without billboard clutter

Marathon Sports partnered with brands popular with trail runners for the store. Hoka, whose co-founders designed the brand's original shoes for trail running, sponsored the trail map and an in-store cafe. Glass-topped tables in the cafe double as display cases featuring battered Hoka shoe prototypes and tell the story of the brand's connection to Chamonix. Hydration brand Skratch furnished a keg so runners can fill their bottles with samples before hitting the trail. A partnership with Brooks yielded cairns that display the brand's trail-running shoes and feature stories of the ultrarunners it sponsors.

Cooke said the goal was not branded stores within his store or overt advertising, but displays that highlight the sport and its athletes. He turned some prospective partners away. "This is not going to turn into a commercial for this, that, and the other thing," Cooke said. "The brands were super enthusiastic—I honestly had to beat a few off with a stick."

The space embodies established store-building strategies, including experiential design and storytelling, with its cafe encouraging shoppers to linger. For Cooke, the goal is not just to serve customers—it's to create them.

"I need to build trail runners," Cooke said. "I need to actually build the people into the sport. That's my job."