Montrail Corporation is headquartered in Richmond, California

Richmond, California

Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...

. The company manufactures and distributes footwear for trail running

Trail running

Trail running is a variant on running that differs markedly from road running and track running. Trail running generally takes place on hiking trails, most commonly single track trails, although fire roads are not uncommon. A distinguishing characteristic of the trails is that they are often...

, hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, and general long distance running.

Montrail sponsors a range of ultrarunning athletes, rock climbers, and related events across the United States. The Montrail Ultrarunning Team sponsorship program has been going since 1996, and now supports 88 athletes. Montrail also hosts and sponsors a number of ultrarunning and trail running events throughout the United States. Montrail's main event, the Montrail Ultra Cup, is a series of six ultrarunning events, culminating at the Western States Endurance Run

Western States Endurance Run

The Western States Endurance Run, known commonly as the Western States 100, is a 100-mile ultramarathon that takes place on trails in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains annually on the last full weekend of June. The race starts at the base of the Squaw Valley ski resort and finishes at the...

, a 100 mile ultramarathon

Ultramarathon

An ultramarathon is any sporting event involving running longer than the traditional marathon length of .There are two types of ultramarathon events: those that cover a specified distance, and events that take place during specified time...

.

History

• 1982 — The company is founded as One Sport.
• 1993 — One Sport is reborn as One Sport Inc.
• 1997 — The company is rebranded as Montrail; the Moraine is rated Best Hiking Boot in Backpacker Magazine.
• 1999 — Patent
  Patent
  A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
  
  s stretchable Gore-Tex
  Gore-Tex
  Gore-Tex is a waterproof/breathable fabric, and a registered trademark of W. L. Gore and Associates. It was co-invented by Wilbert L. Gore, Rowena Taylor, and Gore's son, Robert W. Gore. Robert Gore was granted on April 27, 1976, for a porous form of polytetrafluoroethylene with a...
  
   in the Java GTX shoe.
• 2002 — Creates first "shoftshell" shoe made with Schoeller fabric.
• 2003 — Excelerace XCR wins Editor’s Choice in Backpacker Magazine and the D7 earns Editor’s Choice in Climbing Magazine.
• 2004 — Gryptonite ultra-sticky rubber is introduced.
• 2005 — PRFRM thermo-moldable foam is introduced in the Molokai/Molokini flip flops, Enduro-Soles, and rock climbing shoes; Gryptonite rubber extends to trail running shoes; Hardrock is introduced and wins awards in Health Magazine and Outside Magazine.
• 2006 — Montrail is acquired by Columbia Sportswear
  Columbia Sportswear
  Columbia Sportswear Company is a United States company that manufactures and distributes outerwear and sportswear. It was founded in 1938 by the late Paul Lamfrom, father of present chairperson Gert Boyle. The company is headquartered in Washington County, Oregon, in an unincorporated part of the...
  
  ; Continental Divide wins Best Trail Shoe Debut by Runner's World
  Runner's World
  Runner's World is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Rodale Press in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
  
  Magazine and Editor's Choice by TrailRunner Magazine.
• 2007 — Namche is named Best Fastpacking Boot and the Java XCR is named Most Supportive Ultralight Boot by Backpacker Magazine.

External links

• www.montrail.com — Montrail Corporation site
• Montrail Blog