Craft Sportswear has expanded its endurance sports and obstacle course racing (OCR) presence to Spartan Trail and Tough Mudder with the announcement of an official ”performance apparel and footwear partnership” with endurance sports company Spartan. According to Outdoor Sportswire, the multi-year agreements also name Craft as a sponsor of the Golden Gate Trail Classic and a collaboration with Spartan Trail and Tough Mudder to develop co-branded merchandise for competition and training, along with on-site branding and activations.
Spartan and Craft have partnered since 2018, initiated by Craft Sportswear North America, and to date mostly limited to the U.S. With the integration of Tough Mudder into the partnership, Craft may become more visible in the Old World, as six of the 15 countries where Tough Mudder races are held are in Europe. In Craft’s home country, however, Tough Mudder has yet to gain a foothold. The tone in Swedish obstacle course competitions is currently set by a series called “Toughest,” organized by Malmö-based company Other Buns International, with eight races across the country.
As part of the partnership, Spartan and Craft recently released the carbon-infused “Spartan x Craft Nordic Speed Shoe“ and plan to follow up with a line of trail running-specific apparel. As part of its partnership with Tough Mudder, Craft will dive deeper into the sport, developing a new OCR shoe tailored to the needs of the brand’s signature muddy event courses - along with a line of performance apparel to launch later this year.
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