Outside Interactive Inc. Announces Expansion of Trail Runner, Names Abby Levene Managing Editor

The leading trail-running brand expands its focus beyond training and racing to reflect the culture, community, and experiences of one of the fastest-growing outdoor sports.

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Outside Interactive Inc. today announced an expanded editorial direction for Trail Runner and named Abby Levene Managing Editor of the brand.

As trail running continues to evolve from a niche sport into a defining force in outdoor culture, Trail Runner is expanding its coverage to better reflect how runners engage with trails, not only through competition and training, but through travel, community, storytelling, and everyday life.

The timing reflects broader momentum across the category. According to the Outdoor Industry Association's 2026 Outdoor Participation Trends Report, trail running reached 17.2 million participants in 2025 and grew 6.6 percent year over year. The report also found that trail running posted the largest increase in core participants of any outdoor activity tracked, underscoring growing engagement among runners who are making trails a regular part of their lives.

Under Levene's leadership, Trail Runner will build on its long-standing authority in gear, training, and race coverage while deepening its focus on the people, places, ideas, and experiences shaping modern trail running. The effort represents a strategic investment in one of the fastest-growing segments in outdoor recreation, repositioning a legacy brand to better serve the evolving trail-running audience. Through original storytelling, newsletters, podcasts, route discovery, events, and community participation, the brand aims to become the most trusted media destination for people whose lives are connected to trails. By pairing trusted editorial storytelling with mapping and Trailforks route discovery, Trail Runner helps readers move seamlessly from inspiration to participation.

"Trail running is at an inflection point as it rapidly grows and commercializes," said Abby Levene, Managing Editor of Trail Runner. “My vision for the brand is to continue celebrating the soul of the sport with offbeat, unexpected storytelling that holds itself to the highest journalistic standards.”

While Outside Run will continue to deliver training, health, gear, and service journalism for runners of all types, Trail Runner will expand its focus on the people, places, culture, and experiences shaping the trail-running world. “The Outside media portfolio delivers best in class feature storytelling, gear reviews, training tips, and travel advice across verticals that provide complementary coverage for a rapidly growing audience,” said Mary-Frances Heck, VP/ GM of Media and Business Growth at Outside Interactive.

"At Outside, our mission is to actually help people get outside," said Heather Dietrick, Chief Media Officer at Outside Interactive. "Trail running is one of the fastest-growing activities in outdoor recreation, attracting millions of new participants while deepening engagement among existing runners. As more people discover the sport through travel, community, and outdoor experiences, Trail Runner is uniquely creating more ways for people to discover new trails, build connections, and turn inspiration into action for their next trail run."

As part of the broader Outside ecosystem, Trail Runner will continue to connect audiences with the products, tools, and experiences that support their time on trail, including Trailforks route discovery, editorial content, events, podcasts, newsletters, gear testing opportunities, and future membership offerings.

The new Trail Runner experience is available now at TrailRunnerMag.com.

About Outside Interactive, Inc.

Outside Interactive, Inc. is the premier destination for outdoor inspiration, activation, and connection. Outside reaches over 30 million monthly active users and has over 100 million registered users across its network of 25 media, mapping, travel and event brands, including Outside, MapMyFitness, Velo, Yoga Journal, Pinkbike, Gaia GPS, Trailforks, athleteReg, and more. Outside’s mission is to actually help people get outside, experiencing healthy, connected, and fulfilling lives by creating an experience for both longtime adventurers and those just getting started. Outside’s subscription offering, Outside+, bundles best-in-class storytelling, videos, gear reviews, mapping apps, travel, race registration, and more. Learn more at outsideonline.com/outsideplus.