Historically, in running, there are shoes for the trail and shoes for the road.
The purposes are distinct and they aren’t meant to cross into each other’s territory. For instance, trail shoes will wear out faster on the road, and road shoes won’t provide the necessary grip to remain upright on the trail or protect from obstacles or debris.
Enter the gravel shoe — or, as it’s also known, the road-to-trail shoe. It’s a style made to handle the rocky, uneven surface that gives it its name, but is versatile enough to bridge the gray area between categories.
Salomon is all-in on gravel, its fastest-growing category, according to the brand. In March, it launched the fourth iteration of the Aero Glide Grvl, following it up in May with the Grvl Concept, a more premium model the brand considers equivalent to what its S/Lab series is for road.
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“We talk a lot internally about gravel being the gateway into different sport categories for us,” said Erin Cooper, Salomon senior marketing manager for Sportstyle. “A huge opportunity that Salomon has, particularly in North America, is opening the aperture and getting new consumers or new audiences to even be aware of us.”
The French brand isn’t alone in paying more attention to this market opportunity. Nike has been prominently framing the messaging for the new ACG Pegasus Trail around gravel; Craft, the Swedish sportswear brand that just got into footwear in 2019, has a dedicated gravel section on its web store; and Hoka describes its Challenger 8 as a “gravel-grinding workhorse.”
Gravel running is inherently more approachable than trail running, which can intimidate those who are newer to the sport. And the surface is more forgiving than the road, which is still associated with joint pain even with the vast improvements that have been made in running shoe foams over the past decade.
Another selling point for the emerging category is its literal accessibility, as gravel paths appear widely across the U.S. They can be found in mountainous regions or where the terrain is flat. Even in New York City, where roadways may seem like the only option, there are gravel routes in several parks.
Regardless of a runner’s experience or location, the many possible uses that sit within road- to-trail can also be attractive. For instance, gravel shoes can be functional during harsh winters, when snow, ice and salt never seem to fully disappear from the sidewalks.
As innovation becomes more important across the outdoor market, gravel shoe makers are upping their game.
Vibram will soon debut its first gravel-specific outsole compound, XS Dura, which counts elasticity, lightness, durability and grip in wet conditions as its benefits.
Altra will have the initial exclusive on the compound — and will introduce it on a road shoe, the Torin 9.
Vibram Corp. president global chief brand officer Fabrizio Gamberini said his team is in development with other brands to make more shoes featuring the new compound.
He said the challenge is communicating the benefits to consumers. “Retail is the most unleveraged portion of the business,” Gamberini explained. “It’s going to be more and more important to educate people on what we can do. With XS Dura, for example, it’s difficult to find retail operators that are able to explain the difference between compounds.”
Of the roughly 300 specialty store locations that carry Salomon, 280 are stocking its gravel products. The brand is leaning on those retailers to help get the word out — and it has partnered with many of them, as well as Salomon ambassadors, for the “Off Track Gravel Tour,” a series of local runs in which the public is invited to try out the Aero Glide 4 Grvl.
Salomon also partnered with Tipster on its second unofficial race in mid-May: the L.A. Food Run, a half marathon with stops at eight restaurants. All 100 participants were given pairs of the Aero Glide 4 Grvl.
Experts see even more runway ahead for the gravel category.
Sean Smith, the newly appointed event director for the Switchback trade show — and an avid cyclist — compared the proliferation of gravel running shoes to a similar phenomenon in bicycle production.
He encouraged running to follow the wheeled sport further by replicating the gravel relay races that the community has been taking part in for years because of the strong social element.
“I hope there’s a push to try and make [gravel] sexy,” Smith said.
