UNPAVED - for everyone who thinks differently about running
What if running was less about pace, distance, and performance – and more about where it takes you? With UNPAVED, Salomon created far more than just another event series. The brand built a space for runners who wanted to escape the noise of everyday life and reconnect with something simpler. Somewhere between city streets and forest paths, between asphalt and trail, UNPAVED showcased a different side of running: slower, freer, and more defined by community, creativity, and discovery.
Words: Lukas Motschmann
Photos: Florian Kurrasch
Less is more.
In a time when every brand seems to be chasing the next loud campaign, the bigger launch, and the more extreme concept, it was refreshing that Salomon deliberately took the opposite path and redefined something more fundamental: the feeling of moving between different worlds. Between road and trail. Between city and nature. Between performance and presence. This is precisely what makes gravel running so relevant right now.
“Gravel running is less about chasing personal bests and more about following your own curiosity.”
Gravel is neither classic road running nor trail running. It exists in between. It’s the quiet gravel path between apartment blocks and forest trails. The canal path after work, the hidden loop through the park, the small escape route out of the city. Gravel running is less about chasing personal bests and more about following your own curiosity.
And that’s exactly where Salomon found its perfect niche. For years, the brand has been considered one of the strongest names in trail running. Now, a space for something softer and more nuanced was revolutionized: a category for people who move on different surfaces and who don't see themselves exclusively as road or trail runners.
Salomon's gravel concept is based precisely on this idea. At the shakeout by the Female Cycling Force's force.LAB, from Munich city center through the English Garden to Atelier Rosa, all interested participants could test the new AERO GLIDE 4 GRVL, which offer the comfort and cushioning of classic road models, while also providing enough grip, protection, and robustness to leave the asphalt behind at any time. The shoes are designed with the reality of how many people actually run in mind: one route, varied surfaces, no fixed plan.
“A space for everyone who thinks differently about running.”
Even more exciting than the products themselves, however, is the culture Salomon is building around them.
UNPAVED, Salomon's new gravel concept, was not staged as a race, launch event, or another performance-driven activation. Dani Gassner, Sports Marketing Manager and the mastermind behind the concept, describes it more as "a space for everyone who thinks differently about running." A place far away from pace, pressure, and fixed routes.
Because for many people, running has become one of the few places where there is still room for quiet. For reflection. For being alone without feeling lonely. Gravel running perfectly captures this mood. It means movement without haste. Choosing the longer way home. Leaving the headphones aside and instead listening to your own footsteps.
The UNPAVED event also reflected this atmosphere. It combined social runs with design, film screenings, individualized embroidery, and a unique community space. Instead of focusing on performance data, the emphasis was on emotion, culture, and connection. An example of this was the " GO RUNNING FOR HEARTS" project with Go Miyazaki, which was created after the loss of a friend to heart disease. The initiative turns every kilometer run into a donation and reminds us that running can be about much more than pace or competition.
Perhaps that's precisely why gravel works so well right now. Not because it wants to be the next big thing. But because it doesn't want to be that at all. It's quieter than trail. Less performance-oriented than road. Less about proving something – and more about feeling something. And perhaps that's exactly what many brands and runners need right now.
