Gnarly Nutrition has signed ultra-trail runner Ryan Montgomery to its athlete team.
“I am excited to be supported by Gnarly because its products align with so many activities of my life each day – whether I need hydration nutrition, performance nutrition, or recovery nutrition,” said Montgomery. “Likewise, I am stoked to work with them as we continue to work by diversifying and making the outdoors more inclusive.”
Montgomery ran his first marathon at 15, kickstarting a career that has included some of the most prestigious ultra-trail races worldwide. He has spent most of his career focused on unique runs to challenge himself; in 2018, he was the youngest runner at the Badwater 135, a race that starts in Death Valley in mid-July and has earned the nickname “the world’s toughest foot race.”
In 2019, Montgomery came in second at the Tahoe 200. In 2020, he set the unsupported Fastest Known Time on the Wonderland Trail, and, in 2021, he came in second at the Javelina Jundra 100, which earned him a Golden Ticket for the 2022 Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. The Western States race marks a transition in Montgomery’s career — 12 years after his first marathon he is ready to race on a bigger stage and show the world he can compete with the best of the best.
On a deeper level than races and podium finishes, Montgomery strives to create a safe, diverse, and inclusive space in the outdoors. He recognized many LGBTQ+ runners don’t feel they have community and hopes to change that by creating group runs, aligning with sponsors that support all types of athletes and by showing up as himself, nail polish and all.
Montgomery started an LGBTQ+ running affinity group, Out Trails, intended to fill the void of inclusive outdoor spaces explicitly for queer people. This group will be a non-competitive and supportive environment to run, play and experience the trails with a like-oriented community.
Gnarly Nutrition will help sponsor 10 scholarships for an LGBTQ+ Running Retreat this fall for Out Trails, as well as will support Montgomery with Gnarly’s full line of products to provide for everything from his daily hydration to ultra-marathon recovery.
“We are so incredibly proud to bring Ryan Montgomery onto our team,” said Gnarly Nutrition CEO Eli Kerr. “Ryan is an accomplished ultra-runner who constantly Pushes His Possible, on and off the trail. His leadership in the LGBTQ+ community embodies what it means to be a Gnarly Nutrition athlete.”
For more, visit Gnarly’s website.
