We are excited to announce this year’s team!  Without further ado, here is the new team’s roster:

 What does it take to make Team Aravaipa?

By Nick Coury, Team Manager

This is the first year we have accepted open applications for Team Aravaipa, and the process has been enlightening to say the least!  I initially intended to keep the team to 10 members as it was last year, but with 75 applications and so many qualified runners, we quickly expanded the limits.  Though every person would have brought something new and unique to the team, we had to narrow it down to a select few.  What qualities stuck out in the selection process?  Today I’ll share a bit of the behind-the-scenes process of what brings the team together.

Team Goals

Team Aravaipa was started in 2010.  We saw a young but growing community of trail and ultrarunners, many just beginning to develop their competitive potential.  The team became one way for Aravaipa to support promising runners to represent Arizona on a national level.  In the last three years, Aravaipa has grown and so has the goals of our team.

Competitiveness

The competitive focus of Team Aravaipa is as strong as ever.  Many of our team members are looking to hit the podium at big events, qualify for national teams, and set records.

The Everyday Runner

This year we added a few spots for runners that aren’t necessarily running to win, but add a lot to the Arizona running community in countless ways.

Out Of State

The Aravaipa community has grown beyond borders.  Not only do we have races outside Arizona, but many out of state runners visit so frequently that they are truly members of the Araviapa family.

The Holistic Runner

We look for qualities beyond the resume of a runner.  What does a person give back to the community to keep it strong?  Attitude, volunteer history, encouragement to other runners, and many other factors played a big role in who made the final cut.

The Process

After the application period closed on November 1, I printed out a hard copy of every application.  To give every applicant equal consideration, I hadn’t read any up to this point.  Going through each application, I made notes on what qualities stuck out at me from each of the responses.  My first impression going through the stack was how many great people were applying.  I’d made a push when announcing the team for every type of runner to apply, hoping no one would sell themselves short because they weren’t winning races.    The response had been bigger than I’d imagined, and our “Everyday Runner” spots became more competitive than the competitive ones.

Beyond making the selection far more difficult for me, this was truly flattering.  So many of you connect with Aravaipa and the Arizona running community as your second family, that being an ambassador is second-nature.

The final selection was made by Jamil and myself, after much deliberation.  It was a challenge to have limited space, as we wanted to keep many more.  At the end of the day, we picked a team that we feel is well-balanced to represent Aravaipa and enhance the community around us.

We will be selecting a new team for 2015.  I can only hope to have this hard of a time making the selections next time around, it’s a good problem to have!