A Record Year at Whiskey Basin Trail Runs

When I saw him come into the mile 45 aid station at Badger Mountain he was ahead of schedule just as he had been all day. There was some dried blood on his hand and some fresh stuff still running down his right knee but he had a pleasant demeanor as he calmly stepped off the trail up towards us. When approached by the cheerful Squirrel’s Nut Butter team at the Badger Mountain Aid perched atop a juniper covered hillside overlooking Granite Mountain and most of Prescott, Arizona he politely asked if we had a cup. He was hoping for a drink of water.

“I lost my water bottle off a cliff back there. Took a fall and there was no way I was going to get it back.”

Zach Bitter was handed a small dixie cup and between sips, glanced off at the distant high desert grasslands spreading below towards Mingus Mountain, Sedona and eventually Flagstaff. It was a warm afternoon with not a cloud in the sky. Not much of a breeze to stir the dry desert air.

After taking no more than three full swigs of freshly mixed lemon lime Gatorade, he thanked us with a smile and bounded back onto the Prescott Circle Trail and around out of sight. The sun beamed down as it had all day, so bright it muted the blue colors of the late morning sky.

Less than two hours later, Zach would come jogging up the final few meters of gravel where he had departed into total darkness just 7 hours 47 minutes prior completing the entire 88 kilometer loop of the Prescott Circle Trail faster than anyone ever has on foot.

A Tale of Patience

Some say good things come with patience. It can also be a great strategy for running an ultra. I sure hope not everything good in life takes upwards of a decade to come into fruition, but this is one example where I think patience has paid off.

Aravaipa Running was newly formed back in 2009 a year after I had organized my first real running race at the 2008 Javelina Jundred. My brother Nick who was also an avid runner had somehow heard about the Prescott Circle Trail which was to be a 50 plus mile loop around the entire City of Prescott. Our minds immediately turned towards how cool it would be to organize a running event around the whole loop. The trail was not yet completed, but some large sections were already put together and of course we decided to organize a free “fat ass” run to do some reconnaissance and get some excitement going for a future event.

We held the Copper Basin 50K in 2009 for the first time and again in 2010.

 

After doing some free runs on the Prescott Circle Trail for a couple years we approached the forest service but made little headway with permits especially since the course crossed several major paved roads / highways and the Circle Trail could not even be followed or connected around the entire route due to land disputes.

Fast forward a few years and the trail was finally completed in 2015 and we held the inaugural Whiskey Basin Trail Runs staged out of Watson Lake Park in April of 2016 featuring four race distance.

The 2018 Edition

Approaching this year’s event, it was still shocking to me that it is only the 3rd annual event. It feels as if we’ve been organizing this race for a decade now and in some regards we have. This year saw the largest field size in each race we’ve seen yet with a total of 500 runners toeing the line which is no surprise given the beauty of the trails around Prescott and chance to escape for a fun weekend in the pines and in town.

The 88K runners were the first to set off on their complete journey around the “Circle” and they were sent off into the darkness at five o’clock sharp in the frigid morning air by race director Jubilee Paige donning a bright pink onesie. As the runners snaked their way past Willow Lake and on some of the more tame sections of trail leading up towards the pine covered mountain segments, the sun was close behind bringing a soft glow and warmer temperatures.

The 57K and 31K races are both point to point style trail runs that end back at Watson Lake Park, starting out on the Circle Trail at staggered start times keeping them just ahead of the 88K runners. Overall, runners were treated to a near perfect day in term of weather conditions with race week winds calming down to almost nothing and temperatures dipping below normal for the weekend.

The 88K

Aravaipa Racing Team member Sion Lupowitz was excited to get going Saturday to compete in his first Whiskey Basin. Coming up from Tucson, Sion has been placing strong at many of Aravaipa’s premiere races like the Javelina Jundred & Black Canyon 100K and was optimistic about his chances. He was going to run smart, using his wealth of experience in the sport and see how the day went but he was hoping to be the first runner back to Watson.

Recent Phoenix transplant Zach Bitter was a last minute entrant who popped into the race for the first time as well. Coming into the first aid station it was Bitter out front with Sion leading the chase pack of four. After a quick shed of layers, Sion was out to chase the top four into the early dawn miles.

Zach would run comfortable all day with just a two minute lead at mile 20 that slowly grew as the race did until he had 15 minutes on Sion at Goldwater Aid. Zach briefly stopped to fill his one water bottle and was off on the next 9 mile stretch towards Badger Mountain. Sion came in looking a bit rougher, but now solidly in second position. I figured if Zach had any hydration issues Sion could cruise by for the win, but even with his water bottle mishap, Zach was able to hold it together to cross the line first in a new course record of 7 hours 47 minutes 22 seconds which was over 35 minutes faster than Catlow Shipek’s winning time last year.

Sion also went under Catlow’s record and wrapped up the 2nd place spot in 8:21:13 ahead of Chris McQuivey who completed the run in 8:38:07.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the ladies, Nicole Kalogeropoulos who is also a recent Phoenix transplant took the win and set a new course record of 9 hours 16 minutes 27 seconds. She was so humble about her victory, when posting a photo next to Zach at the finish line only wrote about his win and new record. Nicole was fifth overall.

A ways back in 2nd was Tiffany Cap finishing in 11 hours 27 minutes and third was Lisa Moore, a very familiar name on the Aravaipa podium in 11 hours 48 minutes.

There were a total of 65 finishers out of 80 starters which is the largest we’ve seen yet. Of note are quite a few Prescott locals including three time finisher Wayne Coates who has now run all three editions of the 88K.

More Records at the 57K Distance

With both Art Degraw and Catlow Shipek toeing the line in the 57K event starting at Thumb Butte Park it was pretty safe to say records were going to fall. Both on the Aravaipa Racing Team, Catlow set the 88K course record last year and Art pretty much wins everything he races.

Both teamed up and had an enjoyable day off the front of the pack running together for much of the first 30 miles before Art kicked it into one more gear and finished 6 minutes ahead of Catlow.

In the ladies race, we saw a new to us winner in 26 year old Jessa Hackman out of Madison, Wisconsin. Her only other ultra result was a win at this past fall’s North Face Endurance Challenge 50K in Madison. She absolutely smashed the course setting a new course record by over an hour and a half and finishing third overall.

Prescott local and owner of the High Altitude Training Institute Greg Reveriau was back for the second year in a row with a third place finish, but this time knocking almost 40 minutes off his 2017 time.

Amber Fifield, long time volunteer, ambassador and leader in the Aravaipa community surprised herself with a second place finish in 7 hours 8 minutes and Hanh Brownell was in a close third in 7 hours 16 minutes.

A Blazing Fast 31K

Probably the most competitive race of the day was the men’s 31K which started near Upper Goldwater Lake before connecting in with the final portion of the Prescott Circle Trail around Badger Mountain and into Watson Lake.

The race was headlined by Aravaipa Racing Team member Charlie Ware of Tucson who stepped down in distance from his normal ultra comfort zone. He led out of the gates and was followed closely by the Flagstaff duo Caleb Schiff and Brian Tinder.

All three would go on to break Ruairi Moynihan’s 2017 course record with Charlie finishing in 2 hours 9 minutes. Caleb was 6 minutes back and Brian 2 more. In total the top six men now are in the top 9 all time.

Our top female runner was Aravaipa Racing Team member Kristina Pham who was just a minute and a half off Kelly Wolf’s 2016 record time. Kristina finished in 2:44:14 which was 10 minutes in front of second place finisher Hayley Ney out of Flagstaff. Maryjane Morse also of Flagstaff was third in 2:57.

A total of 164 runners finished the 31K this year which was the largest number of runners we’ve seen at any Whiskey Basin distance over the years.

The Flat, Fast & Scenic 10K

Although they complete the shortest distance of all the events, the 10K race just might be the most scenic of them all. Following the Peavine Trail on the east side of Watson Lake, runners are treated to a tour through some incredible Granite Dell rock formations and views across the lake that at times just look fake they are so beautiful.

Masters runner Marvin Makus of Prescott Valley schooled the competition with a blazing fast 41:29 ahead of Alan Eder who came in at 41:48. Both were under Matt Muchna’s 2016 record.

For the ladies, Rachel Buzzard who was supposed to toe the line in the 31K ended up taking the win in 45:45 ahead of Meghan Winters who finished two minutes back in 47:48.

Whiskey Man Series

Donna Triglio & Wiley Fisher III are our only two confirmed Whiskey Man / Whiskey Woman contenders for 2018 and both finished the first event in the series – the Whiskey Basin 88K. They will move on to the Epic Rides Whiskey Off-Road 50 Mile in two weeks and wrap it up at the Whiskey Row Marathon on May 5.

A Thank You

We want to thank first off all 500 runners who showed up this weekend to join us in this very special 3rd edition of the Whiskey Basin Trail Runs. Without your enthusiasm for this event and your word of mouth about how special the trails are around Prescott, this event would not be what it is.

Also, we have to thank our tireless volunteers who not only helped to pass out food and water all day across Prescott, but also helped ensure everyone had a safe event.

Thank you to the City of Prescott for actively creating, maintaining and promoting non-motorized trail use in and around your beautiful home. It is so refreshing to have a community that understands the value in connecting with nature and providing recreation opportunities not only for runners on a daily basis, but also for events where we can all come together and push our limits.

And finally, to our passionate race director Jubilee Paige and the entire Aravaipa Running Staff. Thank you for going above and beyond to make this event extra special for everyone in attendance.

We hope to see you next April at the fourth annual event and I hope to soon join you all out there myself for a full 88K loop of this soon to be classic Southwest ultra.

-Jamil Coury