What’s Your Why? – The Motivation Behind Running a 250-Mile Race

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com I remember my first run. Not the first time I ran, but the first time I ran after enjoying all of the french fries, ice cream, and Thirsty Thursdays in college. Discomfort in your own skin, amplified by every jarring jiggly step. For me it was the beginning of discovering self-discipline, the beginning of self-discovery, the beginning of falling in love with running. Ew. Typing that made me cringe. Is it “running” I love? Not in the isolated form of the word. It’s the ability to connect your mind and body in nature. It’s the power of being able to traverse a landscape by …

Training for Night Running

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com Up until age 19 I lived on a nameless dirt road in Stonington, Connecticut. There was one house just past ours, and then about a half a mile further, a seldomly visited gun club that reenacted Civil War stuff. Beyond that it was a power line trail that felt like it went forever (it probably was only four miles, but at the time “10K” wasn’t in my vocabulary, let alone “ultra”). The road was my escape. Get mad at my parents? Run away down the road. Need a place to smooch? The mountain laurel grove down the road. Anyone ever play manhunt …

Shelby Farrell training for Cocodona 250.

Training for the Cocodona 250-Mile Trail Race While Working Full Time

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com “Sooo…do you just run all day?” People look at you like you’re an alien when you tell them you’re training for a 250-mile race called Cocodona 250. Congrats! You’re now the “crazy” friend! Running the race is one thing. The real perplexity is around how to train for something of this physical magnitude, especially when working a full-time job. (And MASSIVE kudos to the ultra parents out there. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about leaving my cat when I go out for a six hour adventure…but I do miss him). A popular question is what my weekly mileage looks like, but …

Training for Cocodona 250

Cocodona 250 – Six Weeks To Go

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview

Guest Post by Shelby Farrell | Follow her Cocodona 250 training journey at @shelbzzf & shelbzzf.com On the morning of May 3, 2021 a group of brave endurance athletes will be setting out to run the inaugural Cocodona 250. Two hundred fifty miles starting in Black Canyon City, Arizona, through Crown King, Prescott, Jerome, Clarkdale, all the way to Sedona, concluding in Flagstaff. The race is six weeks out, so basically it is just around the corner. Eeek! For me, this means a month to fully dial in my training, enjoy a chill taper for two weeks (aka try not to go crazy), and then wake up ready to send it on that first marvelous …

2020-2021 Desert Runner Trail Series Final Standings

Noah DoughertyCommunity, Race Report, This Week In Aravaipa Running

As promised, here are the winners of the 2020-21 Desert Runner Trail Series and a few fun stats mixed in. This was the 11th year for some of these races and a nice little milestone for Aravaipa Running and how far we’ve come. As you all know, a lot can happen over the course of the series, this time beginning in November with Pass Mountain. Pulling from your three best races keeps things interesting and opens up the top spots to a lot more runners then you may see on a typical race day. You don’t have to win a single race to make the podium in the series. Here are a few fun facts …

DRT Series Wrap-up

Noah DoughertyCommunity, This Week In Aravaipa Running, Ultra Thoughts

The 2020-21 Desert Runner Trail Series, or DRT Series as we like to call it, was a wild ride. Aravaipa Running as an organization went through some real challenges with the abrupt arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 that essentially shut everything down. As an event company, the idea of holding large groups of people in one space was daunting to all. Heck, being in a grocery store with a lot of people was daunting for many as we tip-toed through the Spring and Summer.  Our Cave Creek Thriller Trail Runs, typically held on the second weekend of October as the DRT Series kickoff, was pushed back to December 19th. Our Pass Mountain Trail Runs in …

Mesquite Canyon Trail Runs course

Mesquite Canyon: A Rebirth in the Tanks

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview, Ultra Thoughts

Guest Post by Aravaipa’s Social Media Manager, Jen Laughlin. Spring is the season for rebirth. It’s nature’s way of starting over. This anticipated life cycle is obvious in the sights, sounds and scents in the outside world, especially to those who’ve experienced a long, cold winter. Though the turn in season isn’t as dramatic for us Phoenicians, there’s still something especially distinct about springtime in the desert. The air feels different. The temperature is still incredible, yet there’s a subtle sting of lingering heat that hasn’t been felt since the fall. The angle of the sun in the sky has started to shift; the saguaro shadows on the ground are less elongated and their arms …

2021 Black Canyon Preview

Ashton KanstrupRace Preview

Guest Post written by Andrew Veeder https://twitter.com/aveeder Andrew Veeder (@andrewveeder) • Instagram photos and videos One of Aravaipa Running’s premier events, the Black Canyon Ultras presented by HOKA, is set to take place on February 13-14 in the desert of Arizona. Competitors in the 100K event will be competing for two Golden Tickets, guaranteeing entry to the iconic Western States Endurance Run. While there are no Golden Tickets for the 60K, there are 2 points available for UTMB. Expect strong competition in this “classic Arizona foot race.” Last year’s event proved to be as competitive as ever for the coveted Golden Tickets. Hayden Hawks snagged the 1st place finish with a staggering time of 7:55:33. …

Desert Solstice 2020 – The Race in the Desert

Nick CouryUncategorized

Live Webcast | Live Results Phoenix, AZ – The Desert Solstice 24 hour is set to be most competitive 24 hour run in the world in 2020, bringing together some of the most talented ultrarunners in the country. Leading the men’s field, Zach Bitter is the current 100 mile world record holder in 11:19:13, but has never made it to the end of a 24 hour race. Will this be his year? Next, we have the top three members of the USA 24 Hour Team, who won the Gold Medal in the IAU World 24 Hour Championships in Albi, France. Oliver Leblond (171.17 Miles), Jake Jackson (165.06 Miles), and Harvey Lewis (160.69 Miles) will all …

COVID-era Races: A Race Director Account

Julie NeischUncategorized

Aravaipa has been fortunate to hold 3 recent in-person events: Silverton Alpine Marathons, Kendall Mountain, and Tushars Mountain Runs. Read below as RD’s Julie and Noah recount the experience. From Julie: Rather than ‘you never know what you have until it’s gone,’ these races were ‘you never know how much you missed something until it’s back!’  Silverton Alpine and Kendall Mountain were our first in-person races since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and it was incredible to be back to in-person races.  There were many changes to the race experience for staff and runners alike.  In typical ultra-runner fashion, participants adapted better than we could have hoped. Saturday morning, just before sunrise, participants in …