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Aravaipa Trail Talk – Episode 013 – Pizzicletta

Melia CouryAravaipa Trail Talk

Pizza Making: A Trail Running Metaphor [mc4wp_form id=”7105″] The smell of yeast rising filled the air as a larger than normal entourage filled the small, corner pizzeria. There was the owner, Caleb Schiff and his employee, Jamil Coury (of course), Michael (camera man) and his wife Lori, Nathan and Antonio from Freak Brothers Pizza and me. This historic building once housed a textile factory; most of the industrial décor shows the love of the past with exposed brick and original flooring. Charmingly the floor plan is in the shape of a pizza slice. The group soon settled in the natural light filled restaurant to learn more about Pizzicletta. Caleb Schiff, restaurant entrepreneur and trail runner, …

Flagstaff Trail Running – A Guide To Sucking Wind

Jamil CouryUltra Thoughts

It is an annual summer pilgrimage for us “desert rat ultra runners” living in Phoenix. A chance to escape the sweltering heat and enjoy a sweet respite of cooler weather . Some locals may call us the weekend warriors of altitude, but nonetheless we are happy to migrate north for some of the best trail running our state has to offer in the summertime. No, Arizona is not just desert. I was first initiated into the beauty and benefits of a weekend away on the trails north of Flagstaff could be while training for my first 100 mile race, Angeles Crest back in 2007. The “old guard” of Arizona ultra runners had been using the …

Flagstaff 50 Endurance Runs

Jamil CouryRace Report

Running in Arizona isn’t limited to hot, desert trails winding around saguaro cactus and ocotillos. Although that is the typical scene around the Sonoran Desert surrounding Phoenix and Tucson, just a couple hours north brings higher altitude and the dense Ponderosa Pine forest surrounding Flagstaff. The town itself is at 6,910 feet and is situated at the base of Arizona’s highest mountain range – the San Francisco Peaks which rise up to 12,633 atop Humphreys Peak. Flagstaff is well known in the running community as a hotbed Olympic caliber athletes looking for high-altitude training. Flagstaff also offers one of the best mountain trail systems anywhere, with a local urban trail system, trails in the Mount …

Flagstaff Endurance Runs – Approved!

Jamil CouryNews

We have some very exciting new this week, as we just received approval for a 50 mile & 50 kilometer trail ultra in Flagstaff, Arizona.  AlthoughFlagstaff is a mecca for some of the nation’s best runners, has a thriving running community including a growing number of ultra runners, and some of the most beautiful high altitude trails in the Southwest, there have been no ultra runs permitted in the area (the nearest being the Zane Grey Highline Trail 50 mile and new Mogollon Monster race near Pine/Payson about an hour and a half away). We’ve been working on obtaining permits for well over two years, confronting a myriad of issues that has likely prevented any sort of …