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 …
