Sacred Mountain Prayer Run

Now that I'm back in town, photos for the Sacred Mountain Prayer Run are posted! Read Jacob May's Daily Sun race coverage. Also read an article in the Navajo-Hopi Observer .

Soulstice Sprint Course

As the gusty winds kicked up this morning, I kept thinking that the Sunset Trail was the one trail that would shield us from being blown away. And the plan played out perfectly for 13 runners who stuck around for the long weekend. We were even aided by a tail wind on the way up Sunset. We went downtown to the Seasoned Kitchen for Tony's great coffees. As promised, I have posted a photo of the NATRA caps that arrived last week. I will soon offer these as a fundraiser for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Run for the Magic Half Marathon and 5K! The caps retail for $22 on sweatvac.com and will be available to those who make a donation of $40.00 on behalf of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff Run for the Magic Half Marathon and 5K!

Run for the Mountain Race - Soldiers Trail

A great day for the first race of the 7th Annual Flagstaff Summer Running Series. Results are now posted. Read Jacob May's Arizona Daily Sun race coverage. Next race is the June 4th NAC Sacred Mountain Prayer Run. Register at Virtual Roster today!

Sandy Seep and Elden Resurrection

Six folks and a dog managed to find the Sandy Seep trail-head for Saturday's run in beautiful weather, while Neil was off saving the planet (Neil says, well from spilled corn syrup that is....)

Jennifer, Sara, Tony, David, Susan and Bruce headed up the hill. Some went most of the way to Little Elden Spring while others continued for another 1.6 miles to get in a 10-miler. Those running past the spring eventually got into the low intensity part of the Shultz Fire area. It is awash with grasses and forbs this year! There is still just a bit of snow in a ravine on the east face of Little Elden.



Avoiding the anticipated crowds downtown on graduation weekend, we opted for "It's About Coffee", despite their famous Kobe burger!





(Thanks to Bruce Higgins for the today's post!)

The Return of Rhi and Tim

Today's group run marked a new milestone in Flagstaff running. With the brief return of Tim and Rhiannon, I knew we would have a near record turnout with 28 runners! This proved to be a perfect test for Gail's new chip timing system. Once we hoisted the trusses into place and wired the radio pads to the frame, off we went up Schultz Creek. Most ran to the Lincoln Logs and back, however, some endured the long loop up over Dry Lake Hills and back down Brookbank and Rocky Ridge.

The timing system worked flawlessly recording every runner who passed beneath the finish line. Bruce tried to trip up the system by wearing two numbers, one on his front and one on his back. The system prevailed. Not even Aaron Els crumpling his number and hiding it beneath his shirt allowed him to go incognito. We all tried to go back and forth under the pads, however the computer recognized us just the first time we finished. The system will require racers to arrive earlier to register so all the data can be entered into the system prior to the start of the race. However, the disposable chips that simply adhere to the back of a number will allow us to have faster, more accurate timing and require to have fewer volunteers at the finish line. Thanks to everyone for coming out to day!

Now, time to party with Tim and Rhiannon!

Mountainaire Breakfast Run

14 runners ran the Mountainaire 100 course on a blustery Saturday AM. As we started out, officers from Coconino County Sheriff's department asked us if we had seen some gun toting dudes wandering in the woods. We hadn't, and then nervously headed out for the run, with our eyes wide open. We ran up Priest/Rabbi Draw and headed back down Howard Draw. The round trip was exactly at 10K and was about as flat a run as we had ever done! We all returned to David's house and feasted on breakfast treats, coffee and Neil's extra bloody marys!

Arizona Trail/Walnut Canyon

22 runners Anika and Bob ventured on the Arizona Trail - Tony showed up on his bike and we counted him as #23! Some went 5 miles to the first overlook while more went on to the second overlook covering 8. The reconstructed portion south of the deep canyon was incredible. The trail used to be so steep that it was barely runnable. Now it winds gently up the slope. Most impressive was that steep trail was barely visible! It was hard to believe that just last week we ran in a blizzard! Ah Flagstaff in the spring!