Rumble Musings: Nostalgia For The Old, Excited For The New!

Jen LaughlinRace Preview, Race Report, Race Update

I’ve been spending a lot of time this month on the “old” Coldwater Rumble Trails. As winter grass over seeding is taking place at my son’s current soccer practice location in Litchfield Park, training has been temporarily moved to Goodyear and as my luck would have it, just a stone’s throw from the main entrance to Estrella Mountain Regional Park, giving me quick access to a sunset trail run while he’s at practice. Outside of Coldwater, I don’t get many opportunities to run these trails, so it’s been a treat to kick up the dust over there a few times a week.  Now, I would by lying if I haven’t been feeling some nostalgia while …

MOG 100 As Your First 100? Survey Says: YES

Jen LaughlinPost-Race Interview, Race Report, Ultra Thoughts

The Mogollon Monster 100 mile is not only a notoriously tough race, it’s also Arizona’s only Hardrock 100 qualifier. With around 18,000ft of total elevation gain on mostly technical and exposed trails, this race challenges the most seasoned mountain runners who throughout the point-to-point course will trudge up and down the rugged and steep escapement known as the Mogollon Rim a total of six different times. In a nutshell, the Monster is not for the faint of heart, and certainly not known for being a popular choice for a “first 100 mile”, but there are a handful of runners who beg to differ, and four of them just happen to work here at Aravaipa Running: …

My New Favorite: The 2022 Crown King Scramble 50K

Bryce BrooksRace Report

2022 was my first time running Crown King, so I’ll begin by saying the Crown King Scramble is the most fun 50K race I’ve participated in. Everything from the course itself to the history along the route, to the finish line atmosphere in Crown King all fits together perfectly for this unique point to point uphill 50K. A little background on the history of the race: First ran in 1981, this route was devised by Bruce Wise as a training run for Western States. At the time it wasn’t an official race, but it would soon gain in popularity until 1987 when the official race was first held. Put together by AZ Road Racers, the …

My New Best Race at San Tan Scramble Trail Runs

Jen LaughlinRace Report

San Tan Mountain Regional Park and my house literally could not be father apart. Folks joke that I live in Southern California because of just how far west of Phoenix I am, so it’s no surprise that I rarely go as far as Queen Creek to run a race, but since I had recently had a taste of its sweet trails at Sinister, our night race that we host at San Tan and loved it, I figured it was time to explore San Tan some more, so I signed up for San Tan Scramble 17k back in January 2021. January 2021 was still the “Covid Era”, so things at races were still a bit different. …

It’s All a Blur at Cave Creek Thriller 50K

Bryce BrooksRace Report

The Cave Creek Thriller 50K is the third race in the Desert Runner Trail (DRT) Series. It is unique in that it has the only point to point courses in the entire 7 race Series. Last year’s event was my third 50K (after running the Pass Mountain and McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50Ks). The 50K course, the longest distance at Cave Creek Thriller, begins out of the Agua Fria Trailhead and follows the Maricopa Trail most of the way to Cave Creek Regional Park.  50K runners who are taking the shuttle will need to be at the finish line in Cave Creek Regional Park prior to 5:30AM. If you can talk someone into driving you to …

McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50K – Race Report

Bryce BrooksRace Report

The Desert Runner Trail (DRT) Series consists of 7 total events: Pass Mountain, McDowell Mountain Frenzy and Cave Creek Thriller in the Fall Series and San Tan Scramble, Coldwater Rumble, Elephant Mountain and Mesquite Canyon in the Spring Series.  Pass Mountain, the first race in the DRT series, was my first attempt at the 50K distance and it hadn’t gone exactly as I had hoped. I went out too hot and blew up in spectacular fashion. Here’s a link to that race report if you’re interested! McDowell was my second attempt at a 50K, and I was going into it with the specific goal of running the race at my own pace. After going out too fast …

Pass Mountain 50K Race Report

Bryce BrooksRace Report

The 2021 Pass Mountain 50K was the first official ultramarathon that I finished. It wasn’t pretty, but I got it done… A little back story about my running career before I jump into the race: In 2019 I hiked the Arizona Trail with my good friend, Dylan Harris. After returning from the 34-day long hike, I felt like I had built up the endurance to easily run a marathon distance or more. Fast forward 1 year later I found myself driving to Austin, Texas to run the Austin Rattler Race 66K with Dylan and Joe Holway. I ended up DNFing around mile 35 and was in rough shape.  A few months after swearing off ultramarathons …

2021-2022 Desert Runner Trail Series Final Standings

Noah DoughertyCommunity, Race Report, This Week In Aravaipa Running

As promised, here are the winners of the 2021-22 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 seven race series, 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 …

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 …

Aravaipa Strong – Halfway Mark

Scout PhillipsCommunity, Race Report, This Week In Aravaipa Running

Unique and universal The Aravaipa Strong Global Virtual Run is in full swing. So far we have witnessed: Runners who have already reached their goals and are enjoying some well-earned rest! ☕ Runner who are still getting after their distance goals. 🏃‍♀️ Runners who were so inspired that they have changed their distance goals 🙌 Beautiful shared images of nature and trails for runners who are lucky to still have access to them 🌄 Backyards turned into racecourses ⟳ Runners who have measured and created racecourses within their homes, including one runner who needs 50 laps of their indoor route to equal one mile and is running 100 miles 😲 Runners who have mapped out …