Thank you, Scout

Hayley PollackCommunity, News, This Week In Aravaipa Running

I often walk away from conversations with Scout deeply moved by his integrity of character. Over the last 2.5 years he has provided me and all of us at Aravaipa Running with many other takeaways: mostly lessons in dedication, hard work, integrity, passion and following your heart. Scout brought his innumerable strengths to the Aravaipa Race Directing team and while he will be leaving the team on Friday, he is leaving it significantly better than he found it. Scout’s continued impact can be found in our transition to reusable cups, composting at the warehouse, and better recycling company-wide both at events and behind the scenes. Scout spearheaded our relationship with The Maricopa Trail & Park …

Rumble Reminiscence

Hayley PollackUncategorized

By Jen Laughlin | January 13, 2020 If you know me, you know that Coldwater Rumble is an extremely sentimental race. It was my first trail race, my first 50 mile, my twin sister’s first ultra, and my daughter’s first running race of any kind. But more than anything, it was the race that introduced me to the unique and incomparable trail running community, consequentially changing my running life in the best possible ways. Back in 2014 while approaching the milestone age of 40, I decided I wanted to do something “big”: I wanted to be an “endurance runner”. Yep, I laughed when I said it out loud too, but after a lifetime of playing …

Across the Years – Decades Edition!

Hayley PollackCommunity, News

10 Day race, anyone? What?! Seriously. If there’s one thing you can say about Aravaipa Running – we sure don’t do things half-way. Yes, we are adding a 10-day to Across the Years for the 2019-2020 race but that’s not all. Our brainstorming session got out of hand and instead of relegating ourselves to “only” adding an additional 4 days, we got creative. Here’s what’s going down this December 28 – January 7th Our “typical” 6-day race and all its accompaniments (24-hour, 48-hour, and 72-hour) will be business as usual, taking place December 28 – January 3rd. Award ceremony still occurs January 3rd after the 6-day comes to a close. There are no alternate dates …

Why Black Canyon 100KM?

Hayley PollackCommunity, Race Preview, Race Report

Guest Post by Eric Senseman The Black Canyon 100k takes place on the Black Canyon Trail in Arizona, a north-to-south, point-to-point trail through the foothills of the Bradshaw Mountains. It starts about 75 miles south of Flagstaff and ends just north of Phoenix. Like most any point-to-point trail, the elevation at one end isn’t the same as the elevation at the other end. In the case of the Black Canyon Trail, the north trailhead sits at about 4,200 feet above sea level and the southern terminus rests around 1,900 feet. The 100k itself runs north-to-south, so the course accumulates a net downhill. Flowing downhill through the Black Canyon is the Agua Fria River, a roughly …

Meet The 2019 Aravaipa Racing Team!

Hayley PollackCommunity, News

We are so excited to introduce you to the 2019 Aravaipa Racing Team! As with the 2018 season, we will be partnering with rabbit Apparel to outfit our team in style on the trails! In 2018 our racing team set multitudes of course records, swept the podium (Zane Grey 50 mile – women), earned a Golden Ticket, placed top American woman at OCC in the UTMB series (7th), placed top 10 at Western States (8th), earned a current spot on the USA 24 Hour team to represent at the World 24 Hour Championships, represented at the World 100KM championships, and more. We can’t wait to see what our 2019 racing team will accomplish this year! You …

Twinning at Coldwater Rumble

Hayley PollackCommunity, Race Report

Written by Jen Laughlin 2018: We were both racing the 52K at Coldwater Rumble. The 52K consists of two loops: a clockwise 20 mile loop, followed by a counter clockwise 12.5 mile loop. The course is gorgeous, runnable, and very social. It’s the perfect set up for anyone wanting to finish their first 100 miler, first ultramarathon distance, or first trail race. This very course was my first trail race back in 2014, then again the following year when I completed my first 50 miler. It’s such a special and nostalgic race to me that I’ve raced a distance at Coldwater Rumble every year since. This particular year was my third time at the 52K …

#WhoWeAre – Jen Laughlin – Birthday “Fun”

Hayley PollackCommunity, Race Report

Jen is our wordsmith; she seamlessly manages all of our social media pages (over 20 of them) for Aravaipa and Run Steep Get High + she’s also the voice behind Squirrel’s Nut Butter. It is not uncommon to hear someone in the office say “just send the idea to Jen, she’ll make it sound 10x better.” Read on to hear about Jen’s experience at the 2015 Hypnosis Night Runs. This is also a race I will never forget…  It was the spring of 2015, and I was preparing to turn the big 4-0. I knew I wanted to go big for my birthday, but wasn’t quite sure what I had in mind just yet. While …

#WhoWeAre – Peter Coury – My Bionic Recovery

Hayley PollackCommunity

Peter is truly Aravaipa’s handyman extraordinaire. Need to rig some new contraption? Peter has you covered! Sometimes I think he wishes he wasn’t at our staff meetings because inevitably someone will have a great new idea and I just turn a quizzical eye to Peter and he simply shrugs and takes on a new project. Beyond that he’s also an incredibly talented businessman and a mentor to our team. We’ve been so excited to witness his ‘comeback’ first hand.  My Bionic Recovery On May 1, 2017 I became bionic.  I underwent left hip replacement surgery.  From that day forward my main focus was to regain my running activities. Two months of physical therapy went well and …

#WhoWeAre – Pati Coury – Steep Camp

Hayley PollackCommunity, Race Report

If you’ve been to any Aravaipa race over the last 9 years, I can almost guarantee you’ve been taken care of in some fashion by Pati Coury. She is our aid station mastermind with a heart big enough to truly care about each and every runner that comes through her ‘kitchen.’ She’s methodical and her attention to detail really can not be matched. She might the the literal mom to a few on our team, but she embraces that role for anyone in need of her care. She’s also a truly amazing runner and that is really on display at Silverton 1000, now Steep Camp!  Steep Camp (aka: Silverton 1000) Seven years ago, I was asked to …

#WhoWeAre and #WhatWeDo – Erin McKnight – San Diego 100

Hayley PollackCommunity

It’s not all fun at games at Aravaipa… wait, who am I kidding?! That’s our lifestyle, our motto, and our end goal. We’re committed to ensuring runners get the most out of our events and in order to do so we have a huge team of people who work tirelessly behind the scenes but who are ALSO adventurers themselves. Office Manager, Erin McKnight brings law and order to our office and the piles of paperwork she handles while never losing her cool. Everyone who works with her agrees that she’s the epitome of calm under pressure. She’s also an accomplished ultra runner and triathlete. Here’s her current adventure-update as she trains for San Diego 100: My husband, …