Quick hits for a Tuesday afternoon:
— Flagstaff’s ageless distance runner, Ted MacMahon, has won both the first two stages of the six-day, 120-mile Trans Rockies Run, 50-plus division, and seems well on his way to winning that age-group title.
On Monday, MacMahon, 58, won Stage 1 in the 50+ category (and was 13th overall), running 3:03:30 for the first 18.3 miles. Then, on Tuesday, MacMahon again won the 50+ group (and was 15th overall), running the 13-mile loop called Hope Pass, from Vicksburg to Twin Lakes via 3,079 feet of elevation gain and even more elevation loss in 2:42:18.
Tomorrow’s stage starts in Leadville and travels 24 miles.
MacMahon most recently made news by running the 2024 Boston Marathon faster (2:56:41) than he did at age 25 (2:57:49). We interviewed him here.
— Speaking of ultras, a couple of Flagstaffians recently completed mighty runs. Last weekend, Andrea Moore finished the Bigfoot 200 along Washington state’s Cascade Range. Her moving time: 1 day, 23 hours 45 minutes. Her stopped time: 1 day, 22 hours, 47 minutes. Two weekends ago, Flag’s Morgan Mahn finished 49th in the Angeles Crest 100 in Southern California. His time: 29:12:46.
— Great news for trail users: The forest service has announced that Schultz Pass Road will be open again to vehicular traffic and that two of the most popular trails that have been closed for about two years will reopen: Waterline Road from the Schultz Pass Trailhead to the Inner Basin and the Weatherford Trail.
Matt McGrath, a Coconino National Forest Ranger, said on social media: “Waterline is still an active work site so folks should be mindful of that, and Weatherford got hammered during last year’s storms and we haven’t gotten up there to fix much yet. (The) only things remaining closed are Lockett Meadow Road and Elden Lookout Road (to cars).”
— High School cross country season begins at the end of this month, and Run Flagstaff, the city’s retail running store, is hosting its annual Spike Nights for local teams. On Aug. 19, at 6 p.m., Coconino High runners can come to the store to buy spikes with some discounts and enjoy food and giveaways. Then, on Aug. 22, it’s Flagstaff High’s turn. Finally, on Aug. 26, the event is open to runners from all schools.
— Update on Lake Mary Road: The Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved the installation of 1/4-mile markers and painted logos on the newly paved part of Lake Mary Road that for years had the mile markers stenciled as a courtesy to runners.
Cost is $10,000, and it will come from community initiatives accounts from four county districts.
— And, finally, do you think it’s easy being a race director, especially a volunteer one? Here’s what Neil Weintraub, race director of last Saturday’s Big Brothers Big Sisters Flagstaff Half Marathon and a civic treasure, posted to runners in his race recap:
“… (T)he race had one of the more serious injuries over the years when one of our half marathoners fractured her wrist between Mile 9 and Mile 10. Thankfully, we had great communications between our Coconino Ham Radio Operators and the course crew who on their quads were able to quickly get Lauren off the course and up to the hospital. There were two other runners who had to be transported off the course as well. We simply could not do the race without the support of our amazing race crew.
“The course crew also had early morning challenges when they discovered that in the middle of the night, someone driving a large pickup truck intentionally destroyed our course markers on the pipeline road from mile 4 to 5. Luckily our volunteers who cruise the course at 4 AM, were able to correct it and clean up the mess!”
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