There used to be a social-media hashtag, back when hashtags were so cutting edge, titled #seenonmyrun. People would post photos of strange and wondrous sights observed while getting in their daily miles, everything from other runners’ wacky outfits to a squirrel carrying a slice of pizza across the road.
I did not partake in the online activity but, in a way, what I’ve seen on my runs as a Flagstaff resident is the impetus for this new website, flagstaffrunningnews.com.
Flagstaffians are fortunate enough to live not just in a gorgeous mountain town at 7,000-feet elevation, with trails and forest roads aplenty, but we also are home to at least three dozen professional distance runners, and many more elites who parachute in for high-altitude training blocks before the Olympics or World Championships.
Not a week goes by that I do not pass at least two, but most likely a gaggle, of fleet and lithe pro runners – or those from that NCAA cross-country powerhouse, Northern Arizona University, or the elite ultra runners who haunt our trails, or the state-championship-contending prep teams. After all, what other city (sorry, Boulder) can boast four full-time pro training groups and two “unofficial/unnamed” other presided over two of the biggest names in the sport, Mike Smith and Ryan Hall.
It’s hard, though, to keep track of who’s who, who’s here and what they are up to. Though I was a newspaper reporter for 40 years, not to mention a lifelong running fan, I couldn’t always keep up with the speedy women and men I’d see on Lake Mary Road. Hey, is that Emily Durgin, or Emily Infeld or Emily Lipari or Emily Sisson or maybe Elly Henes? And the more casual fan from Flag, which also has scores of recreational runners, can be excused for not being able to pick Jim Walmsley or Weini Kelati out of a police lineup.
These are some of the world’s best, if little known athletes, deserving of recognition in their adopted (or temporary) hometowns. Thus, I am launching Flagstaff Running News to update the locals and inform distance running fans out in the wide world of cyberspace about what’s new in these parts. Readers will find quick-hit news on the doings of pros and NAU standouts, results featuring Flagstaff pros and locals from major races and community events, a race calendar, in-depth looks at local trails to traverse and periodic check-ins with high-school standouts in distance events (800 to 10,000 meters on the track).
What you won’t find is news about sprints and field events on the track or triathlons. I’ll leave that niche for some other intrepid journalistic soul in town, though I seriously doubt you’d see Sha’carri Richardson or Noah Lyles training at altitude.
What will you see if you pay attention? Here are some highlights of elites I’ve seen on my runs:
Sharon Lokedi and Edward Cheserek (sort of the Taylor and Travis of distance-running couples) stretching at Road 700 in Mountainaire, goateed mountain goat Jeff Browning on the Kachina Trail, Molly Seidel and her flowing ponytail on Fort Valley Road, Olin Hacker and his flowing curly locks near the NAU track, a shirtless Luis Grijalva and his flowing mane on the FUTS, Grant Fisher chatting up some Japanese pros on Lake Mary Road, and the entire Under Armour Dark Sky squad on Wing Mountain trails.
If any of the above names – let alone their faces — aren’t familiar, that’s all the more reason to bookmark flagstaffrunningnews.com and see who’s who.
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