Quick hits:
The good news, from a Flagstaff perspective at Tuesday night’s USATF Road Mile Championships in Des Moines, Iowa: Under Armour Dark Sky’s Vince Ciattei, dominating from the outset, won easily in 3:56.97 — just shy of the world record of 3:56.13.
The unfortunate news, from a Flagstaff perspective: Rachel Smith, who has been racing superbly on the roads and track this spring, was leading the women’s mile just past the halfway point when she had a hitch in her stride, then limped off to the side. No word yet on the type of injury or extent of the injury.
Full results from both races here.
Dark Sky’s Ciattei, who finished fourth in the U.S. Indoor 1,500 in February, won this race in 2022, but was eight seconds slower last year. He told a USATF interviewer after the race that he wanted the world record.
“I’m sure in a day, I’ll be happy I’d won,” he said of just missing the record. “But that hurts, man. But I ran eight seconds slower here last year, so I’ve got to think big [picture. It’s progress.”
- Fresh off his 34th place finish at the Boston Marathon in 2:22:27, Coconino Community College cross country coach Craig Hunt will take on The Canyons 100K this weekend in Auburn, Calif., in hopes of earning a “golden ticket” to June’s iconic Western States 100 Endurance Run.
Back in early March, Hunt finished one spot away from the podium (and a Western States berth) in the Black Canyon 100K, so he put himself on the wait list for The Canyons, where runners need to finish in the top two to get an automatic Western States entry. In between, Hunt trained hard for the Boston Marathon, which he ran in the elite field.
How are his legs holding up post-Boston, and what does he think of his chances at The Canyons?
We asked him.
“The few days after the Boston my legs were definitely sore but nothing I hadn’t experienced after a marathon,” he said. “Taking a few days off and running easy has been the perfect balance to get my legs feel fresh again and ready to race. My training had a heavy focus on the Boston Marathon, and if I felt recovered enough The Canyons 100K would be the cherry on top of everything.
“I know doing the Boston Marathon 12 days prior to Canyons 100K might put me at a competitive disadvantage against some steep competition, but I’m feeling confident and am always wanted to challenge myself against the best runners.”
- Hoka NAZ Elite marathoner Alice Wright, writing about the final, brutal miles she endured at Sunday’s London Marathon, at which she ran 2:40, said dizziness came on suddenly.
“Now it’s time to get to the bottom of this dizziness,” she wrote on Instagram. “For the last year I’ve been convincing myself I just need to ‘push through’ and ‘stop being weak,’ but this past weekend made me realize it’s not a case of that. I’ve been racing long enough to know this isn’t a normal mid race feeling. It’s not a case of “grinding it out” or “backing off the pace a little” — my body simply isn’t giving me that option. And I know this all sounds like one big excuse (which I hate), but I feel I owe it to all those who have kindly supported me throughout my running career thus far. So, I’ll be getting some tests done these coming weeks to try and figure this all out!”
- Candice Burt ended her Arizona Trail fastest-known-time quest about 400 miles into the attempt due to a ghastly big-toe infection that you can see on her Instagram account. (Warning: it isn’t pretty.)
Speaking of Burt, her Destination Trail Race organization, sold out the inaugural Arizona Monster 300 (actually, 308 miles, but who’s counting?) on April 4, 2025, in a little over a week, impressive since the entry fee was $1,995.
Here are the entrants from Flagstaff: Pete Mortimer, Lori Enlow, Andrea Moore, and Jason Corbett.
- If it seems as if there are more than the usual number of pro running groups in town recently, it’s because the Mark Coogan-coached New Balance Boston team has hit Flag for its annual altitude camp. Also, Emily Sisson, Olympic Marathon Trials runner-up to Fiona O’Keeffe, is back in Flag for training.
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