Butte Creek Trail

The Butte Creek Trail starts at Stricklin Forest Park on Sherwood Drive. This trail parallels Butte Creek, westbound to the Prescott National Forest, and runs partially through a scenic canyon. The City portion is 1.3 miles, but the trail connects into the larger trail system of the Prescott National Forest.

The trail is a very technical trail run with large boulders and sharp rocks to navigate as you make your accent though the canyon toward the Prescott National Forest. The trail was a bit overgrown due to the recent monsoon rails and a rattle snake warned me I was coming to close in Prescott National Forest section of the trail, so watch your steps!

Elevation: 5508’ (low) – 5788’ (high)
Length: 2.6 miles (round trip)
Skill Level: Advanced

Happy Trail Running :-)

Sierra Prieta Overlook

The Sierra Prieta Overlook is a lookout point that is part of the Sierra Prieta mountain range in central-northwest Arizona. The range is the mountainous region west of Prescott, with a notable Thumb Butte, 6,514 feet, a volcanic plug, on the city’s west perimeter.

The run starts at Rancho Vista Drive & Copper Basin Road, from there you follow Copper Basin Rd till you reach Thumb Butte Road which from there takes you to the overlook. The run follows rocky forest service roads over an 1,233ft elevation gain in just 4.5 miles. This route is also one of the toughest parts of the Whiskey Row Marathon.

Elevation: 7,000 feet
Length: 9 miles (round trip)
Skill Level: Advanced

Happy Trail Running :-)

Thumb Butte Trail

The Thumb Butte Trail climbs steeply to a ridge just below the rocky crest of Thumb Butte. Here, Groom Creek Vista offers spectacular panoramic views of the Prescott area, Bradshaw Mountains, Sierra Prieta Mountains, Granite Mountain, Mingus Mountain, and, on clear days, the San Francisco Peaks. During certain times of the year, peregrine falcons nest on the rugged basalt crags of Thumb Butte.

The Thumb Butte Trail quickly pushes you up against your VO2 max with a roughly a 650ft elevation gain in just under 2 miles.

Elevation: 6,314 feet
Length: 2.1 miles
Skill Level: Advanced

Happy Trail Running :)

Acker Park Trails

Acker Park is a hidden jewel in the heart of Prescott, located 5 blocks from the historic downtown courthouse plaza. This open space park consists of approximately 80 acres of natural parkland.

The trails are fairly flat with softer soil that makes the trail easier and fast. The Acker Park Trails are the most accessible of the Mile-High Trail System from the city of Prescott. With makes these trails a great daily quick trail run.

Elevation: 5480’ (low) – 5630’ (high)
Length: 1.5 mi.
Skill Level: Intermediate

Happy Trail Running :-)

Centennial Trail

Next up on my trail running exploration of Prescott was the Centennial Trail. This trail was built in 2012 in recognition to the 100th birthdate of the State of Arizona. The Centennial Trail meanders through the boulders and canyons, with panoramic views of the City of Prescott, Rodeo Grounds, Thumb Butte, and Granite Mountain. Petroglyphs are a feature of the trail.

This trail is another very technical trail that has been cut as a narrow corridor, snaking it’s way through the maze of giant boulders in a deeply fractured landscape. Once you get relaxed and comfortable with the trail you can run it fairly quickly since it increases and decreases elevation throughout the entire route.

Elevation: 5447’ (low) – 5729’ (high)
Length: 2.0 mi.
Skill Level: Advanced

Constellation Trails

I started my trail running exploration of the Prescott Mile-High Trail System with the Constellation Trails. The trail presents beautiful rock formations and scrub oak passageways. It is very technical with large boulders to navigate as well as sharp rocks along the trail.

Elevation: 5016’ (low) – 5229’ (high)
Length: 2.74 mi.
Skill Level: Advanced

Happy Trail Running :-)

Hello Mountains

My family and I just completed our move from Phoenix to the small beautiful mountain community of Prescott, AZ

The Mile-High Trail System has 48 miles city trails and The Prescott National Forest provide over 848 miles of trails with elevations ranging between 5,000 to 8,000 feet. Over the coming months I will be exploring and documenting all of these great trails.

Happy trail running :-)

Running Homestead Trail of Lynx Lake

Last weekend we spent another weekend in the mountains camping and trail running. This trip we spent it in the Ponderosa pine and oak forest of central Arizona.

One of my favorite trails is the Homestead Trail of Lynx Lake Recreation Area which offers sweeping vistas of the pine-covered Bradshaw Mountains. The trail has an elevation of 6,065 feet and crosses a number of intermittent streams where wild rose and columbine flowers grow beside the creek bed. Many of the rock types exposed along the trail are metamorphic varieties similar to what one finds in the lower reaches of the Grand Canyon.

Happy Running :-)

Mount Lemmon Butterfly Trail

Finally getting around to posting pictures from our Memorial day weekend trip to Mount Lemmon, the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. One best places to run is the Butterfly Trail which is a very technical trail with about a 2000+ foot elevation gain over about 10.2 miles.

Happy Running :-)

Ultra here I come

With two very tough marathons under my belt this year, I am ready for something harder :-)

I just signed up for my first Ultramarathon, the 50k Cave Creek Thriller on Saturday, October 19, 2013. I am very excited to push myself even harder with this race; which should really test my limits with the increased distance and hot desert temps, crazy it can still be in the 90’s in October in the valley :-(

I am still planning on doing some short races in Northern, AZ over the summer, but my training will be focused for this race.

Happy Running :-)

Whiskey Row Marathon 2013

On Saturday May 4, 2013 I ran the 35th Annual Whiskey Row Marathon with a finishing time of 4:52:13. It was beautiful day with clear sunny skies and cool mountain breezes blowing throughout the forest.

The race was very challenging both physically and mentally. With 16 miles of the running route being a trail race and a total elevation gain of 4,400 feet, reaching a peak altitude of 7,000 feet made this a much harder race than the Sedona Marathon .

I learned two important things from the Sedona Marathon; 1) that it is very important to focus on maintaining a consistent pace throughout the entire race; and 2) ensure that I monitor my glucose levels to prevent from bonking. This meant for this race not to run to fast early in the race and to keep my sugar levels up by consuming plenty of bananas, orange slices, and energy drinks. Both of which helped me deal with the the very steep mountain ascents, as you can see from the elevation profile below.

My wife ran the very challenging 10k race this year and did an amazing job with a finishing time of 1:08.

Happy Running :-)

Trail Running Forest Park

I had the pleasure of running with friend Scott Willson on the Wildwood Trail in beautiful Forest Park of Portland, OR this morning. Scott is a serious athlete and very fast runner he really pushed me with the pace, it was great!

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Happy Running :-)

Willow Lake Trails of Prescott

I spent the Easter holiday weekend in my beautiful home town of Prescott, AZ. It was great to spend time with family, but I was also able to spend some time running the trails and mountains. Prescott has over 250 miles of trails, but one of my favorite spots is the trails around Willow Lake. These trails a very technical and include both a large amount boulders and steep climbs. It also offers amazing views of Granite Dells

Happy Running :-)

Connecting with nature

One of the many benefits of trail running is the opportunity to connect (or reconnect) with nature. On a recent trail run through the San Tan Mountains I had the pleasure of enjoying the spring time bloom in the desert.