I had an amazing mountain adventure on August 1st running the Teton Bullseye (aka the Up & Around). The route starts by climbing the Grand Teton then running around the massif of the mountain on the Circumnavigation loop. It’s roughly 47 miles with 15,000-16,000 ft of elevation gain. I had been wanting to make a solo unsupported attempt of the Bullseye for the past few years. August 1st was hot and smokey but also the last good weather window of the week so I went for it. Soloed the Owen Spalding in pretty decent time (3:34 TH to summit) and back down in calm t-shirt weather. Thank you to all the climbing parties that let me pass 🙏💙. Felt good running the Valley Trail SB but my stomach took a turn for the worse climbing up Death Canyon and Static Divide in the heat. I slowed down a bit to hang on to my calories, splashed my clothes in cold streams, chugged water at every source, and finally felt better after cresting Static Divide. The wildflowers were absolutely insane on the west side of the mountains and I caught beautiful golden light on the Grand, Middle, and South once I hit Hurricane Pass. I managed to get halfway down Cascade Canyon before dark and of course immediately ran into a moose and a bear. I decided to walk the sections of dense forest so as not to startle any more animals but felt confident enough to jog again once I was next to Jenny Lake. Finished back at Lupine Meadows with a total time of 15 hours 38 minutes and 29 seconds.
Special thanks to @slukenelson for creating the route and making a solid attempt in 2012 and @ryan_burke11 for completing the route in 2020.
. @fastestknowntime@blackdiamond_mountain@lasportivana@gnarlynutrition@medicinewheelwellness@suunto
Solo unsupported Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup FKT on July 8th. I’ve done the WURL four times now and finally did it in the style that resonates with me the most. Unsupported means absolutely no external support. No water, food, or gear caches, no pacers or high fives from friends, no on route photographers, and, only according to my own personal stubbornness, not using any man made water sources so no Snowbird tram fountain. I know it may seem silly to go unsupported but this is how I enjoy truly testing my capabilities. The WURL is difficult in this regard because, besides the resort tram, there is no water on the ridge unless you go early enough in the summer to source water from snow. I scouted the route a week before to check the availability of snow but I didn’t anticipate how much the snow would lock up once the sun went down and how difficult it would be to melt. I became very dehydrated during the night and bonked hard, unable to keep food down which slowed my pace, but once the sun came up on the Pfiefferhorn I felt reenergized and pushed onto the finish, exiting via the snowy gully into Bells Canyon. I should note that the WURL is a climbing route with only a few sections of trail. It is 36 miles with 4th and 5th class exposed climbing and somewhere between 18,000-20,000 ft of vertical gain. I’ll share more details on gear later this week. End photos by @christian_adam_ 🙏
@blackdiamond_mountain@lasportivana@gnarlynutrition@medicinewheelwellness@suunto #wasatchultimateridgelinkup #wurl #mountainrunning @fastestknowntime #fastestknowntime
The very first Bradshaw Brute 100 🥇1st female 4th overall! The Brute follows the first hundred miles of the @cocodona250 except for a few deviations to add some extra climbing and spice. ✨No pacers or crew allowed. In the end almost 1/3 of the runners would drop from the race.
🌵 I started out at a steady pace enjoying the saguaros, single track and serendipitously cool weather. At mile 12 all runners had to fill 4L of water to hoof up into the Bradshaw mountains on loose rock and steep pitches. Woof on the weight but fun to share the trail with the 250 racers. Around mile 34 I moved into 2nd F and maybe 7th OA and dropped down to Crown King aid station- thanks volunteers!! At mile 50 my stomach decided it hated solid food (I had been mostly on gels for the first half) and the vom bombs began. I’m not sure what went wrong- too many electrolytes? Either way, I didn’t keep anything down but fluid and gels the remainder of the race. Probably barfed 9-10 times. 🤮Ugh. Apparently at mile 56 aid station the lead woman dropped and I moved into 1st F and 5th OA- I actually didn’t know I was in first for most of the night. My focus was on trying to coax rice crackers into my stomach and keep up with gels since I was in quite a calorie deficit overnight. I came into the last aid station at mile 81 finally feeling better. The aid station volunteers warned me the woman in 2nd was going to push hard at the end which lit a fire under my ass and I took off at a significantly quicker pace for the final 19 miles on glorious buttery single track, passing the 4th place man somewhere along the way. I crossed the finish at Watson Lake in Prescott at 27 hours and 1 min with a 1st female and 4th overall and almost immediately passed out in my car and completely forgot the collect my drop bags. 🫣
🙏🙏 HUGE THANKS to the amazing race staff, the volunteers, Josh Mcdole for shuttling my car, @mylifeasbette and John for letting me crash in Scottsdale, my coach @gabejoyes and mega congrats to all the runners in all the race distances. 🩵🙏 @aravaiparunning@blackdiamond@lasportivana@gnarlynutrition
I just LOVE the desert SO MUCH 🥰 Sandstone slabs, ponderosa pines, cacti, and all the various delicate ecosystems in between. 🧡🌲🌵 Few more shots from @sav.cummins in southern Utah last month.
@lasportivana
Went for my first park run of the year (probably the earliest I’ve ever run the park). Made a loop from Teton Village to Phelps on the Valley Trail and circled back on Bear Paw. Still a lot of snow on the Valley Trail but other trails further out from the mountains are tacky and lovely.
@blackdiamond@lasportivana
Fun couple of days playing in the desert with @sav.cummins to capture the new @lasportivana Prodigio II. Gotta say I’m a huge fan of the shoe but an even bigger fan of the color 🩷🧡 Also- spring in the Utah desert? 🥰🌸🧡🙏
Last week I was honored to speak at the Roadless Rambles event put on by @wyomingwilderness and @wyomingoutdoorcouncil to address threats to our public lands. The Roadless Rule is a policy that protects almost 60 million acres of national forest from roads, mining, and logging- places that protect watersheds, ecosystems, migration, and recreation- a rule that may soon be rescinded unless we take action.
I got to join Mike Maltaverne, Aaron Pruzan, Peter Linn, and Patti Baldes on stage to answer questions and tell personal stories and adventures from roadless areas.
My story was about the deep connection I made with the Popo Agie river and forest during the final hours of my first Wind River High Route FKT and greeting them again as old friends during my second attempt years later.
I believe - as long as you are acting responsibly- people belong in nature, whether you are a runner, hiker, climber, skier, hunter, or angler. When we are out in the wilds we can be fully present & conscious beings again and made small by being a piece in a greater ecosystem.
Thank you again to @wyomingoutdoorcouncil and @wyomingwilderness for allowing me to share in the evening.
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@blackdiamond@lasportivana@runners4publiclands
Quick trip to Arizona last weekend to get some heat and desert terrain underfoot. The landscape was in full spring bloom with lilies, cactus flowers, and neon palo verde. 🌵🌸
Saturday I got to experience the Cocodona training run- 36.5 miles and 10.8 ft of climbing through the first section of the Cocodona 250 ( or the Bradshaw 100 in my case). Shared some fun miles and steep climbs with fellow runners and got to see not one but TWO gila monsters! 🥳 Great to practice packing 4.5 liters of water although I didn’t have poles since I flew with just a carry on. Hoping that sandbagging myself during the practice run will make race day a little easier 😬😂
Special thanks to Steve and Erika, @aravaiparunning and the supporting brands for putting some a great day! Excited to experience the full 100 miles next month.
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@cocodona250@blackdiamond@lasportivana
Last week I was on the Shadows Run podcast speaking with @eva.may about the different picnics I’ve completed and how they introduced me to mountain running. We had a great conversation about the highs and lows, crewed vs unsupported, weather, mishaps and celebrations during the various picnics I completed between 2014 and 2016 when endurance was relatively new to me.
Thanks to @treefighter and his crazy picnic idea I not only found mountain running but also my first run sponsors to support my adventures and start a career as a professional athlete. I’m profoundly grateful for David, my early partners and support crews during those picnics ( @tgreszko@bree.buckley@ryan_burke11@sav.cummins@robkingwill ) as well as @lasportivana and @ospreypacks for helping launch my career.
The final photos are from the REI and Wizard Media short film following the 2016 Teewinot Picnic by Galen Knowles, Phil Hessler, and Zeepelin Zeerip
Thanks again Eva for having me on your pod! You can find the episode on the Shadows Run Podcast on Spotify and Apple.
Well now that the season is basically over I guess it’s as good a time as any to finally share my collaboration with @jacksonhole for their 60th anniversary artwork. So much fun working with @jacksonhole and @factionskis to create the custom top sheet and getting to apply the illustration to other merch and mediums as well. 🩵
I hope everyone got after it during our short winter! 🎿🏂
(Not me so much… 😬😖… I just ran 😂 🏃♀️)
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Cody & ski image by…. Someone through JHMR… let me know the photographers name so I can credit 🙏
