Welcome to Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association (NATRA LLC). Founded in fall 2001, NATRA’s mission is to promote trail running in Northern Arizona to folks of all abilities. We organize group runs of 5 to 8 miles rotating a mix of over 75 different trails on Saturday mornings whether there is rain, snow or shine! In our 23 years we have never missed a run due to Mother Nature. We only skip Saturday runs if we are hosting, sponsoring, or providing volunteers at local races. Click on "NEXT RUN" to see our calendar. Dogs are always welcome, but you must run with them on a leash - it is the law! (See attorney James Griffith's paper). If you are new to running or a seasoned veteran, come join us off-road and discover the incredible forest trails of Northern Arizona.
Here are some general running safety suggestions
by Personal Injury Help (www.personalinjury-law.com). Another good source of information is found on the Diet Spotlight Web Site.
Join NATRA LLC here for a FREE lifetime membership, if you would like to be on our e-mail list. There is no fee to join the group, so bookmark NATRA to stay updated on the latest group run information! Happy Trails!
JOIN NATRA's EMAIL LIST & FREE LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP HERE!!!
NEW: Runner's Reflections Columns
After no one stepped up to voluntarily coordinate and edit the Arizona Daily Sun's High Country Running column, its 15+ year run is on a hiatus until a volunteer steps up to the plate. However, after a brainstorming session with longtime NATRA runner Steve Rhode, NATRA will host "Runner's Reflections" on a Google spreadsheet. I will not be editing any of the submissions, so please make sure it is well written AND you have someone proof it before sending it to me at natrallc2017@gmail.com. Read Steve Rhode's inaugural column by clicking the Runner's Reflection link above!
Updated 2024 Northern Arizona Racing Calendar
5/28 Dream Run Camp/Matt Fitzgerald interview with NATRA
Bookmark Flagstaff Running News
Looking for a group run in Flagstaff?
Monday evenings: Brew Pub Run Club
Tuesday evenings: Team Run Flagstaff
Wednesday evenings (On pause in winter months): Peak Trail Runner
Thursdays 8 AM, Biff's Bagels: Flagstaff Bagel Run
Thursday evenings (March-October): Flagstaff Trail Divas
Thursday Evenings (Summers Only): Route 66 Running Club, 6:15 at Run Flagstaff Store
Fridays 4 PM, (May to September) Hoka NAZ Elite, Basha's Plaza, 1000 North Humphries Suite 200
Saturdays 9 AM (all year): Northern Arizona Trail Runners Association (visit "next run" above).
Saturdays 8 AM: Coffee and Kilometers Club. Meet at Single Speed Coffee Roasters
Saturdays 10 AM: Karibu Run/Hike Club, Campbell Mesa Parking Lot
Sunday mornings (On pause in winter months): Flagstaff Frontrunners/Frontwalkers
Flagstaff Trails Initiative Interactive Map
9/11/2022: Fires, Floods, and Forest Closures Send Soulstice Westward
25th Running of the Soulstice (10/12/2024)
FREE HIGH RESOLUTION SOULSTICE 2024 RACE PHOTO FOR DOWNLOAD
10/19/2024 High Country Running Recap
On Saturday, October 12, participants in the 25th Soulstice Mountain Trail Run encountered the ghost of Lieutenant Edward Beale and his infamous camels. Between 1857 and 1859, Beale’s party surveyed and built the first federally funded wagon road across the Southwest. One of the best intact sections of this historic road passes a stone’s throw from the course. Learn more about the "Great Camel Experiment" here.
The Honorary Starter and Oh those Camels!
Starting the day, Team Run Flagstaff coach Leah Rosenfeld warmed everyone up with her rocking mobility exercise class. Immediately afterward, kids dashers toed the line in front of Beale and his curious camels before speeding past flamingo-eating dinosaurs to earn their camel medallions. Honorary starter Nat White (83 years young) thrilled runners when he led the countdown for the start of Soulstice and then jumped into the 10K.
As runners excitedly bolted from the start, few saw the mayhem that broke out. Camels Gamal and Rakuda didn't want to get left behind so they tried to chase the pack of runners as the ghost of Edward Beale struggled to keep them from entering race. Once the runners crested the first hill and were out of sight, the camels calmed down and were well-behaved once they reached their bubble-filled Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff aid station.
11.2 MILE LONG COURSE
In the 11.2-mile race, Run Flagstaff’s Ray Langlais won his first Soulstice in 1:11:38, with women’s winner Rachel Smith right on his heels in 1:12:37. This marked Rachel’s third straight win and fourth overall.
For the Masters title (40–59), Will Drexler won easily in 1:12:53, while Allison Blackmore won in 1:27:54. At 58, Blackmore is a Canadian sub-three-hour marathoner. In the new Grand Masters division (60+), Flagstaff Running News’s Sam McManis pushed hard to win in 1:41:47, while Diana Cudeii took the women’s title in 1:58:22. Near mile 9, several runners reportedly ran faster than normal as a hungry dinosaur (retired Coconino County Supervisor Matt Ryan) baited them with electrolyte drinks.
10K SHORT COURSE
Newcomers Damien Hiser (43:15) and Selena Langner (44:15) both won the 10K in their first Soulstice races. At 62 years young, Grand Master (60+) runner Gunter Ziwey beat all 40- to 59-year-olds to claim the Masters title. Ziwey also won the overall Soulstice short course as a masters runner in 2005. On the women’s side, ten-time short course winner Janet Bain returned after a three-year hiatus to claim her first Masters title. In the Grand Masters,Tom Viskocil won in 50:54, while Canadian Olympic race walker Janice McCaffrey’s 1:05:19 took the women’s title.
Other gutty performances included our youngest participant, 13-year-old Ainsley Owen, who left her running shoes in Chino Valley. Ainsley ran the rocky 10K in her Crocs, finishing in 1:26:17, only seven seconds slower than last year! Soulstice’s oldest finisher was Flagstaff’s timeless wonder Nat White, who finished the 10K in 1:19:18.
Looking for an edge, Bruce Higgins returned from hiking at 18,000 feet in Nepal with hours to spare and, with his super-oxygenated blood, won the highly competitive 70+ division in 1:04:34.
POST-RACE PARTY
At the renowned postrace party, we recognized 10 runners who have completed the race 20 or more times. Howard Brown and Daniel Maestas now lead the field with 23; followed by Tom Lyle (22); Mark Moran, Mark Thurston, Joe Immethun, John Bogen, Liz Brauer and David Blanchard with 21; and Diane Immethun with 20. Most importantly, runners raised just over $10,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff mentoring programs. Registration for the October 11, 2025, race opens New Year’s Eve, so mark your calendars!
THANK YOU!!!!
Special thanks to volunteers Trailgangstaz Ruari Moynihan, Brian Fruechtenicht, Jeremiah Langner and Dennis Swearingen for coordinating the Li'l Pup Ranch parking; Chris and Joanne Vianos of the Paradise Ranch for their start line parking area; packet pick-up volunteers Deb Fruechtenicht, Kimerberly Swearingen, Liu Yanzi, and Dani Potvin; Leah Rosenfeld for leading early morning stretching exercises; mountain bike cattle gate guards and course monitors Gabrielle and Scott Anderson; Paul Webber for his live music; Jay Carnes, John Lowe, Ryan Dee, Emy and Sean Tice, and Mark Ulm for coordinating the post-race party and cleaning up afterwards; Aspen Sports owners Rich and Heather Reading for gathering all the great raffle prizes and their raffle extraordinaire emcees Mark Despain and Ted Pribil; Eric (Edward Beale) Souders and his camels Gamal and Rakuda; Flagstaff Foundry's Stephanie Welch for leading post-race yoga; Jim Truncali for providing much needed massages; Diana Weintraub for handing out age division medals; Run Flagstaff's Vince Sherry for timing the race and Gail Hughes for her database and race day management support; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff for their bubble machine and camels aid station; Matt and Sean Ryan for their Jurassic Parks aid station, Ted and Mark at the Aspen Sports 5K aid turnaround; Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll and his deputies, Guardian Medical's support; Weld Like A Girl for their recycled fire extinguisher awards, and Jeremiah and Selena Langner for hosting the post-race party at their beautiful ranch.
And finally, thanks to the Kaibab National Forest and Coconino County for permitting the race, and to the Parks, Government Mountain community, for their enthusiasm and support for the 25th running of Soulstice.
Thanks as always to our supporting sponsors Aspen Sports Flagstaff and Flagstaff Law Group, Dr. Amber Randall Southwest Hip and Knee Advanced Technology, Fratelli Pizza, Super Salve, Squirrel's Nut Butter, Biff's Bagels, Run Flagstaff, Pay 'N Take, Skratch Labs, The Physio Shop, Weld Like A Girl, Performance Recovery Bodywork - Jim Truncali and SweatVac Performance Wear.
The camels had so much fun, they will be back next year. Registration for the October 11, 2025, race opens New Year’s Eve, so be sure to mark your calendars!
2023 Soulstice Mountain Trail Run Recap
10/15/2023: Could yesterday's Soulstice Mountain Trail Run and post-race party have been any more epic?
FREE HIGH RESOLUTION SOULSTICE 2023 RACE PHOTO FOR DOWNLOAD
First congrats to all participants who survived the spectacular annular eclipse at the 24th running of Soulstice immersed in the majestic beauty of the U.S. Forest Service - Kaibab National Forest's historic Government Prairie grassland.
Ahead of the main race, runners cheered on the kid's as they survived a new tradition; The Wild Pink Flamingo Kid's Dash! And I'm happy to report that none of the kiddos were attacked by the hungry wild flamingoes lining the course.
At the start, we celebrated the memory of Soulstice runner Pete Reed, who was killed last February while voluntarily serving as a medic on a humanitarian effort to save lives in the Ukraine.
As the race and eclipse went off in spectacular fashion, legendary Flagstaff ultra runner Robert Krar jumped to the front and set the standard for our newly designed 11+ mile course in 1:08.38. 2021 Flagstaff Olympian Rachel Smith pushed Rob along throughout the eclipse as she ended up second overall, winning the women's race in 1:10.15, her third Soulstice victory!
On the masters side, Ted MacMahon won the men's division in 1:16.33, while the women were led by Colleen Lingley who dueled with Ted all race long finishing four seconds behind him in 1:16.37.
In the 10K course, Ryan Stevens won the race in 39.43 with masters winner Mark Loeffler taking second overall in 40.59.
On the women's side, our youngest runner, 18 year old Audrey Encinas smoked the 10K course in 47.54, while three-time Canadian Olympic race walker Janice McCaffrey (1992, 1996 and 2000) won the women's masters division in 56.23.
See the full results at https://www.athlinks.com/.../results/Event/1062858/Results
It was a magical race with the annular eclipse taking place at the same time. The skies eerily darkened as shadows danced throughout the race course, the temperatures noticeably dropped, and dozens of runners stopped at the aid stations using eclipse glasses to enjoy the celestial display.
As this was the 24th running, we are now starting to see a big youth movement and were thrilled that Soulstice has turned into a family affair! This year there were at least seven pairs of parents participating with their offspring, including Ron and Lucy Vollbrecht, Andy and Landyn Morris, Audrey and Laura Rayburn, Colleen and Dot Lingley, Jessica and Ansley Owen, and Emilie Sineau and her boys Luke and Max.
The wild and crazy post-race party was kicked off by local Parks musician Paul Webber and his buddy Michael from Bend, Oregon playing Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire.
And Whalen went off script per usual with his newest Soulstice challenges that will no doubt be a future tradition; the Soulstice Island hot dog eating contest which was followed by the first ever Klostermeyer Chug-a-lug, won by Michael Tharp.
The party then took a short break until reconvening Saturday evening; much thanks to Fratelli Pizza for helping pack the Pay N'Take for a second night in a row, with our runner and volunteer appreciation pizza party.
Of course the biggest winner was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff, the beneficiary of well over $10,000 as result of the Aspen Sports raffle, Soulstice shirt sponsors, and those runners who donated their Arizona Charitable Tax Credit to BBBSF (the free and guaranteed way to get into Soulstice).
Registration for the 2024, 25th annual Soulstice Mountain Trail Run opens on December 31st, and will again sell out after the April 1st lottery. Stay tuned to natra.org for all the latest details!
Special thanks to volunteers Jay Carnes, past and present Aspen Sports owners Jerry, McLaughlin, Rich and Heather Reading, race co-founder Paul Brinkmann, raffle extraordinaire emcee Waylon, Gail Hughes for her database and race day management support, my dozens of friends who volunteered as course marshals, Coconino County Sheriff Jim Driscoll and his deputies, Guardian Medical's support, of course Jeremiah and Selena Langner for hosting the post-race party at their beautiful ranch, and finally thanks to my best man David McKee, for his artful design of the shirt and poster.
Thanks as always to our major sponsors Aspen Sports Flagstaff, Flagstaff Law Group, Fratelli Pizza, Super Salve, Squirrel's Nut Butter, Biff's Bagels, Dr. Amber Randall, Run Flagstaff, Grand Canyon Adventures, Pay 'N Take, Skratch Labs, The Physio Shop, Weld Like A Girl, Performance Recovery Bodywork - Jim Truncali and SweatVac Performance Wear.
The only question is, how will we top this year's race?
10/11/2022: Nearly 200 runners and Kid’s dashers enjoyed the wild expansive views of the Kaibab National Forest’s Government Prairie.
Despite the change in venue, the top of the leaderboard was Soulstice deja vu all over again. In the 10.3 mile long course, Chris Gomez won his record 6th overall title since his first in 2011, in a blazing 1:01.03 while not far behind (and 3rd overall) was Olympian Rachel Smith who ran a 1:05.52. Will Drexler (4th overall) defended his master’s title for the sixth straight year in 1:06.01 while Valerie Cross took her first women’s master’s division in 1:17.01. Dylan Quinn won our first ever non-binary division in 1:27.18.
In the short course, John Dailey defended his title by racing the 5.5 mile out and back course in 36.59 not far ahead of second place overall, Eric Bohn won his first master’s title in 37.53. On the women’s side, Janie Goldsworthy (3rd overall) also defended her title in 43.01 while Grace Daiy took the master’s title in 47.02.
The race was followed by an epic party at the Langner Ranch with another Aspen Sports post-race raffle, the Pay N’ Take party and our first ever live music featuring guitarist Paul Webber.
However, the biggest winners were all the kids that benefit from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff mentoring programs. Thanks to our many shirt sponsors, the Aspen Sports Raffle and runners who guaranteed themselves a spot in the race by donating their Arizona Charitable Tax credit of $400 to BBBSF, the 25th anniversary Soulstice Mountain Trail Run raised over $15,000 to create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth.
Getting into Soulstice will be even more competitive as we have 134 legacy runners who are guaranteed entry. Next year the race is on October 14th with registration opening on New Year’s Eve and with the limited 225 spots to be determined by our April 1st lottery. Make sure you enter early or guarantee your entry by taking the 2022 Arizona Tax Credit (which you get back as a line item credit!) and we will see you October 14th.
10/10/2021: Congratulations to the 169 participants at the 22nd running of the Soulstice Mountain Trail Run. Results can be found on Athlinks.com. It was a picture perfect fall day for our return to the traditional course after the changes required by the Museum Fire in 2019 and of course holding the race virtually last year.
The king of Soulstice, Chris Gomez, captured his fifth overall Long Course title in 1:16.59, with his wins now spanning a decade races (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2021). On the women's side Team Run Flagstaff coach Leah Rosenfeld won her first title in 1:27.39 and most notably joins the ranks of Sara Wagner (2012), and Soulstice record holder David Sinclair (2017) who have won both the Imogene Pass Run and Soulstice in the same year (the races are held 4 weeks apart). As most of you know Soulstice was inspired by the Imogene Pass Run, making it Flagstaff's hometown version of the famous grueling Colorado race. On the Master's side, Will Drexler won his 5th straight title in 1:21.08 while Dawn Greenwalt took her first victory in 1:35.40.
Janet Bain won her incredible 10th overall Sprint Course title since 2008 in 56.55 while John Dailey took the men's race in 48.45. On the Master's side, Mackenzie Lurie took her first title in 59.35, with 61 year old Tom Viskocil winning his fourth title in 58.20. Tom is also the first 60+ age division to win the Sprint Course.
Not to be outdone, Soulstice also had its first two 80 year olds in the Sprint course; Flagstaff running guru Nat White who finished in 1:16.13 AND Marilaine Jones who finished in 2:30.52 These are likely records to stand for some time to come.
Special thanks to the dozens of volunteers and especially Jay Carnes, Scott Miller, Jen Hammond and Grant Dunstan who organized the superlative epic Pay n' Take post-race party that seemed to go on forever this year.
A very special shout out to Aspen Sports new owners Rich and Heather Reading alongside former store partners Jerry Mclaughlin and Dave Barnett; their amazing raffle coupled with the generosity of runners broke a new Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff fundraising record of $5714! Including the runners who raced Soulstice for free by donating their $400 Arizona State Charitable Tax Credit to BBBSF, Soulstice once again raised just over $15,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Flagstaff mentoring programs.
Also thanks to Biff's Bagels for the mountain of bagels and Fratelli's Pizza who sponsored the Saturday evening feast at the Pay n' Take.
The 23rd running of the Soulstice Mountain Trail Run will take place on October 8, 2022, with registration for the lottery opening on January 1st!
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© Northern Arizona Trail Runner's Assocation | 2015
