THE STRIDER
Your news source for the Mesa Monument Striders, Grand Valley running, and beyond.
In this issue: There’s a lot to cover as trail racing ramps up in the spring and upcoming summer season! Local MMS races continue to see competitive performances. Striders show up and run AMAZING at the Desert Rats Festival. Tom Ela watches movies, and tells you all about it!
Thanks to Spencer Shellberg, Whit Blair, Tom Ela, and Larry Ingram for contributions.
For submissions for upcoming newsletters, feel free to email articles, upcoming events, edits, race results/reports, etc. to Michelle at [email protected].
From a now former co-editor: Thanks everyone for letting me try my hand at co-editing the newsletter for the past year (and at being a board member for the past three years)! It was fun, I learned a lot, and I am very grateful for the kind feedback we received from membership. I'm currently finding my energy gravitating toward other creative pursuits, but maybe I'll be back in the future if y'all will have me! Thanks to Michelle for being an amazing team player, and for taking the reins going forward. The newsletter is in good hands!! See y'all out on the trails. --Megan
Race Results and Reports
Pi Day Run (3.14 baby!) - March 14th, 2026 - Grand Junction, CO
Striders continued the tradition of celebrating Pi Day on 3/14 by running the requisite 3.14 miles at 3:14 in the afternoon followed by a pie and other delectables eating binge. 28 runners competed on the Lunch Loops course for the Pi Day medals won by Cody Esbenshade and Caitlin Hill. Then came the pie, (pizza, fruit, cream), Karla’s ubiquitous sourdough bread and more various goodies. No one was nerdy enough to be able to repeat the first 10 digits of pi right of the decimal from memory. Keep training! - Tom
1 | 23:26 | Cody Esbenshade | 36 | M |
2 | 24:46 | Nicholas Hedges | 33 | M |
3 | 26:29 | Scott Vig | 51 | M |
4 | 27:57 | Caitlin Hill | 41 | F |
5 | 27:59 | Steven Brown | 29 | M |
6 | 30:38 | Jeff Starkey | 47 | M |
7 | 31:09 | Lew Kirkegaard | 56 | M |
8 | 35:38 | Jeff Howard | 65 | M |
9 | 36:47 | Sue Lee | F | |
10 | 37:19 | Morgan Eaton | 25 | F |
11 | 37:42 | Stacy Falsone | 42 | F |
12 | 38:24 | Taryn Brown | 27 | F |
13 | 38:33 | Nicholas Jagt | 25 | M |
14 | 39:30 | D Plunkett | 61 | F |
15 | 39:32 | Gordon Harbert | 66 | M |
16 | 42:28 | Kari Pichora | 43 | F |
17 | 45:34 | Sari Dennis | 26 | F |
18 | 47:22 | Charlee Sturrock | 8 | F |
19 | 47:24 | Nikki Sturrock | 45 | F |
20 | 47:24 | Karla Nephew | 46 | F |
21 | 49:25 | Sue Ceglowski | 60 | F |
22 | 50:23 | Jay Sturrock | 50 | M |
23 | 50:25 | Rylie Sturrock | 10 | F |
24 | 50:27 | Steve DeFeyter | 74 | M |
25 | 53:00 | Sheryl Douglas | 75 | F |
26 | 53:14 | Conrad Cole | 75 | M |
27 | 61:38 | Carrine Evans | F | |
28 | 61:39 | Joe Evans | 44 | M |
Behind the Rocks Ultra - March 28th, 2026 - Moab, CO
Several Striders went to Moab to represent the Grand Valley in another Mad Moose event. Casie Reynolds and Cynthia Podrouzek were in 13th and 19th place respectively for female competitors in the 30K. Scott Vig took 8th overall in the 30K!
Widowmaker (6 and 9 mi courses) - April 4th, 2026 - Grand Junction, CO
The Widowmaker races were a great success, with 31 runners taking on the two distances and enjoying ideal racing conditions. The beautiful weather helped create a fun and energetic atmosphere, making it a memorable day for all. Thanks to all that attended! - Karla
6 Mile Results:
1 | Madeline Grossman | 55:54.4 | 7 | Jeff Starkey | 1:19:07 | 13 | D Plunkett | 1:30:04 |
2 | Josh Downs | 1:01:33 | 8 | Gordon Harbert | 1:21:45 | 14 | Lori Stone | 1:30:59 |
3 | Caitlin Hill | 1:02:58 | 9 | Richard Leclarq | 1:22:36 | 15 | Sheryl Douglas | 2:01:56 |
4 | Karen Ganss | 1:07:18 | 10 | Susan Bierman | 1:29:42 | 16 | Lou Villaire | 2:02:26 |
5 | Ernie Langlier | 1:15:58 | 11 | Ashley Ahlholm | 1:29:54 | 17 | Conrad Cole | 2:16:58 |
6 | Jeff Howard | 1:18:36 | 12 | Nicole Sturrock | 1:29:55 |
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9 Mile Results:
1 | Ian Rogers | 1:11:19 | 6 | Tracy Thelen | 1:26:49 | 11 | Michael Warner | 1:53:08 |
2 | Shane Massey | 1:13:54 | 7 | Tyler Jones | 1:28:20 | 12 | Scott Holmaier | 1:58:09 |
3 | Donnie Tietsema | 1:16:03 | 8 | Jamie Justice | 1:34:46 | 13 | Lauren Dix | 1:58:57 |
4 | Cody Esbenshade | 1:18:48 | 9 | Megan Sand | 1:37:05 | 14 | Oliver Berg | 2:02:51 |
5 | Joe Kuta | 1:26:27 | 10 | Jina Silva | 1:37:15 |
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Desert Rats Trail Running Festival by UTMB (10K, 21K, 50K, 100K) - April 9th-12th, 2026 - Fruita, CO
Plenty of local runners and Mesa Monument Striders represented the Grand Valley in the Desert Rats 21K! Whit Blair took 1st with a new course record of 1:23:05. Other notable performances from the 21K include Brian Glassey (3rd), Niko Sanchez (5th), and Shane Niksic (7th). Kat Robinson came in 10th for female athletes.
Several local runners took on the ultra distances. Austin Anderson came in 6th in the 50K and Max Robinson took 17th in the 100K. Spencer Shellberg won the 100K race with a time of 8:19:29, a new course record!
Garfield Grumble - May 23rd, 2026 - Palisade, CO
The lack of snowfall this winter and rain in the spring caused concern about drought and wildfire for this summer. With that in mind, instead of the usual flaming finish line, we brought out the fake flames. Those were first introduced in 2018 when Patrick Hummel won the race.
Ernie was the only passenger to take advantage of the pre-race shuttle. Normally I pick up four to six participants. So, it looked like it was probably going to be a low turn-out for the race this year.
However, the parking lot was full of vehicles before the start. Good sign!
It turned out that we had a record 42 finishers. Buzz Burrell brought a team of seven from Moab.
It felt pretty chilly at the start. This apparently was good for the runners. We saw Brian Glassey lead the line of runners up the front side. We next saw him from the finish first to the coal seam which begins the adventure down the face of the Bookcliffs. He said his time of 49:18 was a PR.
Melissa Beaury from the Moab contingent set a new course record for the women with a 55:00 flat. The previous record was set in 1995 by Suzi Evans at 56:03. In the early days, traversing the downhill was about ten minutes faster than today. No bridges or ladders were needed back then. So, Melissa’s course record is super impressive!
The temperature warmed up to be just right for folks to enjoy hot dogs, beer and Gatorade at the finish. Again, we distributed goofy prizes. Thank you to all who participated and our customary race helpers!
I miss the real flames. - Conrad
1 | Brian Glassey | 49:18:00 | 15 | Morgean Orozco | 1:04:17 | 29 | Ernie Langelier | 1:25:17 |
2 | Cory Massey | 52:13:00 | 16 | CJ Barella | 1:04:21 | 30 | Oliver Berg | 1:32:46 |
3 | Cody Esbenshade | 54:05:00 | 17 | Kayla Rhodes | 1:04:29 | 31 | Steve Ela | 1:33:57 |
4 | Shane Massey | 54:43:00 | 18 | Jason Keith | 1:06:20 | 32 | D Plunkett | 1:34:04 |
5 | Melissa Beaury | 55:00:00 | 19 | Matt Olding | 1:07:01 | 33 | Patty Harbert | 1:37:05 |
6 | Caden Klein | 57:19:00 | 20 | Mark Waltermire | 1:07:04 | 34 | Kyle Harbert | 1:37:05 |
7 | Scott Vig | 57:44:00 | 21 | Levi Hamer | 1:08:44 | 35 | Joe Schwarz | 1:37:10 |
8 | David Fay | 1:01:14 | 22 | Megan Rubin | 1:12:29 | 36 | Christina Briseno | 1:38:08 |
9 | Tom Nolan | 1:01:21 | 23 | Sammy Lenz | 1:16:28 | 37 | Sara Friedman | 1:38:53 |
10 | Brian Johnson | 1:01:30 | 24 | Tessa Logii | 1:16:33 | 38 | Tom Green | 1:43:47 |
11 | Lizzie Jones | 1:02:08 | 25 | Harry McAward | 1:16:36 | 39 | Angie Fike | 1:50:39 |
12 | Buzz Burrell | 1:03:58 | 26 | Gordon Harbert | 1:17:36 | 40 | Michelle Green | 1:55:42 |
13 | Steve Reddy | 1:04:02 | 27 | Karen Ganss | 1:22:36 | 41 | Trevor Fuchs | 2:06:17 |
14 | Dan Boyer | 1:04:07 | 28 | Josh Flint | 1:24:34 | 42 | Steve DeFeyter | 2:25:55 |
Mike the Headless Chicken 5K - May 30th, 2026 - Fruita, CO
Over 500 runners turned up for this local 5K! Brian Glassey won the fast 5K with a time of 16:28. Cody Esbenshade came in 7th with a time of 19:36 and Shane Massey came in 10th with a time of 19:55. Molly Flanagan was the female winner with a time of 20:32.
Ezzy Rostel and Suzie Seele were second in their respective age groups. Marshall Steele took 3rd in his age group and Ernie Langelier took 2nd place in his age group! Jeanie Grooms took 1st in her age group.
Other Awesome Performances:
Striders also take on races outside of the western slope! Shout out to Ryan Sullivan for winning the Lake Sonoma 100K (Healdsburg, CA) with a course record of 8:36:09. And congrats to Whit Blair for winning the Quad Rock 25 (Fort Collins, CO) with a time of 3:24. Woot!
Newsletter Contributions
Desert Rats Debut
[Reflections on Desert Rats 100K Win, Spencer Shellberg, April 11, 2026]
What a day Saturday, April 11th was at the Desert Rats 100k!
This was my debut at the 100k distance and just my third ultra. A little over a year ago, I first considered this race while volunteering to help set the course and I started to daydream of “what if..”. At the time, I was living and working in Montrose, had only run the Kokopelli Trails a handful of times, and was just starting to get into trail running. Since then, I’ve fallen in love with the process - the training, the adventure, and everything that comes with it.
Race day felt like a perfect storm: trails I knew and loved, cooperative weather (at least at the start), and countless miles of training alongside fellow Striders all culminated in the day that I would have. We started in the dark at 5 a.m., headlamps lighting the way up Moore Fun. Early on, I realized how much of an advantage it was to know the terrain. I found myself leading the climb and flowing into the descent toward Rustlers with a small group. Taking the advice of experienced ultrarunners, I stayed patient through the first 25 miles, focused on conserving for the second half. Eventually, I broke away with one other runner. At the top of the Salt Creek climb, after a quick bottle refill, I made a move and committed. From there on out, I ran alone. When the course opened up to dirt roads, I leaned into my road running background and worked to build a gap.
At the Rabbit Valley aid station, my fiancé Annika executed a quick, seamless resupply, and I headed out onto the Western Rim loop. That’s when the conditions shifted. What had been overcast turned into a full-on storm - hail, lightning, wind, and rain. The trail became slick, the mud heavy, and every step more difficult. After making it back through Rabbit Valley and seeing my crew again, I pushed into the final section. The Salt Creek stretch was especially tough - muddy, technical, and unforgiving, especially 60 miles in. Eventually, I made it onto Hawkeye Road, where I was surprised to be greeted by a smiling, cheering Scott Jurek.
The finish was something out of a dream for me. Crossing that line, holding up the finish banner, seeing my friends and my partner - I still get chills thinking about it and everything that led to that moment. I went into the race hoping to be near the course record, but I never imagined taking nearly 38 minutes off it. I’m still wrapping my head around that. I’m in awe of what the body can do. Grateful, humbled, and fired up to keep exploring what’s possible in this sport. And I know not every day will look like this - there will be tough races, setbacks, and long grinds - but that’s exactly what makes days like this so special.
Desert Rats Half Marathon: Race Fast but Look for Birds
[Notes on Desert Rats 21K Win, Whit Blair, April 12, 2026]
Desert Rats weekend is always a highlight of the year for me and a chance to play as the home team at a competitive race that brings in some talented runners from around the west. I’ve enjoyed plenty of long runs with friends at Kokopelli and feel that I know the trails, and the birds that inhabit them, fairly well. This year, after the trials and tribulations of volunteering to gain free entry, I found myself on the half marathon starting line on a cool Sunday morning.
On longer easy runs, I can usually identify a handful of bird species by sight and sound around these trails: the always clever and reliably present Common Raven, the occasional cliff nesting Golden Eagle soaring above, in late spring, the chirpy White-throated Swifts that make their way to their summer home cliff nests, a boisterous flock of post-fledging cackling Pinyon Jays in May, the Studio Ghibli-esque covey of Gambel’s quails hauling across the road in a perfect line, the lucky treat of a glance at a perched Ash-throated Flycatcher.
Unfortunately, during a fast race like the half marathon, my focus is pulled away from the birds and towards the trail below me and the people racing around me. Sometimes, during a hard effort like the Desert Rats half, I can still be briefly pulled out of the intensity—when I catch a song of a canyon wren or the flash of a mourning dove flushing from a juniper next to the trail. This year’s race was highlighted by the Say’s Phoebe: an elegant flycatcher with an animated whistle song and playful diving flight. I distinctly remember seeing one dive below the cliff line as I raced along the Steve’s connector in the first few miles of the race. That brief encounter would give me a sense of calm to steady my pace as I raced along Mary's and would have to satiate my birding needs for most of the race. It wasn't until the beginning of the Moore Fun climb that I would have my next memorable encounter, this time with the elaborate warbly and buzzy song of a Bewick's Wren. I couldn't risk looking up during the technical section of the climb, but I know that song well from all the time I've spent in our Pinyon-Juniper woodlands. It gave me just enough distraction from the difficulty of the climb and made me wonder what a Wren thinks about the lines of runners traversing through their home.
Just after I finished the Moore Fun descent, I was pulled back into my birding daydreams by the almost mechanical call of the Black-throated Sparrow, a stunning desert dwelling bird often found in saltbrush habitats, as I ran along Hawkeye road for the final stretch of the race. I closed hard, but not as quickly as a sparrow evading a predator like a Red-tailed Hawk or a "domestic" house cat. And those final thoughts were just enough to carry me through to the finish line to grab a cup of lukewarm cola.
I raced hard at Desert Rats this year, but was still able to make a modest list of a few species. That is the duality of loving birding and trail running—to balance the thrill of the chase, of a podium finish or a new PR, or of a new lifer bird or a chance encounter with a unique song or foraging or breeding behavior of a favorite local species.
Admittedly, slower training runs with friends have served me better for bird identification, but I'll always keep my senses on alert and pray that someday during a race I may encounter a rarity or vagrant, like the famous Greater Roadrunner that temporarily found itself at Lunch Loops during Summer 2021 (please keep your eyes peeled, you really never know these days), or the vibrant and whimsical Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that spent 24 hours in April of 2025 next to the river right by the Kingsview Road just before to Pollock Bench trailhead. I'm not sure how I'd react if I had an encounter with a rarity during a race--if I had my phone I'd have to sacrifice place and time for some photo evidence, and if I didn't I'd just have to pray that everyone would believe me (although I wouldn't believe anything I said after the six hour mark of a race).
Keep running and keep birding, friends.
Trail Running Films in Moab
[Synopsis of the Trail Running Film Festival in Moab, Tom Ela, May 28th, 2026]
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Trail Running Film Festival in Moab. The only downside was that I didn’t win any of the bounteous door prizes! The slate of films was varied, interesting and inspiring.
Athletes with lower limb amputations running with prosthetic blades were featured in one film. Very inspiring!
Another featured Becky Bates who began running in her 50’s and now at 62 has completed the Hard Rock 100 three times. More inspiration!
Another featured Karina Carsolio who honors her brother who died in a mountaineering accident by attempting FKT’s on 3 of Bolivia’s highest peaks. She recruits another woman to partner on these stunning running and mountaineering challenges.
Another death of a brother inspired “Dick’s-A-Thon”. Two brothers on a whim challenge themselves to a marathon that connects Seattle’s five Dick’s burger stands with the challenge of eating something at each including at least one burger, one order of fries and one milk shake. When one bro dies, this becomes an annual popular event in memoriam.
A film featured the famous Dipsea race, a 7-mile trail race from Mill Valley north of San Francisco over the coastal mountains to Stinson Beach on the ocean. 5 young runners are followed as they train for and complete this classic known for its handicapping system that starts slower runners ahead based on age and gender.
My favorite followed Allie Mclaughlin, aka Allie Mac (US Trail Marathon champ 2020 & 2021, FKT for women on the Manitou Incline (set in 2010!)) as she set for herself a unique challenge featuring Tombstone Rock outside of Moab overlooking Kane Creek. Allie is also an accomplished BASE jumper so she wondered if she could run to the top of Tombstone and back faster than she could run with her gear to the top and jump off to descend. She found running was faster by about 30 seconds.
Former Strider Killian Korth was in person and showed a trailer for a film about his 200+ mile race accomplishments that will be out sometime this Summer. Allie Mac and another woman trail star (can’t remember her name now) joined Killian for an informative Q&A afterward. Killian has since gone on to place 2nd in the Cocodona 250, faster than the previous course record but behind the amazing Rachel Entrekin, overall winner and new course record holder!
A LITTLE HISTORY ON ULTRA RUNNERS
[History Lesson, Larry Ingram, April 27th, 2026]
In the late 1970s and into the 1980s when the running boom hit it seemed that all these new runners just had to run a marathon and that has carried on to today especially as the BIGS got so big they capped entries years ago. NYC, Chicago, Boston, all had just hundreds back in the 70s. When I ran NYC in ‘84 it had 40,000 and when I ran it in “94 it had 50,000 capped out.
Now, in recent years the new challenge has become to run an ULTRA. But with various distances over a wide variety of terrain over trails with altitude thrown in are unlike the standard 26.2 mile paved marathon making it impossible to compare runners and results. So best to look at the history of famous events and courses over the test of time that have drawn the top runners. These tend to be mostly mountain trail runs with lots of tough climbs.
Several runners with Grand Junction and area backgrounds have been world wide leaders and founded several of the top mountain race events run today. So the following will make good reading and give the present and past perspective to our current crop of valley mountain/ultra runners that are being reported in MMS results. Also since one runner told me why compete in local races because of weak competition. These earlier runners often ran races in the valley and surrounding area, they knew that local competition was good and even a 5 or 10K event could be a good time trial or speed workout which makes you better as most were earlier top track/road runners.
ANYWAY, check out the following earlier runners on the internet, you will have no trouble finding them and some articles give their training. I have my top favorites but maybe the #1 is Rick Trujillo from little Ouray. As a HS champ runner he did some training on the trails above town and went on to be an all-American CC runner at CU where he became a close friend with Grand Junction’s Dan Peterson. He spoke to probably the largest crowd of MMS and others ever in GJ. Rick’s feet couldn’t finish a flat marathon but could run down elk in the mountains and only a few other runners could stay with him on training runs let alone races. In the ‘70s he won Pikes Peak 6X and set the record 2X to 3:31. He trained Ouray to Telluride and then established the present event and is still involved and started the Hard Rock 100 which he won at age 48 in 1996. In 1995 he ran all 54 of Colorado’s 14ers in 15 days, 9 hours 55 minutes and then helped Telluride running partner Ricky Denniseck break that at 14 days 16 minutes. (Both ran in GJ esp. in the Appleton Freezer.) Rick was a geologist who worked summers in Colorado and then summers in the Andes and once ran the length of the famous Inca Trail and its ugly stone steps. READ ON….. Type in Rick Trujillo, runner and enjoy several great articles, esp. I Run Far.com (a key site for most of these runners) with great photos.
Chuck Smead was one of the few to keep up with Rick training on his routes above Ouray. Check Wikipedia for bios, 4X Pikes Peak winner, 2nd in Pan Am Games marathon in Mexico City and one of the first Americans to race in the Alps and won the Sierre-Zinal (Mount Blanc). He lives in Mosca in the San Louis valley and is a good friend of GJ’s national masters champ Jan Frisby and has run races in GJ. He races with Jan on the Boulder Road Runners team in national age group events, (top U.S. team). I know him from when he coached distance at Durango HS for a few years, and started their great boys teams. Read runthealps.com.
It was Chuck who introduced maybe the most prolific mountain/distance/ultra runner to European mountain events, Pablo (Charlie) Vigil. You may not hear too much about him because as he told me when I stayed with him in Loveland before we ran a Colorado Runner point race in Ft Collins that he loved running in Europe where it was more popular and paid better and had crowds along the course like the bike races. He won the Sierre-Zonal 4X straight and held the record. He also won a crazy ultra 100 mile race a couple times in the Sahara of Algeria. He won the Cleveland Marathon with his best time of 2:15.
Read Pablo Vigil, Coloradorunninghall of fame.com, runthealps.com (esp. read this all you ultras and want-to-bes.) Boulder Weekly, Runningfullcircle, interview. And more.
After reading the bios, here is what is not told. When I started coaching CC at GJHS in 1969 one of our biggest ”rivals” was Moffat County HS and their team led by Charlie Vigil, his brother Steve (#3) and Bill Aragon (#2). They won the lower division CO State CC championship and Charlie, I believe, was state champ. Steve is a long time runner with the MMS and his son, Austin, was FMHS’s standout and ran for CSU, now a Denver firefighter. Bill Aragon was the valley and MMS star runner for 2+ decades, won the Denver Marathon and more and ran Boston with Rosie Ruis. My goal was to stay close but he was 10 years younger, excuses. Also a good friend of Jan Frisby. Charlie changed his name to Pablo when he ran for Adams State, and became national champion, then trained in Boulder with Frank Shorter and then world class. He ran and won several races in GJ closely chased by my assistant track coach, Dan Saurs, and Bill Aragon.
Note, an article said he introduced Megan Lund (Wikipedia) to Sierre-Zinal which she won, the only American woman to do so, still? She is the daughter of Alan Lund, the excellent coach of several successful Basalt HS runners and a great competitor to me in the day and is race director of one of my favorite races, the Basalt (downhill from Rudai Dam) Half Marathon.
Also Western CO had two other outstanding women mountain runners, Kim Dobson and Anita Ortiz 4X winner of the Assent. Both ran out of Eagle with Dobson living a short time in GJ. Both are huge in Pikes Peak results (Check records). Dobson dominated the Ascent winning 7X and still holds the record at 2:24 and had a marathon win. A couple of other guys that did well at Pikes Peak are Stan Fox won 1X 1996 and Glenn Randall. Stan taught Special Ed at GJHS 2-3 years and ran with my training group and raced. But, he loved the mountains and ran better there, a grad of WSC, moved to Telluride but kept coming back to run the Turkey Predict. Glenn was from Collbran, won the 2010 Assent at Pikes Peak and holds the record for Crag Crest. But, he was even a better CC skier, I think, was a national champ for Harvard and only an illness kept him off the U.S. Olympic team. Kim Dobson, Trailrunner Magazine article. en.wikipedia.org//wiki/Pikes_Peak_Marathon best complete winners list. The most dominant man by far was Matt Carpenter of Colorado Springs. He is said to have the highest VO2 max ever measured and has the most wins and the record for Pikes Peak plus the World’s high altitude mountain record from Tibet, the record for the San Juan Solstice 50 Mile and has raced the world.
A local runner also often overlooked but top notch altitude mountain runner is Robb Reece. Robb and his brother were MMS presidents. He ran his first marathon as a 9th grade middle schooler which shocked all of us. He ran CC and track for me at GJHS but spent his junior year in Colorado Springs as a member of the Oly Junior Development Road Bike team. After his 8th place State CC finish as an ill senior I took his team’s seniors to Phoenix and we ran the Fiesta Bowl Marathon where Robb placed 2nd in 2:40 for high schoolers. From there to WSC and on to the trails. He won a FILA Skyrunner marathon on the Tibetan plateau above 12,000 feet back in 2000 and was chosen to be in the FILA Altitude Test group on Mount Everest. Robb also founded and is director of the San Juan Solstice 50 Miler in Lake City, which GJ’s Ryan Sullivan won in 2025.
Maybe we should also add Ben Hoffman as a special “ultra competitor” to the list. Ben, a GJHS grad whose high school career was little noticed, became a triathlon athlete and placed 4th in the World Iron Man competition in Hawaii, won other world championships and was big in long mountain bike races around the world, I found. Anyone who can swim open water, then ride a bike over 100 miles and then run a sub-3 marathon is an ULTRA athlete to me. Lots of info, photos and videos of him on the internet.
Upcoming Events
- June 20th, 2026: San Juan Solstice 50M - Lake City, CO; A high alpine classic! Likely too late to sign up but there will certainly be Striders members out there representing the Western Slope! https://www.sjs50.com/.
- June 28th, 2026: Turkey Flats Race - Join for the Mesa Monument Striders for the annual 9 mile course starting at the Turkey Flats Trailhead!
- July 10th, 2026: Hardrock 100 Endurance Run - Silverton, CO - The Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is an ultramarathon of 101.8 miles in length, plus 33,264 feet of climb and 33,264 feet of descent…the run is held on a loop course on 4WD roads, dirt trails, and cross country in Southern Colorado's San Juan Range.” https://hardrock100.com/index.php.
- July 12th, 2026: Crag Crest Run - Grand Mesa, CO - A great opportunity to prepare for the Grand Mesa Ultras with a 10.5 mile Crag Crest loop, hosted by the Mesa Monument Striders.
- July 18th, 2026: Powderhorn Mountain Trail Climb - Powderhorn Mountain Resort, CO; “Beat the heat and join the Grand Junction Sports Commission for the Powderhorn Mountain Trail Climb. Trek up the Stagecoach Trail while taking in the beauty of the Grand Mesa and gorgeous views of the Grand Valley.” https://www.grandjunctionsports.org/pmtc.
- July 25th, 2026: Grand Mesa Ultras 50M, 50K, and 30K - Grand Mesa, CO; “Come enjoy some of the best mountain running in Western Colorado! Our races are held on the Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world where the average elevation is over 10,000 ft.” https://www.bestslopeevents.com/.
- August 9th, 2026: Emerald Mountain Epic Marathon and Half-Marathon - Steamboat Springs, CO; “The Emerald Mountain Epic presented by Hard Headed is Steamboat Springs’ premier single track race. We are a two-day EPIC trail race for bikers and runners alike, all while experiencing community, comradery, and competition.” https://emeraldmtnepic.org/home.
- August 15th, 2026: Just Peachy 10K, 5K, and Kid’s Run - Palisade, CO; “Join the Grand Junction Sports Commission for the Just Peachy 5K & 10K. This fun 5K is great for families and beginners.” https://www.grandjunctionsports.org/justpeachy.
- August 22nd, 2026: Mary’s Loop Race - Loma, CO - An 8 mile, fast desert race held by the Mesa Monument Striders at the Kokopelli trail system.
- September 5th, 2026: Grand Traverse Mountain Run - Crested Butte, CO; “The Grand Traverse Mountain Run is a point-to-point ultramarathon from Crested Butte to Aspen, Colorado.” https://www.cbnordic.org/thegrandtraverse/run.
- September 12th, 2026: Imogene Pass Run 17.1K - Ouray, CO; “A difficult race for well-prepared athletes.” http://live-raceresults.com/imogene/.
- September 12th, 2026: Spirit of the Valley Run - Grand Junction, CO; “The race will benefit two local organizations - the VA Recreational Therapy Program on the Western Slope and Hilltop's Latimer House.” https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/GrandJunction/SpiritoftheValleyRunWalkNRoll.
- September 13th, 2026: Lead King Loop - Marble, CO; “Run, hike, or walk the 25k Lead King Loop, a breathtaking course that winds through Lead King Basin, past the iconic Crystal Mill, and through the historic Town of Crystal.” https://www.leadkingloop.com/.
- October 3rd, 2026: West Elk Trail Marathon - Crawford, CO; “The West Elk Challenge is a point-to-point trail marathon (with a 30K option) through Western Colorado’s North Fork Valley at peak fall colors.” https://thenatureconnection.net/west-elk-challenge-trail-marathon/.
- October 3rd 2026: Sageburner Trail Race - Gunnison, CO; “The race offers some technical slickrock, some smooth singletrack, and doubletrack for speed, but don't be fooled by this deceptively tough course. The rolling hills & punchy climbs, paired with a high desert climate, makes this race a true test of your grit.” https://www.oneloveendurance.com/sageburnertrailrace.html.
Group Training Runs
Contact: Tom Ela - (970) 773-3124
Mondays at 6:00 PM - Fruita
Pollock Canyon TH, run Flume Canyon Loop
Pollock Canyon TH, run Pollock Bench Loop
Mary's Loop TH, I-70 Loma Exit
Devil's Canyon TH
We will rotate through these four locations in this order through the season. For all but Mary's Loop, take Co Hwy 340 south from Fruita across the river and turn right at Kings View Rd. Follow through the subdivision and onto the gravel road. Devil's Canyon parking is soon after on the left, Pollock parking is a couple of miles further on the left.
We run in all conditions. Like the Thursday night group, this is casual and all abilities are welcome with various distances to choose from.
Wednesdays at 6:00 AM - GJ
Tabeguache Trailhead on Monument Road (aka Lunch Loops)
We'll be out there rain or shine. As always, this is casual and all shapes and speeds are welcome with various routes to choose from. We'll look out for you.
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Thursdays at 6:00 PM - GJ
Tabeguache TH on Monument Road (aka Lunch Loops)
We'll be out there rain or shine. As always, this is casual and all shapes and speeds are welcome with various routes to choose from. We'll look out for you.
Club Info
The MMS Directors are:
KARLA NEPHEW - President
NICOLE STURROCK - Vice President
CONRAD COLE – Previous Term Treasurer
OLIVER BERG - Upcoming Term Treasurer
MICHELLE OBERNDORF - Secretary (Newsletter Editor)
TOM ELA – At-Large (Membership)
MARTIN WIESIOLEK - At-Large (MMS website)
RYAN SULLIVAN - At-Large (Local Business Affiliate)
CAITLIN HILL - At-Large
Come to a board meeting! These are generally on a Tuesday evening at 6pm at the REI Community Room. Dates and times of upcoming meetings will be posted on our social media pages and announced in the weekly Strider email (the next one won’t be determined until after this newsletter is printed). If you can’t make it, feel free to review the meeting minutes posted on the website.
Email the board: [email protected]
FOR PRINT:
More Striders info, pictures and posts:
Website: mesamonumentstriders.com
Facebook: facebook.com/mesamonumentstriders
Instagram: instagram.com/mesamonumentstriders
Strava club: strava.com/clubs/131841
Weekly emails: to subscribe/unsubscribe, email [email protected]
Additional running websites/resources:
San Juan Mountain Runners (SJMR): sanjuanmountainrunners.com
Western Colorado Girls on the Run: gotrwesterncolorado.org
Steamboat Springs Running Series: runningseries.com
Road Runners Club of America (RRCA): rrca.org
Colorado Runner Mag: coloradorunnermag.com
MMS Sponsors
These amazing businesses, orgs and individuals have assisted in keeping membership costs lower than they could be. And: they support running in the Grand Valley and beyond. Support them if you can!
- Foot Support Group - 3212 F Road, Clifton, CO 81520; (888) 242-3881 or (970) 434-2727; Foot/gait/orthotics/bracing/modification specialists; “European Craftsmanship – Biomechanical Design”
Dr. Andy Mohler - While he isn't currently accepting new patients, we'd still like to give him a shoutout for his contribution to the club!
Webcreate.com - Need help with your website? Contact Martin: [email protected]
Zealios - Body and hair care products for athletes and adventurers; teamzealios.com