2024 Arizona Trail Race Preview

The 2024 Arizona Trail Race starts tomorrow (Thursday, October 17) and is looking like it might throw all that the event can offer at riders lining up at the Mexico-Arizona border. The two-races-in-one format of the event, with both a 300-mile (AZT300) and 800-mile (AZT800) race starting at the same time, often leads to fast racing from the gun as those racing the longer distance occasionally get caught up in the shorter race as well.

The overall and women’s record for the AZT800 is held by Austin Killips, who set a blistering fast time of 8 days, 23 hours, and 27 minutes in May 2024. Alex Schultz currently holds the men’s AZT800 record with a time of 9 days, 5 hours, and 43 minutes. The women’s singlespeed record for the AZT800 is held by Alexandera Houchin with a time of 10 days, 13 hours, and 36 minutes, and Jefe Branham holds the men’s singlespeed record in 10 days and 9 minutes. Timon Fish and Kaitlyn Boyle hold the men’s and women’s AZT300 records at 1 day, 14 hours, and 52 minutes and 2 days, 2 hours, and 57 minutes, respectively.

In 2021, both races were moved from an April start date to October to reduce the chance of snow detours on the northern end of the route for AZT800 riders. While riders no longer have to watch snow-level reports for the north rim of the Grand Canyon, the date change now puts the event after a summer monsoon season in the southern half of the state. The grasses and vegetation of the Sonoran Desert — which is often quite pokey and scratchy, to say the least — encroaches on the trail after a summer of minimal cyclist and hiker use due to desert heat. Race director John Schilling has spent much of his free time in the past month, accompanied by many others, trimming back catclaw on the trail in various locations around Southern and Central Arizona in order to open up the corridor.

This year’s summer in Tucson, which can be used as a fairly accurate barometer of what’s going on in Southern Arizona weather-wise, started off with a wet June and then turned incredibly hot and dry for the second half of summer. That heat is forecasted to persist for the first day of the race as riders make their way from the border through the Canelo Hills and along the eastern edge of the Santa Rita Mountains, enjoying some of the newly built singletrack on the AZT before entering Las Colinas and making their way into Tucson. In a potential swing of temperature-related luck, it seems like a cold(er) front is scheduled to move into the area on Friday while most of the field will be climbing Reddington Road and making their way up Mount Lemmon. Currently, the moisture accompanying the front doesn’t seem serious, and it looks like riders will receive a reprieve from the heat through Sunday — enough time for most of the AZT300 riders to finish and the AZT800 riders to get most of the way out of the lowlands and to higher elevations and cooler climates before higher temperatures return to the region.

Route Notes

For those not experienced in the diversity of Arizona, it may come as a surprise that the Arizona Trail Race covers terrain ranging from classic saguaro-dotted desert landscapes to lush pine forests to juniper-covered hillsides. And then there’s the bike portage across the Grand Canyon, one of the most iconic parts of the route, where bike tires aren’t allowed to touch the ground.

The sheer amount of diversity showcased in 800 miles is truly mindblowing, and riders of the AZT 800 have to be ready for temperatures reaching well past 90 degrees Fahrenheit down to well below freezing on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Snow is never out of the question. Riders often struggle with keeping tires inflated on the southern portion of the route as cactus are abundant, including the most fears: cholla. Running over a field of cholla balls that have dislodged from their parent plant and littered the trail can result in an expedient deflation of tires, and a crash in the wrong spot can leave a rider covered in cactus spines.

For the first time in what seems like many years, there aren’t any major changes to the route. A fire near Picket Post that threatened a route detour has been brought under control and the trail is open again.

The Lemmon Pusch is back in play this year for the AZT800, and Andrew Strempke is planning on doing it as part of his AZT300 run and is trying to rally others to join him. The Lemmon Pusch, pioneered by who can only be described as the singlespeed nutters in 2022 and made official for the AZT800 in 2023, takes the official Arizona Trail up Mount Lemmon instead of the highway, as previous versions of the race had done. This new route is nearly all hike-a-bike and adds a non-negligible number of hours to the route, in addition to a massive energy expenditure compared to riding the highway. While some would argue against adding many hours of hiking to an already difficult route, those in favor quickly point out that it is the official Arizona Trail. If riders are going to put their bikes on their backs and portage them across the Grand Canyon, then there really isn’t anything that is actually too absurd to add to the route. This author tends to agree.

General Race Notes

It’s always interesting to see trends in the bikepack racing world come and go, and it seems like the Arizona Trail Race is riding a high in both the number of racers taking on the longer route and those choosing singlespeeds as their bike of choice. This year, 16 riders are planning on showing up at the border with the goal of pedaling a single gear to either Picket Post or the Utah border.

The Triple Crown is also becoming a goal that more riders are chasing. This year, four riders are still in contention for finishing Tour Divide, the Colorado Trail Race, and the Arizona Trail Race in one calendar year. The feat requires a dedication to a summer of riding and recovering, in addition to being able to excel in terrain as diverse as the gravel roads of Tour Divide to the high-altitude singletrack of Colorado. There’s also an incredible amount of luck involved in stringing together about 4,000 miles of racing without significant mishaps.

Who To Watch

Women’s Race

With six incredibly strong women signed up for the AZT800, this could be the race to watch above all others. All have copious bikepack racing experience, and many of them have completed either the AZT300 or AZT800 in prior years.

Alexandera Houchin

AZT800 singlespeed record holder and all around amazing bikepacking mentor and athlete, it feels as if Alexandera Houchin requires no introduction. Her singlespeed bikepacking resume includes three finishes of Tour Divide, four finishes of the Colorado Trail, and seemingly countless creative and race efforts on the Arizona Trail, including four finishes of the 800. In 2023, she finished the AZT800 in 10 days, 13 hours, 36 minutes, setting a new women’s singlespeed record. It was the final race of her Triple Crown Challenge, during which she finished Tour Divide in 18 days, 18 hours, and 26 minutes, and the Colorado Trail Race in 5 days, 14 hours, and 31 minutes. Alexandera is coming off of a win at the Grand Loop this spring and her first 100-mile foot race, the Marji Gesick, where she placed third woman in the later part of September. True to form, she’s tackling this year’s AZT800 on a singlespeed.

Chase Edwards

In 2021, Chase Edwards set an AZT800 record of 10 days, 18 hours, and 59 minutes. Chase’s rise to AZT800 record holder wasn’t without its difficulties, and she spent much of 2020 dealing with health issues. Prior to that, she had a successful racing career where she excelled at 100-mile races and won the 2019 National Ultra Endurance Series. It’s been a hot second since Chase has lined up for a bikepacking race, but she lives on the Arizona Trail in Flagstaff and has made repeated visits to the Grand Canyon, including finishing a 50-mile Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim run in early October.

Karin Pocock

A veteran of the AZT800, Karin finished in 2023 in 15 days, 3 hours, and 47 minutes after battling sickness for much of the route. The prolific bikepacker won the Oregon Timber Trail 300 earlier this year and has extensive experience racing on singletrack. She was second in the 2024 Colorado Trail Race, finishing the 500-mile route in 6 days and 6 minutes. She also finished the CTR in 2021 and 2023. A Crested Butte, Colorado, resident, Karin is an AMGA-certified Rock and Sky guide and no stranger to outdoor adventure. She’s been spending time in Arizona ahead of the race, joining race director John Schilling in a trail-clearing mission to cut back catclaw and other pokey plants.

Katie Strempke

After battling breathing issues during bikepack races a few years ago, Katie Strempke took on the 2023 AZT800 determined to race in a manner that didn’t cause a flare-up of her asthma. She did this by focusing on sleeping enough and taking care of her body — and she accomplished her goal, finishing fifth woman in 12 days, 7 hours, and 42 minutes on her singlespeed. This year, she’s back with a geared bike and a much more in-depth knowledge of the trail. No stranger to bikepack racing on singletrack, she finished the Highland Trail 550 in 2023 and the Colorado Trail and AZT300 in 2021. She also put down a strong sub-20-day ride on Tour Divide in 2022. All on a singlespeed.

Leigh Bowe

Arizona resident Leigh Bowe lives just a handful of minutes away from the Arizona Trail in Flagstaff. She finished the Colorado Trail Race in 2021 in a time of 7 days, 1 hour, and 3 minutes and then took a small amount of time away from bike racing to become a mom. In the spring of 2023, she returned to the sport at Pinyons and Pines, a race that was ultimately cut short for many, including Leigh, due to inclement weather and death mud. Leigh is one of three women this year lining up to race the AZT800 on a singlespeed.

Annie Le

Hailing from Scotland but no stranger to the Arizona landscape after a visit in 2022, Annie Le is one of the most tenacious bikepackers out there and known for her stunning photographic documentation of her trips. She finished the 2023 Highlands Trail 550 and set a new singlespeed record of 4 days, 17 hours, and 10 minutes. She’s also racing the AZT800 on a singlespeed and has spend the past couple of weeks in Southern Arizona acclimating to the desert and heat in order to prepare for the race.

Men’s Race

With 29 men lining up for the AZT800 this year — including the current men’s record holder and four Triple Crown Challengers — it’s shaping up to be a good race both for just the AZT800 and for the overall Triple Crown.

Justinas Leveika

Looking to complete his Triple Crown, it’s hard not to consider Justinas one of the favorites to get to Stateline Campground at the Utah border first. Winner of the 2024 Tour Divide and reaching Durango first during the CTR after having to hitch off route to get a wheel repaired and ultimately getting disqualified for the rules violation, Justinas has been riding strong all summer. He’s gotten consistently stronger year after year, improving upon a second-place in Tour Divide in 2023 and winning the 2024 Atlas Mountain Race after finishing second in 2023. All that said, he’s never raced in Arizona before, and Arizona is a different beast than nearly any other landscape. Also, it’s hard to tell how those going after the Triple Crown recover between races, but if Justinas has had a good rest, it’s hard to bet against him.

Alex Schultz

Current men’s AZT800 course-record holder Alex Schultz has all the experience and power needed to make a run for getting to the border first. His 2023 AZT800 ride in 9 days, 5 hours, and 52 minutes netted him the course record, and in 2022, he won the AZT300 as well. Arizona experience is on his side if he can keep things moving forward. Perhaps in a bit of an all-or-nothing approach to bikepack racing, Alex has a decent number of scratches, including two in the CTR, and from Tour Divide earlier this summer. That said, he’s raced much less in the past four months than Justinas, which may play to his advantage when it comes to having fresh legs.

Johnny Price

Singlespeed legend and Triple Crown hopeful Johnny Price is another one of those riders who it seems like requires no introduction, especially in the realm of singlespeed racing. With several runs down various portions of the Arizona Trail in different capacities and directions, there’s no denying he has the experience to move through the landscape efficiently. In 2023, he finished fifth in the AZT800 in 10 days, 10 hours, and 33 minutes.

Tom Kavanaugh

Another Triple Crown challenger, Tom Kavanaugh finished 13th at Tour Divide in 17 days, 16 hours, and 32 minutes and sixth in the Colorado Trail in 5 days, 10 hours, and 54 minutes. That’s to say, he’s challenging at the front of the races he enters. Hailing from Ridgeway, Colorado, Tom is the definition of a quiet crusher, and it’ll be interesting to see how his legs have recovered from finishing the Colorado Trail in August and how he copes with the heat Arizona is sure to serve up.

Bodhi Roether

Experience matters on the Arizona Trail, both for the riding and keeping the bike in one piece and the tires inflated, and Bodhi Roether has proven that he can do both, finishing the AZT300 in both 2021 and 2022 in sixth and second place, respectively. Bodhi is part of the 16-strong contingent of singlespeeders in this race, and it’s fair to guess that he’ll mix it up at the front of the field.

Check out the Arizona Trail Race 2024 Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, watch for ongoing race updates, and tune in for more event coverage. Find it here.

Further Reading

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