Arizona Trail Race 2026

Latest Updates

• 13 hours ago
  7

  Geoffrey Wong Completes AZTR and Singlespeed Triple Crown Challenge

  by Guest
• 3 days ago

  The AZT300 Podium + Recap

  by John Schilling

  Photos by Scott Petrie

  The AZT300 was off the charts this year. Things started great, then on day two the forecast called for windy conditions out of the East, which is a bit odd for here. Windy, you say? Well, it was sustained over 50mph, gusting over 70mph! Riders had to resort to walking on flat pavement; they watched their bikes slide away from them if they put them down to take a break. Quite a few riders had enough, breathing issues surfaced in the dusty air. Yet, somehow, a few hearty souls got through.

  

  It was a race to Picketpost with the lead changing position a few times. Early Sunday morning, 1:24 a.m., Colin Hart crossed first after 2 days, 19 hours, 24 minutes. At 1:57 a.m., George Foster arrived after 2 days, 19 hours, 57 minutes, and at 3:02 a.m., Dexter Kopas rounded out the podium with a time of 2 days, 21 hours, 2 minutes. At ease, gents. Thanks for the show!!
• 4 days ago
  1

  Liz Ryen Wins 2026 Arizona Trail Race 800

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 9 days ago

  Liz Ryan is Back on Course After a Day in Flagstaff

  by Wyatt Spalding

  After a zero day in Flagstaff, Liz Ryen is back on the course heading northbound!

  

  Very early Sunday morning, after hours of nonstop cold rain, she rode off-route into Flagstaff, got a hotel room, and took the day off to wait out the bad weather. Sunday brought intense rainstorms along with heavy winds that left much of the course muddy and impassable. While the forecast calls for more wind, rain, and cold temperatures today and tomorrow, conditions remain far from ideal as she continues her push to the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

  

  Liz, who has led the women’s race, is now the last woman remaining on the course. Katy Applin, who was in second place, made the difficult decision to pull the plug after getting stuck in the unfortunate weather south of Mormon Lake at roughly mile 566, a notoriously muddy area.

  Sending Liz the best of luck as she pushes through the weather and continues down the trail!
• 10 days ago
  9

  2026 Arizona Trail Race: The Things We Can’t Control

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 12 days ago
  7

  Alex Schultz Wins 2026 Arizona Trail Race

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 12 days ago

  Alex Schultz Bails from Humphreys Peak

  by Miles Arbour

  At around mile 825 of the AZT800 race, riders have the option to ditch their bike and hike Arizona’s highest mountain, Humphreys Peak, at 12,633 feet (3,852 meters). The current first-place rider, Alex Schultz, decided it was worth the bragging rights but bailed halfway up because of thunder and rain. He said temperatures dropped 20 degrees and it wasn’t worth the risk. He’s now heading back down and will have about 20 miles of riding before reaching Flagstaff. Unlike the other riders, Alex will likely miss most of the forecasted weather that’s rolling in.

  
• 13 days ago

  Day Eight on the AZTR

  by Wyatt Spalding

  On day eight of the race, I spent the day catching up to riders up front, which landed me in the Flagstaff area, where the weather was absolutely beautiful. Flagstaff is the final resupply before the push to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim.

  

  Around 11 a.m., I noticed fourth-place rider Xavier Chiriboga had missed the turnoff to Flagstaff’s resupply options and kept going down the trail. When I made it into Flagstaff an hour later, I noticed he’d turned around and was now at a Subway not far from me.

  When I arrived to take some photos, Xavier gave me the rundown. He’d broken his phone on the first day of the race, which he used for navigation and as his primary form of payment. Since then, he has relied on the incredible kindness of trail angels and riders Caleb Helkenn and Rocky Gingg, who have helped buy him food along the way when possible. Luckily today, a few miles after Xavier missed the turn for Flagstaff resupply, he ran into a local mountain biker who told him he’d passed it, gave him helpful directions, and even offered to buy him lunch.

  

  To make matters worse, Xavier’s derailleur broke on day three near Gold Canyon, and he’s been riding singlespeed since. At first, he said it was stuck in a gear that was way too spinny, but he used some zip ties to pull the derailleur into a harder gear, and it’s been that way since. Xavier also mentioned that, at times, he has been surviving off ketchup packets. When he arrives at a resupply with no way to pay, ketchup packets and other fast-food condiments have hilariously been his saving grace! Sending you well wishes out there, Xavier.

  

  On the evening of day eight, Alex Schultz still leads by a large margin as he ascends the never-ending switchbacks out of the Grand Canyon, with his bike strapped to his back. Caleb Helkenn and Rocky Gingg still follow in second and third, and they’ll start the Grand Canyon hike shortly. Liz Ryen, the lead woman, has arrived in Payson maintaining a 30-mile gap on second-place rider Katy Applin.

  

  More from John Schilling:

  One more day of good riding for everyone before the rains come!! Who is going to get stuck in the peanut butter mud?

  Julio Garcia Galvan has had an interesting couple of days: SPOT batteries died today on a steep descent along Goldridge Trail. I was worried he crashed! Thankfully, he responded to my email. He informed me his sleeping pad had a puncture a few days ago, so sleeping was a challenge. To top it off, his rear brakes lost all their fluid, so no rear brakes coming down Goldridge! Holy moly. Intense.

  Send this tough group good thoughts as the weather moves in. Don’t forget to toggle the radar layer on Trackleaders.
• 14 days ago

  Day Seven on the AZTR

  by Wyatt Spalding

  On the evening of day seven, lead rider Alex Schultz holds a strong pace with less than 80 miles to the Grand Canyon. Alex landed in Flagstaff five hours ahead of last year’s split.

  Roughly 50 miles behind him, the race is tight between Caleb Helkenn, Rocky Gingg, and Xavier Chiriboga as they approach the Flagstaff resupply. Liz Ryen still leads ahead of Katy Applin, but the gap between them has shrunk.

  

  Earlier today, I crossed paths with Katy Applin as she climbed out from the Saguaro Lake Marina, and she seemed to be riding strong and in good spirits. It was a very hot day for those below Payson. When Katy passed me near Saguaro Lake, it was just over 100ºF (38ºC). It felt similarly hot near Sunflower and into the Mazatzal mountains.

  I also ran into Levi Walls and Kimball Stewart as they finished the incredible descent off the Mazatzals. Levi joked about a giant sleeping pad strapped to his backpack. He said his inflatable pad popped the night before the race at the border. He luckily found the big foam pad at the general store in Summerhaven atop Mount Lemmon and has carried it since! They were super anxious to get a burger a few miles down the path at Jake’s Corner.

  

  Though this year has tested riders, the Arizona Trail rewards the effort with ever-changing backdrops of breathtaking scenery.

  It still looks like storms are coming, likely Saturday-Tuesday, with Sunday looking like the worst of it. As John said below, this could bring the unfortunate situation of sticky death mud for many riders on the route.

  
• 15 days ago

  Alex Maintains First Place + Weather on the Way...

  by John Schilling

  After 6 days of riding, Alex has increased his lead to 60 miles. He’s set up for an early arrival in Flagstaff. Then it’s north to the Canyon.

  

  There’s been some shuffling in the race for the podium as Caleb reeled in Xavier. Rocky is only a few miles ahead. Going to make for an interesting finish.
  Liz has been maintaining her 25-ish mile lead over Katy. Only one more 800 rider needs to finish the 300, which he’ll do tomorrow.

  

  There’s weather incoming as remnants from Hurricane Rachel are predicted to hit Arizona beginning on Saturday and lasting through Tuesday over most of the state. Alex may be the only one to out pace it. All the others will be dealing with the effects, which includes large areas of death mud up north. The Highline trail, Happy Jack segment and Anderson Mesa are a few of the notorious horrendous areas. There are others. Yikes!

  
• 16 days ago

  Liz Ryen Is First Woman to finish the 2026 AZT 300!

  by Miles Arbour + Photos by Wyatt Spalding

  Rounding out the AZT 300 podium is 43-year-old Liz Ryen from Washington, who passed through the Picketpost Trailhead, southeast of Phoenix, earlier today with a time of 5 days, 2 hours, and 6 minutes. Liz is continuing on to tackle the full AZT 800 route.

  Remember, the podium doesn’t include the 16 other AZT 300 riders starting on October 15th. We’ll update the result times if the current AZT 300 times are beaten.

  
• 17 days ago
  1

  A Mid-Ride Update from the 2026 Arizona Trail Race

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 18 days ago
  1

  Alex Schultz Wins 2026 Arizona Trail Race 300, Pushes on for AZT800

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 19 days ago

  Day Two Update

  by Wyatt Spalding

  Day two began with strong winds coming from the east, with gusts exceeding 36mph (58km/h) in many spots. As the mid-pack entered Tucson’s lower elevations in the afternoon, temperatures were warm, reaching 88ºF+ (31ºC+) in spots. The route in and out of Tucson is very exposed, often with no shade.

  

  

  By 1:30 PM, Alex Schultz, still in the lead, arrived in Summerhaven, the top of Mount Lemmon and route mile 186. I crossed paths with him at the Sawmill Run restaurant, as he stuffed down multiple orders of food. For many, Summerhaven is the last resupply for the 160mi push to Gold Canyon near Phoenix, AZ. About 8 miles back, Rocky Gingg and Xavier Chiriboga were still ascending Mount Lemmon on the notoriously difficult and hike-a-bike-infested Green Mountain Trail.

  

  

  At roughly mile 112, the lead woman, Karin Pocock, scratched from the race. This left Liz Ryan in the lead with a sizable gap over second-place woman Katy Applin. As night fell, the wind remained unrelenting as many riders began the massive ascent up Mount Lemmon’s technical, exposed terrain.
• 20 days ago

  Day One Update

  by Wyatt Spalding

  It was a beautiful morning down by the U.S./Mexico border, where riders gathered around John Schilling as he made a few final notes on important information for this year’s race. As the clock struck 6 a.m., everyone rolled out.

  

  

  The first few miles on Montezuma Canyon Road were marked by sizeable creeks flowing from the Huachuca Mountains to the north, thanks to the heavy rainfall that southern Arizona has received this summer. However, the rainfall has also left the trail slightly rough and rutted, with substantial overgrowth in many parts. At times, overhanging grass completely hides the trail tread, with bits of catclaw hiding within, waiting to scratch anything that passes.

  

  

  Otherwise, the weather has been quite amazing in comparison to previous years, with the high only reaching near 83°F (28°C). As of the evening, Alex Schultz holds a steady lead, followed by Xavier Chiriboga and Rocky Gingg. Karin Pocock leads the women’s field and has held a steady lead all day. Liz Ryan follows her in second, and Katy Applin is not far behind in third.

  It should be a beautiful day in Tucson, Arizona, as riders roll in for the first major resupply before the big push over Mount Lemmon.
• 21 days ago

  ...and they're off!

  by Miles Arbour

  The AZT800 riders, and a few tackling the AZT300, are off and on their way north. It’s a perfect 59°F (15°C) at the start line, but it’s getting hotter throughout the week/weekend, with highs soaring into the mid-90s. In Phoenix next week, they are calling for temps over 100°F (37°C)!
• 22 days ago
  1

  2026 Arizona Trail Race Course Preview and Who To Follow

  by Wyatt Spalding
• 22 days ago
  14

  Rigs of the 2026 Arizona Trail Race

  by Miles Arbour