2014 Arizona Trail Race

2014 Arizona Trail Race from Aaron Johnson on Vimeo.
In April of 2014, about 17 of us lined up along the desolate Mexican border in Arizona, and headed north in a race across the deserts, mountains, forests, and canyons of Arizona, headed for Utah. This is the story of how my race unfolded.

The Arizona Trail Race is a self-supported mountain bike race along the famed Arizona Trail. Starting at the Mexico border, there are two distance options: 300 miles to the Picketpost trailhead near Phoenix, or the full traversal to Utah, more than 750 miles. There is no race organization, there is no support; you carry all your own gear, and must be completely self-sufficient. Resupply is allowed only at any commercial establishment.

Read more about the race here: http://www.topofusion.com/azt/race.php

Huge thanks to Joe Polk at MTBCast for providing the call-in audio for the narration. MTBCast is a podcast that offers racers a way to call in and leave messages, sometimes the only communication that friends and family get from their racer. Check them out at www.mtbcast.com.

Call-in voices in order of appearance:
Mark Caminiti
Michael Ackerman
Aaron Johnson
Jill Hueckman
Jay Petervary
Brad Mattingly
Mike Prochaska

This race would not be possible without the tireless efforts of the Arizona Trail Association to create and maintain over 800 miles of singletrack trail across Arizona. They rely on donations to fund these efforts, so please support them and give what you can at www.aztrail.org.

Big thanks to Tucson local Scott Morris for masterminding these crazy events. Follow him here: http://www.topofusion.com/diary/

Another huge thanks to Ghost Kollective for being very willing to provide and share their amazing track, "Dance of the Seven Sisters." They originally developed this song in collaboration with photographer Nicolaus Wegner for his Wyoming Wildscapes II timelapse film, an incredible project and well worth watching. Check them out at the links below:

Ghost Kollective: http://www.ghostkollective.com/
Wyoming Wildscapes II: https://vimeo.com/80836225

Music:

"Fans" by Kings of Leon (http://tour.kingsofleon.com/)
"No Way" by David Lindley (http://www.davidlindley.com/)
"The 2nd Law: Isolated System" by Muse (http://muse.mu/)
"Meet Me There" by Nick Mulvey (http://www.nickmulvey.com/)
"Dance of the Seven Sisters" by Ghost Kollective (http://www.ghostkollective.com/)
"Step Outside" by Ki:Theory (http://kitheory.com/)

Check out my written recaps and photos of the race:
Part 1: http://mowglimedia.net/journal/2014/4/30/aztr-750-race-report-the-first-300-miles
Part 2: http://mowglimedia.net/journal/2014/5/15/aztr-750-apache-junction-to-flagstaff
Part 3: http://mowglimedia.net/journal/2014/5/18/aztr-750-flagstaff-to-utah

And finally - huge thanks to my girlfriend Megan for all her support and encouragement for the race and putting this video together, I couldn't have done it without her!