Greetings from GhostHead HQ! We’re one month out from our inaugural PhoMo50k and final preparations are underway to ensure all participants will have the best possible experience. Look for your Race Guide to show up in your inbox in the next few weeks with all the race details. For those of you not running, we have other exciting events in store for the rest of the year, and more announcements to make for 2025’s calendar. In the meantime, here’s the latest on what’s happening and what we’ve been up to at GhostHead.

UPCOMING:

October 13: PHOMO50k Training Run #3

Starting at 6:00AM on Sunday, October 13, GhostHead will host our third and final group run previewing the PhoMo50k course. We’ll meet at the top lot in Piestewa Peak Park and then head out on a 6.5 mile loop. The route will feature an abridged version of the first and last sections of the race. Water and facilities will be available halfway at the Dreamy Draw Trailhead. This is a no-drop, free event for all. If you’re on Strava, RSVP on the Club Event page.

Registration for PhoMo50k is closed, but you can still add your name to the Waitlist in the event more slots open up. In the meantime, we are happy to announce that Maurten is once again partnering with GhostHead. Look for their gels at our Aid Station tables.

In addition, we are thrilled to announce that the female and male winners of PhoMo50k will each be given a Free Entry to the Old Pueblo 50 Mile Endurance Run. First run in 1985, this is one of the oldest and most storied ultramarathons in Arizona. Located south of Tucson in Sonoita, AZ, this classic event takes runners over challenging desert terrain at the foot of the Santa Rita range. GhostHead’s mission is to keep grassroots trail running alive, and few races embody that ethos more than Old Pueblo. Even if you don’t win the free entry, we encourage you to add this event to your bucket list.

Also, we are pleased to announce our second place female and male finishers will go home with a Free Entry to the Saguaro Showdown. This is a Last Person Standing race format with a Runner and Rucker division. Outlast your competitors on a 4.1 mile lap, or 2.3 mile lap for Ruckers, run every hour, on the hour. Go as fast as you want, or as slow as you want. The goal is to finish the lap within the hour and be in the start corral at the top of the next hour. The race continues until one Runner and one Rucker remains. If you’ve never tried a Last Person Standing race, we encourage you to check out the Saguaro Showdown. Next year’s event will take place on January 25, 2025 at Usery Mountain Park. See the Event Page and UltraSignup for more details.

PAST EVENTS:

TRAIL WORK DAY

Thanks to all the volunteers who joined us for another morning of maintaining the trails in the Phoenix Mountains Preserve. This is an ongoing partnership with the City of Phoenix and the Park Ranger Trail Alliance to keep the trails healthy and accessible for all park users. Ranger Brian Holt spearheads this coalition and provides hands-on tutorials and demonstrations for trail maintenance best-practices. For those of you interested in trail maintenance, but don’t know how it works, or what it entails, these trail work days (only 3 hours) are a fantastic introduction to the basic techniques and principles. And there are free donuts and coffee afterwards.

We’ll be announcing more Trail Work Days in the future. Join our Strava Group page for early notifications.

SADDLES 100

Congratulations to GhostHead’s own Chian Ma for completing the Saddles 100 in Presecott, AZ, with a finishing time of 26:30! He placed 14 Overall, and first in our hearts. If you’re looking for a fun, low-key, beautiful 100 miler, check out Saddles 100 in 2025. (*Editor’s note: This was an editorial addition. Chian would never include this himself, and won’t know about it until he reads it. We’re proud of you, Chian!)

UPCOMING RACES:

PUP-A-GO 5K

Spots are still available for our December 14 event, Pup-A-Go 5k, taking place at Papago Park in Phoenix. You’ll be supporting the wonderful Home Fur Good Animal Rescue and the hundreds of animals they care for each year. All participants will receive a commemorative Pup-A-Go T-shirt and doggie bandana. So join us in December to show off all the hard work your pup has been putting in on the trails, roads and whatever else they’ve been training on.

PI IN THE SKY

Back for its second year, this 8 mile race up and down iconic Piestewa Peak will take place on June 7, 2025. Once again this will be a fatass-style event, with little-to-no course marking or aid on course, but lots of challenging, vertical fun. Registration will open on December 1, 2024 on Ultrasignup. This is a Free Event, available to the first 50 participants. Slots fill up fast so be sure to mark your calendars.

That’s all for this month. We’ll have more announcements to share about upcoming races and events soon. Until then, stay on top of your fueling during the Spooky Season!