Gnar Runners

05/31/2026

Prices go up Monday June 1st for Black Squirrel Half Marathon!

Time to lock in those door buster prices today 😎 sign up thru link in bio or visit gnarrunners.com

05/22/2026

Trail work recap!

We had 24 fantastic folks out last Saturday at Lory State Park for our annual "Saturday-after-Quad-Rock" spring trail workday. We thoroughly polished the valley trails to an effervescent shine, cleaning all drains and smoothing out all ruts and v-shaped sections. Just in time for the rain this week!

Want to join us? Check out https://gnarrunners.com/volunteer/ for more dates. Next one is coming up in June at the Never Summer training weekend!

05/11/2026

we really just wanted an excuse to use the word “whimsy” in one of our posts

05/10/2026

Wishing the happiest Mother’s Day to all of our Gnar moms out there!

Thank you for making the 🌎 go around and for the BEST finish line photos ❤️💛

05/09/2026

Here are your overall podium finishers for the 15th annual Quad Rock 50/25 mi trail races!

05/08/2026

CONDITIONS UPDATE: perfect 🥰

Trails are drying nicely up high and should be good to go by race day.

As always - if muddy, run through the mud

05/08/2026

QUAD ROCKERS:

We are happy to announce that we have been given the go ahead to run the normal course for Saturday's race!

The valley trails are drying nicely and will be in great shape for the race. With that said, you should be prepared for some wet (even snowy) trails on the upper sections of the course, but their rocky nature means they hold up well in those conditions. We received a lot of snow at the higher elevations on Tuesday night and while it is melting very fast, the upper parts of Lory (Upper Timber, Westridge) were still holding a good amount of wet snow during course marking this afternoon. We have another day of warm weather ahead, but we recommend coming prepared for wet feet.

If you do encounter muddy trails, PLEASE remember to run through the mud - not around.

One potential change this weather brought is that we may not be able to offer the usual unmanned water stop at the top of Timber. The high access road is currently saturated and unpassable but we are looking for a way to get water up there before race day.

The stretch the water drop is (usually) on - between Arthur's & Soldier Canyon - is 7.4mi with about 1200' of gain & descent. Especially if it gets warm, please make sure you have enough water on board for that leg. We will be stocking extra water at those end points.

Finally, we've heard from a few of you that the pre-race email we sent at the start of this week didn't arrive in your inbox. We're switching email platforms for this message to hopefully avoid doubling that issue. You can view the full pre-race briefing on our blog for this (and every) Gnar race: https://gnarrunners.com/quad-rock-2026-pre-race-information/

-Nick Clark & Brad Bishop

05/07/2026

We will have final Quad Rock course details by Friday morning.

In case you missed the pre-race email that went out on Tuesday, it can be found here:

The loop will take you through 3 major climbs and descents for a total of over 5,500 vertical feet on premium, gnarled-out singletrack. Run the second loop in reverse for a full 50 miles and a net vertical in excess of 11,000 feet. Welcome to the Quad Rock 50 and 25 mile trail races, an event put on...

05/05/2026

It may be Quad Rock week, but we now just under 12 weeks out from the Never Summer 100k/60k/dirty double weekend!!

Are you…

A first time Never Summer runner?
New to mountain ultras?
A prior finisher or attempter wanting to improve performance?
An athlete wanting to learn more about high altitude running in the Never Summer mountains?

If you answered yes, maybe, or what the heck is a mountain ultra, then this call is for YOU!

This year, Coaches Michelle Foster of Every Step Forward Endurance & CTS Coaching and Elijah Flenner of Ridgeline Rhythm will be hosting a virtual Never Summer Q&A!

Date: Wednesday, May 13th
Time: 6:00pm MST
Location ZOOM: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/9SLTIwCHQwGppnVsrGcxEw #/registration

Can't make the call? No worries - we will post a summary video following the event :)

Together, Michelle and Elijah bring decades of mountain ultra experience and multiple Never Summer finishes. They will go over tips and trips for both the 60k and 100k courses, training advice, and strategies for high altitude running.

Needing some additional guidance as you enter your Never Summer training block? Hit up Coach Michelle or Coach Elijah for 1:1 personalized run coaching 😎

Drop your questions below ⬇️ or bring them to the Q&A! We hope to see you there.

05/01/2026

We’ve got an exciting lineup of pre and post race Quad Rock festivities with next week!

May 7: Pineridge social shakeout run w/ KEEN , 6pm @ Spring Canyon Dog Park

May 8: save 15% off all KEEN footwear at during packet pick up from 4pm-7pm

May 9: post race, enjoy the KEEN recovery lounge with normatec boots (or as Nick Clark calls them, the leg thingies) and refreshments.