By Brenden Martin
The Arizona Daily Sun
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The running scene in Flagstaff is second to none. Athletes from all over the world come here to train for events as big as the Olympics, making Flagstaff their home. One runner has shown he can represent the city in some of the longest, most grueling races out there.
Trueheart Brown is a Coconino fire staff officer who oversees forest fire suppression and prescribed fires and coordinates firefighting functions all over the Coconino National Forest.
When he is not preventing forest fires, Brown is putting his body and mind to the test in the ultra-running scene.
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“It’s grown on me exponentially here in the last 10 years,” Brown said. “It’s kind of my thing, my go-to both physically and mentally to have that disconnect, but also just being able to get out and about and enjoy the outdoors.”
Originally from Manchester, Vermont, Brown moved to Flagstaff in 2001 and attended Northern Arizona University. He met his wife in college, and they had two kids, now aged 14 and 10. Growing up, he was big on skiing and cycling.
Brown said the demand of having all the equipment necessary to compete in a bike or ski race is a lot. But the pivot to running was accessible to him.
“Frankly, I never liked running back in the day,” Brown said. “I always liked skiing and bike riding. I just kind of fell into running. I used to love riding and racing pretty competitively. But with work, family, it became a lot less time-efficient. Running kind of fit that need, and it has grown on me here.”
He didn’t do any competitive running in high school or college but came to fall in love with it as responsibilities grew and time felt shorter.
“It’s a lot easier to just have a pair of shorts and shoes in your truck than it is a bike,” Brown said.
Ultra-running is a sport that consists of multi-terrain races longer than a traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles. Brown has run a handful of 50-mile races and made his first foray into the 100-mile distance at the Stagecoach Ultra 100 late last month.
The race starts just north of Flagstaff and finishes in Tusayan, just outside of Grand Canyon National Park.
The 45-year-old won the race with a time of 14:40:43, nearly five hours ahead of the next finisher.
“I would say in some aspects I’ve done well, and I think I’m starting to figure things out, but I’m still kind of a novice at this when it comes to total number of races,” Brown said.
Welcome to ultra-running
Brown ran his first ultra at the 2019 Flagstaff Sky Peaks Mountain Runs 50K on and around the Fort Valley Trailhead. Brown finished second overall in his debut ultra, posting a time of 5:08.18 and finishing first in the 30-39 age group.
Even after a strong start in ultra-running, Brown said he is still trying to learn the sport’s intricacies.
“I had no idea what I was getting into and have been figuring it out ever since,” Brown said.
Working without a coach, Brown keeps himself in shape and has tackled seven races in the approximately six years since he started. In 2020, he ran the Black Canyon Ultras 100K, finishing seventh. Later that year, he finished second in the McDowell Mountain Frenzy 50K in Fountain Hills.
In 2022, Brown broke out into the ultra-running limelight. The then-41-year-old won Black Canyon Ultras as the only runner to post a time under eight hours (7:57:27).
He was the oldest of the top 19 finishers.
“People called me a dark horse, but based on my age, I was like, ‘I’m not even a dark horse. I’m a gray horse,’” Brown said. “The legs felt great that day and I just kind of went for it. I just did my thing that day, just rolled the whole thing, and I think I surprised a lot of folks.”
After running 50- and 100-kilometer races in past years, the 100-mile distance Brown tried for the first time at Stagecoach felt more like his speed.
“You’re not just red-lining the whole time,” Brown said. “There’s a little more throttle back, and you really got to kind of settle into your rhythm. With Stagecoach, it was almost 40 miles farther than I’ve ever run before. That’s not nothing.”
The longer races leave more time for isolation while running. Brown spent most of the race on his own after jumping out to an aggressive start and hardly looked back.
From winning Stagecoach to fighting fires
Recovering from an ultra can take weeks — if not months — even with the right training, preparation and rehabilitation.
Not long after Stagecoach, Brown hopped in a car and drove to central Washington to assist in fighting the Labor Mountain and Lower Sugarloaf fires. The quick turnaround kept him from focusing on his recovery after such a grueling race.
“They were needing help, and that’s part of what I do,” Brown said. “But it wasn’t the best for recovery.”
Brown planned to make the trip up to Washington, letting the incident management team in the area know he wouldn’t be available until after the race.
“It was tough sitting in a car for two days getting up there, but I was glad to go up there and help,” Brown said. “They’re in a much better space right now. I’d like to think I helped out in some capacity.”
The adjacent fires surrounding the city of Leavenworth have each burned over 40,000 acres of land as of mid-October. The Labor Mountain Fire has burned since lightning sparked a flame on Sept. 1 and sits at about 30% containment after a month and a half. The Lower Sugarloaf Fire, which started the same way, is 99% contained.
Fires tend to get in the way of Brown’s running career. By winning Black Canyon Ultra’s in 2022, he earned a golden ticket to run the Western States 100, one of the most highly acclaimed ultras in the world.
However, due to the Tunnel Fire and Pipeline Fire that ravaged the Flagstaff area that summer, Brown had to make the tough choice to withdraw from the biggest race of his life.
“I couldn’t in good conscience go to the race,” Brown said. “I still struggle with that one. That was pretty tough.”
Brown, who was the fire management officer on the Flagstaff Ranger District, knew that the Western States 100 fell right in the middle of peak fire season, but he tried to make it work for as long as he could before realizing it wasn’t in the cards for him.
Ironically, Brown has fought fires all over the Western States 100 course in the past.
“There was so much focus, effort and energy that was going into those fires that it just started slowly eroding my confidence in being able to go. Frankly, I probably held out hope too long to try and make it to Western States,” he said.
Brown already had a house and planned to have family with him. That made the call to pull the plug on his entry all the more difficult.
“I didn’t feel I could do the race or myself justice or honor by going,” Brown said. “I know I may never get back there again.”
After missing out on Western States, Brown tried to make a comeback and keep himself in competitive shape. He admitted he tried too hard to make up for the missed opportunity and that it did more harm than good.
“I was pushing too hard and put a lot of stress on my running and myself,” Brown said. “I kept hurting myself. I got a bunch of stress fractures and what I call ‘old-man injuries.’ It was really frustrating and sad.”
A herniated disc, for instance, in Brown’s back kept him out of running for months. He said he experienced pain he had never felt before.
A true resurgence
Injuries, responsibilities and constant fire seasons kept Brown off the racing trail for a few years. When he returned to running and competition, he came at it with a new approach.
“Once I got back to running, I just said, ‘I’m just going to run,’” Brown said. “I started feeling better about it, stayed pretty religious with the physical therapy for my back. Then, I was like, ‘OK, I feel like I want to race.’”
This year has already been a banner one for Brown. His new outlook and rejuvenation have him looking to do as many races as realistically possible.
The Flagstaff Crest 39-mile race in May was Brown’s first official completion in three years. With the race that starts at Fort Tuthill County Park and ends at Heritage Square in downtown Flagstaff, Brown reintroduced himself to the competitive running scene with a winning time of 4:24:59.
“I didn’t know how it would go,” Brown said. “I felt good, not great, but I had been running well. I ran my ass off. It was really hard.”
The opportunity to run the Flagstaff Extreme Big Pine Trail Runs in June presented itself, and Brown felt the desire to run again just over two months after Flagstaff Crest. Again starting at Fort Tuthill, Brown won the 50K race with a course record time of 3:32:18.
The wheels were in motion for Brown to keep going, eventually going 3 for 3 in his races after winning at Stagecoach.
What’s next?
Brown has his eyes on a few races in the next year.
After winning the Flagstaff Crest, he was offered a chance to compete in a longer race under the Cocodona 250 banner. He has his sights set on the 2026 Sedona Canyons 125-mile race, which starts at Gold King Mine in Jerome and ends at Heritage Square.
That race is slated to start on May 6.
The logistics of running in local and state races are appealing to someone as busy as Brown. For the time being, he’ll focus on fitting those kinds of races into his schedule.
“There’s so many neat, amazing races out there in the world, and I would love to travel to them,” Brown said. “But, just with work and family, I’m a little limited in that regard with the travel commitments.”
Running in the region he helps protect gives the nearby races a little more meaning for Brown.
“That kind of holds a special place in my heart too, running on these trails,” Brown said. “That’s kind of a neat feeling. This is my home, and there is a bit of home-field advantage, I guess, because some of the trails I get to run on a bit.”
After next year’s Sedona Canyons 125, Brown doesn’t have any major races lined up as of yet. His main focus as fall turns into winter is uphill skiing at Snowbowl with his kids. Brown will compete in the Kahtoola Uphill race at Snowbowl in February, a race where he finished third last year on the Lumberyard Öo’mawki Climb.
“It’s one of the best events in town,” Brown said. “It’s a blast.”
Brown has always had an inkling to run Black Canyon Ultras again. He has also thought about running the Javelina Jundred, a 100-mile race around McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills. The race runs at the end of October, but Brown has ruled out trying it this year.
“I’m not there yet,” Brown said. “I’m just trying to recover.”
Like Black Canyon Ultras, the Javelina Jundred is a Western States golden ticket race. The top two male and top two female finishers automatically qualify for next year’s Western States 100.
Setting his sights internationally, Brown said he would love to run Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in Europe one day.
But he is taking a realistic approach that respects his daily duties.
“There’s races all over the world that I think I would love to try my hand at, but also recognizing that I don’t want to take it too seriously,” Brown said. “Just trying to be the best husband and father that I can, and everything going on with work, I’m trying to find that balance.”
Brown doesn’t have a timeline for when he will be done racing competitively, but he does have one for when he will be done running.
That timeline is the rest of his life.
“I’d like to run until the day I die,” Brown said.
Brown prioritizes his long-term health, and that is something he preaches to his kids. He credits his wife for taking such good care of him and his family.
With how much mental and physical health play a role in Brown’s life, maybe there is a chance he keeps on racing for as long as he can.
“Don’t be surprised if I’m the 80-year-old guy someday lining up for some of these races,” Brown said.
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