Trail Gangsta of the Month — trail gangstaz
đź’ĄTrail Gangsta of the Month (FEB '22) : Preston Cates of Boulder, CO đź’Ą
Name: Preston Cates
Age:Â 24
Hometown: Boulder Colorado
Current Residence: Back and forth between Colorado and Hot Springs, Arkansas
Occupation: (Part-Time) Product Manager for an Organizational Design Firm Â
After a successful running career at University of Arkansas, Preston burst onto the trail/ultra scene in 2021 with a win at the Run Lovit 100k, 6th place finish at Canyons 100k, and 2nd place at the competitive Lake Sonoma 50 miler! Read more to see what's in store next for this promising, young running phenom!Â
1. Even though you were a talented Division I runner at the...
đź’ĄTrail Gangsta of the Month (JAN '21): Nick Vargo Fielder of Phoenix, AZ đź’Ą
Name: Nick Vargo Fiedler
Age: 39
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Current Residence: Phoenix, AZ
Occupation: Director of Customer Success
1. How did you get into trail running?
I found Aravaipa on meetup.com when I first moved out to Phoenix for work and didn't know anyone, before that it was strictly streets. However, running Papago or South Mountain with a group became a weekly tradition and I fell in love with the trails.
2. Favorite part about the AZ running scene?
The weather is good most of the year and there is pretty much every type of...
đź’ĄTrail Gangstas of the Month (OCT & NOV '21): Melissa & Sarah Ostaszewskiđź’Ą
Names: Melissa & Sarah Ostaszewski
Age: 30, 30
Occupations: Merchandiser, Copywriter
Hometown: Crown Point, IN
Current Residence: Flagstaff, AZÂ
1. How do you pronounce your last name?!
Melissa: Ah-stuh-zew-skee is how most of our family pronounces it. Real Polish way is something like Ah-stuh-chef-ski\ee
Sarah: “Aah-stuh-zoo-skee” is how we pronounce it. Our grandparents on our dad’s side pronounce it like “Aah-stuh-chef-skee.”
2. How did you discover trail running?
M:Â I ran in the Indiana Dunes (now a national park!) along Lake...
đź’ĄTrail Gangsta of the Month (July '21): Andre Lee, Massage Therapist & DFL at Cocodona 25đź’Ą
Andre Lee
Age: 50
Hometown: Washington, DC
Current Residence: Tempe, AZ
Occupation: Massage TherapistÂ
1. How did you first get into running/trail running?
I have been running/racing since I was 5 years old. I ran track through the Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, IN. I then transitioned to marathons in 1989 and triathlons in 1990.
I really became interested in trail running with Ragnar in 2013. A friend, Josh Uriarte, approached me to be a team member. I jumped at the chance. We raced a few years together there. Josh worked a lot with Aravaipa...
đź’ĄTrail Gangsta of the Month (April '21): Peter Mellen & Olivia đź’Ą
Full Name: Peter Mellen
Age: 40
Hometown: Naples, FL
Current Residence: Memphis, TNÂ
Occupation: Service Advisor, Race Director for Motivated RunningÂ
1. How did you discover trail running?
When I began running roads and increased my mileage to the point I felt I was able to go up to a full marathon, I wanted more! That’s where my desire to try my first 50k in 2019 happened. It was just the drive to do more mileage after that. Now I’ve completed a 50 miler and looking at 100k and 100 miler by 2022.
2. What...