Flagstaff Fearsome 4 Challenge

About 

Looking for a running/hiking challenge in the Flagstaff area. Look no further! The Flagstaff Fearsome 4 is for you! 4 Peaks, 34 miles (55 km), 10,307+ feet (3141 m) of elevation gain in a single day (Ultrarunner) or 2 days (Trailrunner & Hiker). Training and acclimation to elevation is highly recommended. All distances, elevation gain, elevation may vary depending on GPS used.

History

The idea of running several peaks in a single day in the Flagstaff region was born a few years ago when Scott Bajer and I were coming up with some cool ideas for runs for the Flagstaff Ultrarunning Club similar in craziness as the Elden Vertical 2400, the Elden Quad Buster. The idea was forgotten and did not turn into a reality until now! The idea sparked back to life at The King/Queen of The Peaks group run this July 2015 when talking with Sean Meissner. We started brainstorming and the name “The Flagstaff Fearsome 4” was born.

Description

This challenge is for trailrunners, hikers and ultrarunners. It involves cresting 4 Flagstaff popular mountains, Humphreys, Kendrick, Elden and O’Leary in a single day (0:00 am to 11:59 pm) for the Ultrarunner status and 2 days (not necessarily back to back) for the Trailrunner and Hiker status.

See you on the trails!

Ludo Pierson

Rules (If you are interested in participating, please read)

1. This challenge is not a race, it can be done anytime of the year, there is NO fee, no shirt, no medal, no aid stations, no chip timing, no medics
2. You have to start the day at the start of your 1st peak and finish at the bottom of your last peak
3. You can drive to the mountain of your choice, the order in which you proceed does not matter
4. You start timing at the Trail Heads (O’Leary and Elden Lookout Road start and finish at the bottom gate, the top is the LOOKOUT TOWERS), record your time at the top, and finally stop timing once back at the same Trail Head (Send me your ELAPSED TIMES, not MOVING TIMES). Keep track of your time for each mountain. Driving time is not included in your overall time, drive safe, respect speed limits
5. A GPS watch is highly recommended but not mandatory.
6. The use of hiking poles is authorized, same for pacers and crews
7. A single day is defined as being from 0:00 am to 11:59 pm on the same calendar day. Hiker and Trailrunner Status can be achieved using 2 different days, not necessarily back to back.
8. This is a runner and hiker challenge only, the use of bicycles is NOT allowed.
9. Observe the Leave No Trace 7 principles. A lot of these trails are on Wilderness, observe all rules stated by the Forest Service
10. Report your times for each peaks (Send me your ELAPSED TIMES, not MOVING TIMES). and dates, your city, pictures and gpx files/Strava activities (required for COURSE RECORD) to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . This is done on the HONOR SYSTEM, no cheating please. I will post your time as soon as I can.

Badges

Status	Total Cumulative Time	Span
	< 15 hours	1 day
	> 8 and < 15 hours	over 2 days
	> 15 and < 24 hours	over 2 days

2015 Results

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
7/31/2015	Ludo Pierson Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 57 min		Solo
8/22/2015	David Moore Flagstaff, AZ Aaron Moore Durango, CO	12 hrs 27 min		Team
9/5/2015	Kristina Siladi Flagstaff, AZ Cari Kimball Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 14 min		Team
9/11/2015	Tyler Gault Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 39 min		Solo with dog
12/03/2015	Sean Meissner Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 19 min		Solo

2016 Results

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
5/12/2016	Tyler Gault Flagstaff, AZ	7 hrs 50 min		Solo
5/28/2016	Brian Moody Flagstaff, AZ	7 hrs 16 min		Solo
6/15/2016	Michael Versteeg Prescott, AZ	6 hrs 31 min		Solo
6/26/2016	Jamil Coury Phoenix, AZ	7 hrs 26min		Solo
7/5-6/2016	Tasha Harder Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 55 min		Solo
7/14/2016	Shari White Alyson Jay Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 05 min		Team
7/27/2016	Steven Kujawski Flagstaff, AZ	11 hrs 24 min		Solo
7/31/2016	Joey Bender Denver, CO	5 hrs 50 min 22 sec		Solo
8/28/2016	Jeff Spencer Bentonville, AR	12 hrs 47 min 45 sec		Solo
9/2/2016	Brett DuBois Chris Wolf Phoenix, AZ	11 hrs 10 min 52 sec		Team
9/4/2016	Tom Feore Glendale, AZ	10 hrs 12 min 42 sec		Solo
9/10/2016 9/11/2016	Kathy Gott George Gott Phoenix, AZ	17 hrs 39 min 55 sec		Team
9/15/2016	Jane Murawski AZ	9 hrs 33 min 39 sec		Solo
9/17/2016	Steven Kujawski Flagstaff, AZ	11 hrs 49 min 53 sec		Solo
9/17/2016	David Metzler Phoenix, AZ Brad Bosch Flagstaff, AZ	8 hrs 06 min 53 sec		Team
11/10/2016	Brandon Kelone Flagstaff, AZ	8 hrs 45 min 05 sec		Solo

2017 Results

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
9/23/2017	Kelly Lasley Flagstaff, AZ	16 hrs 30 min		Solo
9/30-10/01/2017	Kyle DeHart Flagstaff, AZ	11 hrs 15 min		Solo
11/03-11/04/2017	Pete Kirkham Idyllwild, CA	10 hrs 40 min		Solo
12/23/2017	Thomas Torres Flagstaff, AZ Matt Maroszan Gilbert, AZ Rene Armenta Mesa, AZ	10 hrs 41 min   11 hrs 16 min    11 hrs 30 min		Team

Because of the Kendrick boudary fire, the trails were closed from 6/5/2017 to 9/13/2017

2018 Results

5/23-7/11 2018 Humphreys and Elden closed due to fire danger. 

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
5/20/2018	Scott Bajer Flagstaff, AZ	8 hrs 40 min 09 sec		Solo
7/21/2018	Rob Applegate Maricopa, AZ	9 hrs 49 min 20 sec		Solo
8/11/2018	Thomas Torres Kameron Wallis Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 12 min 00 sec		Team
8/11-12/2018	Stanford Lake Prescott Valley, AZ	12 hrs 17 min 48 sec		Solo
8/29/2018	James Madson Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 19 min 13 sec		Solo
9/6/2018	Matt Mooch Flagstaff, AZ	7 hrs 48 min 51 sec		Solo
9/15-11/03/2018	Rob Thames Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 00 min 3 sec		Solo

2019 Results (Museum Fire)

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
6/6/2019	Perry Edigner Phoenix, AZ Rob Ulm Charleston, IL	11 hrs 46 min   11 hrs 47 min 38 sec		Team
6/29/2019	Vasile Samartinean Phoenix, AZ	8 hrs 00 min 2 sec		Solo
7/13/2019	Holly Hovious Jeff Hemperley Prescott, AZ	10 hrs 56 min 7 sec		Team
7/13/2019	Ramon Dorame Mesa, AZ	10 hrs 12 min 31 sec		Team
7/13/2019	Lucas Burnett Chandler, AZ	10 hrs 8 min 54		Team
7/13/2019	Joseph Lafferty Phoenix, AZ	13 hrs 22 min 18 sec		Team
7/13/2019	Eric Rolen Phoenix, AZ	13 hrs 24 min 52 sec		Team
8/31-9/1/2019	Kat Berry Tucson, AZ	16 hrs 26 min 23 sec		Solo
9/21/2019	Charlie Trouba Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 23 min 5 sec		Solo

Elden Lookout Rd and Trail were closed due to the Museum Fire  

2020 Results (COVID19)

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
7/4/2020	Breanna Cornell Flagstaff, AZ	10 hrs 47 min 04 sec		Friends & dog
7/19/2020	Mike Loree Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 26 min 56 sec		Solo
7/19/2020	Andrew Smith Phoenix, AZ	8 hrs 00 min 49 sec		Solo
8/26/2020	Drew Frehs Flagstaff, AZ	6 hrs 16 min 03 sec		Friends & dog
8/28-29/2020	Elizabeth Wong Chandler, AZ	12 hrs 04 min 07 sec		Solo
9/12/2020	Will Drexler Flagstaff, AZ	8 hrs 26 min 21 sec		Solo
9/12/2020	Nick Smotek Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 01 min 12 sec		Solo
10/24/2020	Maddie Margevicius Flagstaff, AZ	11 hrs 10 min 58 sec		Solo
10/31/2020	Nathan Rupe Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 06 min 35 sec		Solo

2021 Results

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
10/08/2021	Austin Horn    Flagstaff, AZ	5 hrs 37 min 50 sec		Solo  (***Fastest Known Time*** )

2022 Results

Date	Name	Cumulative Running Time	Status	Notes
9/07/2022	Kyle Zelt    Flagstaff, AZ	9 hrs 33 min 30 sec		Solo
9/30/2022	AlisonTita Michael Tita Flagstaff, AZ	13 hrs 22 min 21 sec		Team

Course Maps & Profiles

Elden

Kendrick

Humphreys

O'Leary

Directions

Mount Elden

Lookout Trail

89A toward the Flagstaff Mall, Turn left onto Elden Lookout Trail parking lot, after passing LazyBoy

Lookout Road

180 toward the Grand Canyon, turn left on Schultz Pass Road at the light. Stay right onto Elden Lookout rd, drive until road turns into forest road, park at the gate

Humphreys Peak

180 toward the Grand Canyon, turn left and drive up Snowbowl rd, park on the Heart Prairie Lodge Parking lot on the left. The Trail Head is right there!

Kendrick Peak

Drive 180 toward the Grand Canyon, make left on 245 (forest road) at Mile Marker 230, continue on 245 for 3 miles until intersection with 171, turn right on 171 for 4 miles, turn right at Kendrick TH sign.

O’Leary Peak

89A north past the Mall, heading towards Sunset Crater National Monument, turn right to get into the National Monument, a couple of miles down turn left at O’Leary Campground, Park before the gate,

Recommended Equipment

• Hydration pack
• Rain gear (paints & jacket)
• Watch, GPS is preferred
• Hat/Beanie
• Sunglasses
• Food and water
• Hiking poles
• Running/Hiking shoes
• Spare pairs of shorts, socks, shirts
• Headlamp
• Vehicle filled with gas, plenty of miles driving between Trail Heads
• First Aid Kit
• A cell phone

Have fun!

Ludo Pierson

Any questions, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

View from the rooftop of Arizona, Humphreys Peak

View from Kendrick Peak

View of the San Francisco Peaks from Elden Lookout Tower

View of Sunset Crater from O'Leary Peak