Race Report: Philmont Trail Marathon
I was never a Boy Scout, but Mike was and a few years ago he heard about a new trail race starting up on the site of the Philmont High Adventure camp. He had been there a few times as both a youth and a troop leader and was excited to experience the place as a trail runner. Fast forward to 2025 and Mike and Beth both decided to head out to attempt the 50 miler after having conquered the 26 mile marathon in the first year of the event.
I didn’t have any big running events on my calendar this year, and I also didn’t get to do my typical trip out-west in the Spring. Putting two and two together, it made sense to head out there and join Mike and Beth to do one of the races at this beautiful northern New Mexico site. I opt’d for the 26 mile marathon, as it had a generous cut-off and would allow me the flexibility to enjoy the route, or push myself, without penalty.
I spent my spring and summer training, getting in some solid hill workouts. Two days before the event I packed up the van and hit the road. I’m not a fan of flying (I’ll do it, but it’s not my preference), so I decided to drive this trip and do a bit of camping on the way. My first night was at Lake Scott State Park in Kansas, and despite being rather vacant, it was a comfortable night of sleep.
I arrived to the scout camp on Friday afternoon, met up with Mike and Beth, and got myself checked in to my pup-tent for the weekend. Mike had graciously gotten us reservations at a nice restaurant in town and so we headed over to get in our pre-race calories, before calling it an early night. My bus for the 26 mile left at 5:30AM and their 50 mile bus left an hour earlier than that. A little bit of hanging out before bed was all we mustered before hitting the sack nice and early.
The next morning I got dressed and took care of my morning duties and before I knew it I was at the welcome center ready to board the bus for the 30 minute drive to the trailhead for the start. The race is entirely inside the property of the camp, but many of the routes start at trailheads in different areas. With 220 square miles, there are trails everywhere, making for a fun adventure to get yourself back to the finish line at the camp.
The temps were beautiful in the mid-50s, with clear skies, and a distinct lack of wildfire smoke which had been plaguing Minnesota recently. Being a high desert the humidity was also quite low. I knew that being at elevation the sun would beat down on me even harder, but I had to take my wins where I could get them and so I relished the idea of being able to have productive sweat.
The race began with a simple 1.7 mile climb up a jeep road to the first aid station. It felt really unnecessary to have an aid station this early, but I had to remind myself that this race was put on by the scouting organization, not a professional race organization. Some things would be a little different than my expectations. I grabbed a quick Oreo cookie and continued on the route. Very quickly I came across the first challenge of the day, a 1.2 mile, 1000ft climb up to Stonewall Pass. The terrain quickly changed from easy jeep road to technical trail akin to the rockier parts of the Superior Hiking Trail.
However, climbing is my strength, and I knew I could push hard and make some really good time up this hill. I managed to keep my pace just under 24 minute mile, and I passed nearly a dozen people on the way up. I got to the top and felt victorious. I started across the pass, realizing that I might have burned a few too many matches to make that climb so successful. No matter though, the aid station was just ahead, and it was supposedly smoother trail for quite a while.
I went through the second aid station, mostly just refilling water and drink mix, and started down the trail. The terrain around the Urraca Mesa was chill and gave me some good footing to work with. I ran and hiked as best I could for the next 6 miles, pausing on occasion to take photos of the stunning view. The climbing and descending was very chill in this section making for a really nice morning run. The only complication was a jeep road that was torn up a bit from some type of tracked construction vehicle. The washboarded dirt got a bit annoying after a while.
As I entered into the middle part of the day I realized that I probably had pushed a bit too hard in the early parts of the race, and the blazing sun was starting to bear down on me. I savored any moments of shade that the sparse tree cover afforded. Oh well, I had plenty of time and I was still feeling strong so I pushed when I could, and backed off on the climbs to maintain feeling strong.
The next aid station was at mile 12 and it was there that I caught a bunch more people. We chatted a bit, but I knew this was my chance to be efficient and get some more distance on folks. I refilled my fluids, ate more food, and got back at it as quick as I could. I had to stop and pee and ended up getting passed by some folks but was still feeling strong at the halfway mark. Before I knew it I was at the final full aid station at mile 14 and had to contemplate the final climb that loomed ahead. There was one more water stop at mile 20.5, but from here on out we were on our own.
I stocked up as best I could and then caught up to a women from Los Alamos to have a hiking buddy for a bit. We chatted a bit about New Mexico and some other events I had heard about in the area. I managed to pull ahead of her a bit on one of the intro climbs, but when we headed down to the river crossing she left me in the dust and I had to focus on my own plan.
The second large climb was just over 3 miles and was nearly 1300ft. It consisted of MANY switchbacks to get you to the peak of the race at 9275ft, but given the steepness of the terrain, those switchbacks were probably a good idea. I put my head down and powered through as best I could. I managed to keep things roughly under 21-22 minute miles, passing more people on the climb, and got to the top feeling tremendously accomplished. Then I turned the corner and saw the Tooth of Time Trail ahead of me.
Mike and Beth had warned me that it was a rather rocky trail, but I was completely unprepared for the amount of boulder bouncing that was required to get through this two mile segment. This type of rocky, uncertain footing, terrain is my nemesis. At the Curnow Marathon in Duluth, MN there’s a section called Jarrow’s Beach that is similar to this, but with bigger rocks. However, it’s much shorter and you’re out of it much quicker. The Tooth of Time trail chewed me up and spit me out. Both physically and mentally.
This was the trail. Seriously.By the time I reached the final water stop I was incredibly tied and disheartened and grumpy. Yet, when I pulled into the station they were blasting music, specifically The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald! I thanked them for making me feel at home, and we had some fun banter that lifted my spirits quickly. I looked at my watch and saw that a sub-9 hour finish was still probably doable, and so I started hiking down the trail with vigor. Then I realized I was hiking down the wrong trail and had to backtrack 100 feet and make the correct turn…
This next section of trail is beautifully buffed out, and slowly descends to the finish line. As I proceeded quickly hiking, trying to muster some running legs, I came across yet another scout troop out on their adventure. All of the troops were incredibly gracious to the runners and this one was no different, parting the way in the trail to let me run through. Their kindness spurred me into a stiff jog, and that’s where it happened…
Right in the middle of this scout troop… on perfectly level and clear ground… I rolled my right ankle… bad. I almost fell over, but managed to save myself. I quickly pulled off to the side and took a seat on a log. The scout leader offered me an ankle brace, but I needed some time to actually assess how bad the damage was so I sent them further down the trail.
My wife is the queen of rolled ankles and so I thought to myself, “What would Lisa do?” The answer came quick and was obvious. If you can walk on it get moving. What ever you do, don’t stop and give it the opportunity to swell up and become a bad problem. Ice and ibuprofen were waiting for me at the finish line, and there’s where I needed to be.
I tested my ability to walk on it, and sure enough I was able to hike, albeit not nearly as fast as I wanted to. It was enough though to get me off this mountain and to the finish line. I started making my way down the trail, caught up to the scout troop again and declined their offer of a brace, and just kept moving. Soon, more and more of the people I had passed started catching me, jogging along this beautifully smooth downhill trail to the finish. I was mad I couldn’t join them but I simply couldn’t put that type of pressure on the ankle without a lot of pain.
It took me far longer than I wanted, but I finally made it to the finish line just over 9:45 into the race. My final 5 miles (actually ended up being 6) being at a slow and careful hike to ensure that I could make it back to the camp safely. I crossed the finish line and immediately asked for ice, and somewhere I could put up my feet. They accommodated me nicely and soon I was sitting comfortably with a cool ice pack on my foot.
After resting and rehydrating a bit I decided I should get cleaned up before things swelled too badly, so I took my ice bag back to my tent and grabbed a quick shower before laying down to rest. Some dinner in the cafeteria with some other runners, a refreshed ice pack, and soon it was back into bed for me, recovering from a day well spent in the mountains.
As I recovered I got word from Mike and Beth that they were timing out at the mile 33 aid station, and so I simply relaxed for the rest of the evening until they could catch a 2 hour jeep ride back to the camp. We hung out for a little before we all decided that sleep sounded good and we retired to our separate tents for the night. The next day we had plans to be tourists in Santa Fe, and so we wanted to get an early start on the morning.
In front of the oldest church building in America, built in 1610Overall, I’m really pleased with how the race went. Despite the ankle issue, I performed right where I thought I would given the heat and elevation. There were certainly areas I can improve (doing some strength training would be a good thing for me), but given what I was working with, the race went well. I’m incredibly happy with my climbing and feel proud to have performed so well in those sections.
Given that I don’t have any specific history with the Philmont scout ranch, I doubt I’ll do this race again in the future, but it was awesome to get to experience northern New Mexico again this year and spend some time doing something I love in such a beautiful place. I realize I’m very lucky to be able to have these experiences and I don’t take them for granted. I could complain about missing my time goal, the busted up ankle, or any of a myriad of little things that could have “been done better” by the race. But I got to have an amazing experience, and that gratitude is more important than any of the small niggles, and I can focus on living life to the fullest.
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