Passionate about inspiring others and sharing the beauty of trail running
Peter Mortimer is an ultra runner based in the mountain town of Flagstaff, Arizona. Although Peter dabbled in sports as a teenager, running didn't come onto his radar until the age of 30. As a means of losing some weight and changing his lifestyle, he joined the Hash House Harriers, "a drinking club, with a running problem" as a way of getting out there and socializing. The running bug bit him hard and within a year he jumped from running 1-2 miles on the pavement to completing his first half marathon. A year after that he completed his first marathon missing the Boston qualifier by mere minutes. It was at that point that he realized his potential...
After a few marathons though, he started to lose the drive of running. That is until his lovely partner, Cisca, introduced him to the world of trail running! Running his first Aravaipa trail race in 2013, he trained diligently for his first ultra marathon in 2014, placing 3rd at the Javelina Jangover night run 75k. Within, 2 months he completed his first 50 mile race at Man Against Horse and his first 100 mile race at the Javelina Jundred. With an insatiable appetite to push himself, over the next several years he continued to challenge his running ability, signing up for the toughest races he could find. He ran his first 200 mile race around Lake Tahoe in 2016 finishing in 84 hours.
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Photo credit: Howie Stern
A year later he took on his 2nd 200 mile race at the Bigfoot Endurance run in WA. He finished in just over 60 hours, a full day faster than his previous undertaking on a substantially harder course. That finish was good enough for 2nd place overall and a love for the multi-day races was born. It was during this period that he changed his nutritional approach to running, becoming a low carb athlete and optimizing his fat metabolism with the help from his Aravaipa racing team mate, Nick Coury and Vespa's guru, Peter Defty. This was a game changer for him. As he continued to strive for harder challenges, the fine tuning of his nutrition helped him tap into his true running potential. Peter has now podiumed at 19 races including the inaugural Cocodona 250 mile race across Arizona taking 2nd, and most recently taking the win at the Hurt 100 in Oahu, Hawaii. He has also completed the Dragons Back 200 across Wales, navigating 60,000 feet of climbing in an orienteering style stage race. Peter still strives to challenge his ability and has competed in the Barkley Marathons and hopes to race the Tor Des Geants for his next 200 mile accolade.
Accomplishments
2024 Cruel Jewel 100 - 2nd Place
2023 Mogollon 100 - 1st Place
2023 Montane Spine Race 268 mile - 2nd place
2023 Antelope Canyon X Half Marathon - 2nd place
2023 Tarawera 100 mile by UTMB - 8th OA
2022 Man Against Horse 25 mile - 1st place
2022 Western States 100 - finisher
2022 HURT 100 HURT 100 - 1st place
2021 Cave Creek Thriller 50K - 2nd place
2021 Colossal-Vail 50/50 55K - 1st place
2021 Flagstaff Sky Peaks 50K Sat. - 1st place
2021 Cocodona 250 250 Miler - 2nd place
2021 Elephant Mountain 50 Miler - 2nd place
2021 Kahtoola Bob Gore Virtual Elevation Challenge - 1st Place
2020 Lone Cactus Last Person Standing - 1st place (in person)
2020 The Georgia Death Ra... 74ish miles - 2nd place
2020 Avalon Benefit 50 50 Miler - 3rd place
2019 Man Against Horse 50... 50 Miler - 3rd place
2019 Javelina Jangover Ni... 75K - 1st place
2019 The Barkley Fall Cla... 50K - 2nd place
2019 Dragons Back Race 200 mile finisher
2019 Whiskey Basin Trail ... 88K - 3rd place
2018 UTMB Finisher
2017 Bigfoot 200 Enduranc... 200 Miler - 2nd place
2016 McDowell Mountain Fr... 50 Miler - 1st place
2015 Man Against Horse 50... 50 Miler - 1st place
Photo credit: Marcus Panek