I got the following email: My name is **** and I'm a college runner. A buddy and I decided to move to Flagstaff for the summer to train for the upcoming cross country season. Seeing as you lived and trained here I thought you would be a good person to ask some questions about the city. I have read some of your forum posts from years ago and saw that Fisher Point was a run you recommended but I'm curious as to what are some of your other favorite runs? What are some of your favorite things to do outside of running? And good places to grab food/drinks? I appreciate any input and am asking for yours specifically knowing that you had good experiences up here. Also any tips regarding training up here I would also appreciate.
I started to answer him and then realized I should open this up. Let's help him out and create the unofficial LetsRun.com guide to Flagstaff. When I went to Flag in 2000, I posted on an email server or the old tnfmedia forums and got 2 very helpful responses (thank you Tom and Carlos) and that was enough for me to drive out there.
Here's an abbreviated version of what I wrote back:
First congrats on going to Flagstaff for the summer. It's one of my favorite places.
It's hard to go wrong in Flagstaff as if you run in any direction soon you'll be in the forest as the town is surrounded by the Cococino Forest which I think is the largest pine forest in the US. The way I think of running in Flagstaff is there are 3 main areas to run if you're in the center of town. There is a trail system that connects these but usually I headed out in one direction and wouldn't mix the areas on one run. You can run south of town (to Fisher Point) and other areas out there (I would start this run by going East on the trail off LoneTree road towards Sinclair Wash). You can run west of town above the Observatory. You can run southwest of town towards Fort Tuthill. (If you live on the East side of town, near the country club you can run over there and also connect to Fisher Point area from above). I lived East of town the first year and central/south the other 3 years and Fisher Point was common so maybe that is why I gravitated out there.
Buffalo Park in town has a flat loop you can run that is good for workouts and you can run north of it but it is hillier. If you want to run at a higher altitude you can drive up Shultz Pass road and start there but when I did that a lot of the runs were uphill one direction down the other.
The joke was I lived like a hermit in Flagstaff but it's a pretty good town. I was looking on Yelp to see if some of my favorite places still exist. Beaver Street Brewery was good American food and a brewery before I even knew what a microbrew was. Fratelli's Pizza is really good. Cottage Place Restaurant is upscale but I had one of my best meals ever there. Dara Thai was the only Thai and is only getting 3 stars on Yelp but I liked it. Macy's coffee and a few others.
Only local tradition I remember is Tequila Sunrise, but it's in the fall (and all the NAU people start drinking Tequila Sunrises at sunrise).
As for things to do, the area is beautiful. You have to go to the Grand Canyon. That is my only requirement. If you don't like crowds, just drive east in your own car once you get up there. No need to take the tour bus. Whatever you do, be careful in the summer. It is hot enough to kill you in the summer. I knew a superfit marathoner who died there in a tragic accident. See this
http://www.robbiesenbach.com/how-a-story-can-save-lives/
Sedona is pretty and worth checking out. Havasupai Falls is incredible if you are adventurous. I don't want to spoil it so not everyone can go there.
But instead of asking a guy who has been to Flag I think less than 5 times in the last 10 years, let's open it up. There are a lot more people training in Flag when I was there.
Give our Flagstaff summer sojourner some advice.