Hypotraveler wrote:
Factor in costs, proximity to trails and races and extracurricular activities.
Discus.
Bay Area is too cost-prohibitive and lacks altitude/mountains.
Portland OR? Not enough trails or mountains, can't believe anybody even suggested it. I don't care that there are mountains an hour away, nobody would do that every day.
Boulder is a bit expensive and would probably have too much snow in the winter to be a perfect candidate. Same goes for other cities like Colorado Springs.
Mammoth (sorry Tim) has too much snow.
East coast sucks. Terrible weather.
Auburn is very hot in the summer, which is partially why WS100 gets attention. But too hot for comfortable training.
That leaves Flagstaff. Haven't lived there but it doesn't seem to get pounded by snow. Cheap place to live, good endurance training town. Variety of trails. Altitude.
Flagstaff wins for year-round cheap living and training.