Black Canyon Ultras: Coach Insights On Top Performances

Last weekend’s Black Canyon Ultras was a great start to the 2026 ultramarathon season for CTS Athletes and Coaches. More than 40 CTS Athletes competed and several CTS Coaches made the trip to Arizona to provide race-weekend coaching. Overall, five CTS Athletes finished in the top 10 in the women’s 100K, led by Jennifer Lichter in course record time, Molly Seidel in fourth, Abby Hall in fifth, Shea Aquilano in sixth, and Riley Brady in ninth! Two CTS Athletes, Jennifer Lichter and Molly Seidel, earned Golden Tickets to the Western States Endurance Race. And in the Men’s 50K event, Adam Peterman and Cade Michael started the season with podium finishes in second and third places, respectively. 

The stories behind these performances are as varied as the athletes and coaches themselves. To help tell those stories in a brief and meaningful way, we asked coaches for “snapshot” race reports from the Black Canyons Ultras. Here are some of the highlights.

From Coach John Fitzgerald

Six CTS Athletes coached by John Fitzgerald raced Black Canyon Ultras, including Jennifer Lichter, Adam Peterman, Cat Bradley, Alyssa Clark, and two age group athletes.

Jennifer Lichter (100K Winner and Course Record, Golden Ticket)

How She Did It: Coming from a 50K background, Black Canyon Ultras was Jennifer’s debut race at the 100K distance. Successfully stepping up to a new distance meant managing the aggressive pacing style that won races at the 50K distance. Although she pressed the pace from the start, she was careful to avoid surging and getting caught up in racing dynamics so she had energy and legs for the back half of the race. Staying cool was also a big priority, and that means being deliberate and making good decisions in aid stations and other opportunities to cool off. 

Coaching Insight: We started working together after Jennifer was unable to race the 81-kilometer 2025 Trail World Championships Long Trail in Canfranc, Spain due to a hamstring injury. Guiding her return to training and her build to her inaugural 100K race was a big responsibility. My priorities were to build a robust and sustainable training workload she could handle week after week. Her training history showed she’d been sustaining a workload compatible with 100k racing for the past three years. The changes we made included a shift from distance-based training to duration-based training, and a clear shift in the specificity of her training to race demands. By building durability and resilience first, we could then adjust for the specifics of stepping up in race distance.

Adam Peterman (M2 in 50K)

How He Did It: Adam had some challenges early in the race but worked through them. That put him back in fourth or fifth with about 15 kilometers to race. However, he came into the race with plenty of experience with challenging race situations, and we’ve worked a lot on improving his resilience and his ability to perform at a high level while fatigued. Those workouts and experiences created confidence that his body would respond positively if he pushed himself hard in the final third of the race. He pressed forward, made up ground, and moved into second place by the finish line, beating the previous course record (now held by 2026 winner Seth Ruhling).

Coaching Insight: Black Canyon was an early-season race that’s part of Adam’s preparation for the 120K Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB in March, where he aims to capture a Golden Ticket to WSER. So, a strong race and podium performance is a confidence booster and great sign he’s on track. 

From Coach Cliff Pittman

Molly Seidel (F4 in 100K, Golden Ticket)

How She Did It: A key moment came at Deep Canyon Ranch around 50K in, where Molly briefly fell behind on fluids while navigating a new distance and unfamiliar race dynamics. Instead of forcing the pace, she adapted quickly by taking in additional fluids, adjusting her intake leaving Table Mesa, and trusting the nutrition plan CTS Coach Stephanie Howe (PhD in Nutrition & Exercise Science) created. Because of that composure and the durability built in training, she was able to access her full fitness late in the race and run a strong, controlled back half to secure a Golden Ticket.

Coaching Insight: Our preparation centered on translating Molly’s world-class marathon fitness to trail ultras by building durability, fueling precision, and trail-specific resilience. That meant slower trail volume, consistent density through stacked longer runs, and disciplined recovery so her aerobic strength could last deep into a 100K. This result validates the progression and sets the foundation for Western States, where durability and late-race execution will remain the primary focus of the majority of upcoming training blocks.

Cade Michael (M3 in 50K) 

How He Did It: Cade delivered a breakthrough performance by combining aggressive fitness with meaningful progress in managing the cramping that has historically limited him. After mild cramping surfaced beyond Bumblebee at Mile 19, he stayed composed, adjusted intensity, and continued competing at the front of the field. While that cramping limitation prevented a final response to the late move for 2nd place, the execution marked his most complete performance to date and confirmed he belongs at that level competing with the best in the world.

Coaching Insight: Cade’s build emphasized high training load tolerance (i.e., consistent 120–130 mile weeks supported by substantial threshold development) alongside focused work on hydration and sodium strategy with Sports Dietitian Meredith Terranova. Running 3:18 in a deep, competitive race validates both the fitness and the progress in managing his primary limiter. With continued refinement of fueling and cramp prevention, this performance points toward immediate upside as we target Canyons 100K this spring.

From Coach Jason Koop

Abby Hall (F5 in 100K)

How She Did It: Abby knows the Black Canyon course well. It’s in her backyard and she trains on the trails consistently. Additionally, she already has her entry into Western States, so she was able to use the race as an early-season opportunity to test her limits. 

Coaching Insight: The differences in performance are getting smaller and smaller at the elite level of the sport. Without the pressure of needing a specific result to secure an entry into Western States, we were able to use this race to fine tune things like tapering and race execution so that future races are as successful as possible. 

From Coach Ryne Anderson

Five athletes who work with Ryne competed at Black Canyon Ultras, three of whom raced the event last year.

Shea Aquilano (F6 in 100K) 

How She Did It: Being purposeful and disciplined were the keys to Shea’s performance at Black Canyon Ultras. That meant not being rushed in aid stations and taking the time to ensure good self-care. It was a hot race and it was important to stay on track in terms of hydration and cooling, even if that meant longer stops. It was worth the extra time because it led to more consistent speed later in the race.

Coaching Insight: With Black Canyon in February we started a high volume training block earlier in the winter, with lots of time in Zone 2 and Zone 3. This meant focusing on volume in mid-December through February rather than a lot of intensity. However, with this result and a block of volume already done, Shea is primed for good adaptation leading into March and the ability to absorb and handle higher training workloads later in the spring into summer.

From Coach Adam Ferdinandson 

Like many CTS Coaches, Adam works with a mixture of elite and age group athletes. Adam included snapshot race reports for Riley Brady (9th in the 100k) as well as several age group athletes.

Riley Brady (9th in 100k)

Riley has run this race many times and was here to earn a golden ticket to Western States. They also benefited from the fantastic weather we have had here in the Front Range and showed up fit and ready to go. Unfortunately they ran into stomach issues from the very start of the race but never gave up on trying to fuel and hydrate, including stopping at Deep Canyon to drink some coke and reset in the shade for a moment. Riley’s tenacity and grit carried them to a top ten finish despite having an admittedly hard day. We know what we need to work on, and Riley will be back to express their fitness soon.

Lamar Gingerich (38 Years Old, M103 / 56th AG in 100K)

Lamar has been running ultras for less than two years. He was coming fresh off of a very successful 16 hour Tunnel Hill 100-mile performance that was a big confidence booster for both him and me. This was going to be his first race on such rugged terrain and surrounded by other very fit runners. Training in Illinois, he utilized some key days on the treadmill to model climbs and some descents. He also used his indoor training time to practice his hydration plan because indoors was more similar to Arizona than the frigid outdoors. One of our key focuses was to not start too fast and Lamar nailed that! He felt the fatigue late in the race but stayed in the game and walked away with a fantastic debut performance at this race. 

John Daly (no, not the golfer!) (62 Years Old, M473 / 21st AG in 100K)

John lives in Colorado and was lucky to have great Winter weather for training! Unfortunately, he also got a bad roll of the dice and had three different illnesses in quick succession. We worked with a dietitian to workshop a specific GI issue he had had in recent races and this race was going to be a proving point for new fueling strategies. On race day, his new gut training paid off and he managed a successful day despite tweaking his back mid-race and having less than ideal training from the illnesses. John was deliberate and it paid off! We have new things to work on but this was a great stepping stone along the path to future goals this year. 

Jessica Loudermilk (37 Years Old, F89 / 39th AG in 100K)

Jessica is no stranger to ultras but this was her first Black Canyon. Jessica really engaged with training in the last year and successfully stacked some of the biggest training weeks of her life. It’s no surprise she had a successful Black Canyon. Jessica was also fresh off of winning her local Burrito League and was well fueled by Chipotle heading into this! The Burrito League turned out to be an engaging way to get some fun volume in during a tough South Carolina winter. Jessica stayed present throughout the race, took care of herself, and ran strong through the finish. This is fantastic momentum to kick off a season ahead of Never Summer 100k and Rim to River 100 mile. 

Sophia Ditty (36 Years Old, F25 / 16th AG in 50K)

Sophia signed up for this race about 7 days before the start. We were chatting on the phone and decided it would not only be fun but a good experience. Sophia is constantly stepping up her game and approaching more competitive environments. We weren’t training specifically for this, nor did we really taper. Nevertheless, Sophia jumped in and had a strong day, brushing shoulders with some serious competitors and achieved her goal of a sub 5-hour 50k! Sophia has her sights set on many similar races this year, including OCC, so this was a great early season experience. 

Mallary Weinsz (27 Years Old, F115 / 38th AG in 50K)

Mallary and I started working together about a year ago after she was diagnosed with a bone stress injury. Black Canyon was her first ultra back since that injury and was symbolic of all the hard work and patience she has exhibited. I can’t say enough about how well she handled the process. She’s back and she deserves all the good days coming to her! She’s incredibly diligent, so of course her race went off without a hitch. We look forward to her applying these skills at fitness to the IMTUF 100 miler this year.