Massive congratulations to Alex Schultz, who finished the 2026 Arizona Trail Race last night in 8 days, 14 hours, and 16 minutes, marking his third first-place finish at the event. Wyatt Spalding was at the finish in Flagstaff to capture it all…

At 8:16 p.m. last night, Alex Schultz arrived at Buffalo Park in Flagstaff, Arizona, to win the 2026 Arizona Trail Race in an incredible 8 days, 14 hours, and 16 minutes. This is Alex’s fourth consecutive year competing in the Arizona Trail Race, now with three AZT800 first-place finishes and one second-place finish in 2024.

As Alex knocked out the final miles of the course, a heavy rainstorm hit the Flagstaff area, forcing him to turn around on the optional out-and-back hike up to Mt. Humphreys. Despite the heavy rain and thunder, he still crushed the remaining 22 miles to the finish.

Alex was applauded by John Schilling, Brandon Bettes, and me at the finish with the grand reward of a beer and a bag of spicy Cheetos, thanks to John. As we chatted about his experience on the course, he said he wouldn’t ride it again without a sleeping bag or quilt, since he had a few very cold nights out on the course this year. He had a few mechanical issues, including broken spokes and dropper-post problems, but nothing major.

Caleb Helkenn held on to second place and finished just after 4 a.m. today with a time of 8 days, 22 hours, and 46 minutes. Rocky Gingg maintains third place; however, Xavier Chiriboga has made up substantial time during the Grand Canyon portage, so a battle for third place is possible. With stronger weather systems moving in on Saturday, death mud north and south of Flagstaff remains a threat for the remaining riders. Liz Ryen, the first-place woman, will hopefully make it into Flagstaff before the storm hits. Liz still maintains a solid lead over second-place rider Katy Applin, who has camped out on the Highline Trail outside of Pine, AZ.

A huge congrats to Alex on his incredible winning finish, and to everyone else still out on the course. No miles are easy on the AZT, so making it any distance is something to be proud of!

Check out the 2026 Arizona Trail Race Tracker page to follow along on the live tracking map, and stay tuned for more event coverage. Find it here.

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