The following article features the Cirque Series and was written by Boulder-based trail runner and gardener Janelle Lincks who is sponsored by Satisfy Running. This is Lincks’ second article celebrating ATRA’s Better Together theme for 2024.
The wind breathes through the prayer flags staked at the top of Lenawee Mountain blessing the surrounding countryside in a wild dance of color and air. Smiling faces and clapping hands celebrate the summit along with the sky, the sun and those flowing colors. Peaks rise in every direction like a symphony realized in rock and air.
My fatigued body and oxygen-depleted mind take in as much of the ethereal surroundings as possible before I begin the steep descent. I see a line of runners clambering up the slope and feel the rush of others passing me downhill. Everyone is engaged, fighting their way through the thin air and exhaustion, the doubts and uncertainties, a string of wild souls seeking the kind of freedom you can only find redlining to the top of a 13,000-foot peak strewn with the ragged flags of ancient prayers.
Introducing Julian Carr
Summiting high peaks gives rise to a particular spiritual pitch that often creates devout followers. There’s also something special about achieving these summits out of breath, in a state of maximum effort. “It’s where your primal self emerges,” says Julian Carr, the race director who has brought thousands of people to high mountain peaks for the past decade.
Carr, founder of the Cirque Series, is a professional skier who became a trail runner exploring the mountains in his hometown of Salt Lake City with his dog Lexie. He started their excursions on bike but came to realize that the distances he was exploring were hard on Lexie. So he started hiking with her. He lived by the trailhead of Mt. Olympus in Salt Lake City, a grueling 6 mile hike with 4,000 feet of vert, so he started hiking Olympus regularly with Lexie.
Carr’s friends from the local firefighting crew mentioned that to make the cut for their crew you had to make it to the stream just about halfway up Olympus in under 30 minutes. Julian and Lexie made it in 31 minutes on their first go. The pair hiked Olympus almost every day that summer and got their time down to 22:51. Carr was hooked, “Without Lexie I never would have had the opportunity to fall in love with mountain running- progressing in increments in this really hard sport and seeing your time improve by minutes – it gave me such an amazing sense of accomplishment.”
And so his journey began, “It became a mantra for me, seeking that balance redlining up the peak between you, your fitness and the mountain. It’s a really personal thing but something everyone experiences in mountain running.”
Roots of Cirque Series
Inspired by his experiences running with Lexie, Julian sought races that would allow him to explore the sport further. “My experiences with the short distance trail races were underwhelming, the production elements just weren’t there for the races I could find.”
And there weren’t many trail races in the shorter distance category to draw from before the Cirque Series. Carr related,“Then I was disappointed with the post-race celebration, everyone finished and then went home.”
If you’ve ever experienced a Cirque race you know well that the finish is just as epic as the summit. The vendor village surrounds the finish chute so every runner gets a roaring celebration as they cross the line. Carr said, “I put as much energy into organizing the post-race celebration as the race itself.”
The Cirque Series is designed to make a connection between a highly individual sport and a burgeoning community of people becoming interested in what it has to offer. Carr said, “Whether you’re an elite runner or it’s your first trail race, the experience of pushing yourself to your limit to the top of a peak is the same.” And so, Julian created a venue where that shared experience can be celebrated.
Cirque Series specs
“One of the best parts of these races to me is getting to know regional communities. It’s a chance to celebrate where we are,” said Carr who grew up doing long hikes with his dad and holds a deep connection with nature. As such, the Cirque races showcase some of the most beautiful mountain areas of the American West in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, and a scenic mountain venue in Alaska.
In 2024, there are six races in the series and each one is under 10 miles so they’re accessible to a wide demographic. The award structure emphasizes the broad demographic and includes categories not found in any other race series. The award ceremony begins with the inclusive “Middle of the Pack” award, followed by the “Grom” award for the youngest competitor, and then the “Wisest” award which celebrates the oldest competitor. Julian remarked,“Starting with the ‘Middle of the Pack’ award sets the tone. We’re celebrating everyone out here.”
There is also a generous cash prize purse for “Pro” category athletes. “We’ve had equal prizing for men and women since our very first race in 2015,” said Carr.
As well, there is high-quality product and gear from top-tier sponsors included in the prize bags for the “Expert” and “Sport” categories. The final award presented is the Lexie award. In honor of the dog who started it all, the Lexie award is given to the person who embodies the spirit of the race, the joy and freedom that can be found running in the mountains.
This year the Snowbird race serves at the USATF Mountain Running Championships and will also land six athletes (the top 3 men and 3 women) spots on the US Mountain Running Team that will compete at the NACAC Mountain Running Championships in August.
Connection to the land
Recognizing the importance of maintaining the beauty and health of the landscapes they traverse, Carr started a partnership with Utah local conservation organization, CCF, to walk the race courses after events to ensure they’re leaving the trails better than when they arrived and donates $1000 to CCF for each race. Cirque also donates $500 to local nonprofits for the Targhee, Alyeska, and A’Basin races.
Signage of local wildflowers also connect racers to the land. Said Carr,“Our race courses are very intuitive, there aren’t any unnecessary out and backs, there is a destination to them.” These courses are an adventure, mountain meadows give way to high peaks inciting a strong sense of place and immersion in the natural world from which we all originate.
Being present
Rolling down the smooth singletrack at Targhee I emerge from the wavering white and green of an aspen grove into an open meadow blooming to the brim with showy goldeneye. I look down the switchbacks and see a flash of red through the yellow and green landscape, a friend I’ve made through the series flying down ahead of me. Streaming through the colors we seem like wild animals fleeing some unseen beast, chasing down a dream like prey. We become our breath and our motion, the line between what is us and what is earth and air fades as we cascade like a roaring stream down the trail. We confront the limits of our minds and bodies as humans always have, alone in the fire of our will. And we rise from that fire freed from the bounds that separate us from others and the natural world around us.
“The most magical thing you can access is being present. Feeling connected to nature, becoming present, developing your authentic breath in nature your primal self emerges. We all have it but not many situations realize it.” Hearing Julian’s words over the phone gives me chills. The inspiration that becomes religious fervor is always something experienced communally, even if the moments are known in solitude when they are articulated and confirmed by others they enter reality. Many of us experience the deep sense of connection and presence that Julian describes and mountain races are a unique opportunity for us to share that experience side by side and then celebrate it together at the finish line. The Cirque Series races are a great way to experience the beauty of high peaks and the effort it takes to reach them, connecting with yourself, other runners and epic landscapes along the way.
