Denver Perry’s Push To The Top of The Pyrenees
The Pyrenees mountains never fail to highlight the difficulties of trail running. With over 1,800 feet of climbing in 7.3 kilometers, the 2018 World Junior Mountain Running Championship – set on the ski slopes of Grandvalira Ski Resort in the heart of the Andorran Pyrenees – was no exception.
In 2018, Denver Perry, then an 18-year-old from Ogden, UT and student at Brigham Young University (BYU), was selected for the U20 men’s US Junior Team that competed in Andorra, along with three other talented trail runners from around the US: David Cardenas (Grand Junction, CO), Nathan Davis (Urbana, MD), and Soren Knudsen (Flagstaff, AZ). The championship was Perry’s first international trail race. Up to that point in his running career, he’d raced several small trail races on his home trails in Utah, but never encountered as extreme of trail running competition as what he found in the Pyrenees.
Before the race, Perry analyzed the first climb on the course, which took runners up the side of a steep ski slope and immediately funneled into tight singletrack within 400 meters. He made the bold decision to give it everything he had to make it to the singletrack in a good position. Perry describes his strategy, “I knew that if I didn’t get into a good spot at the start, I was going to get nailed when the singletrack narrowed and risk getting stuck. I made the plan to go out hard.”
Photo provided by: Denver Perry.
Perry stuck to his plan and bolted up the slope. Looking back on the race now, Perry jokes about how hard he went out, “There’s pictures of me leading the race, which was silly. I had no business being up there, but at the same time I’m glad that I arrived at the singletrack somewhere in the top five overall and before the main pack of runners. I think overall this was the right move because I didn’t have to worry about passing people on narrow trails.”
Perry’s push put him in contention to race with the leaders, but in the end, he couldn’t quite hang on, and he faded to a 28th-place finish. Perry was the second-ranked American (only four seconds behind his fellow teammate Knudsen). It’s a memory he cherishes deeply to this day, “My experience in Andorra was something I loved and will never forget. I’ll always be proud to have run with Team USA on my chest and to have done so in such an amazing place was unbelievable. The course was brutal, but the course was also so beautiful and I realized how amazing the sport of trail running can be. There was such a nice community vibe and I liked how there were teams from other countries in our same hotel that we got to know and hang out with. Meeting new people, encountering new perspectives and the race itself were incredible experiences I’ll never forget.” (Read our full 2018 World Mountain Running Championship recap here)
Perry’s running story, however, does not end with this race. Racing in the Pyrenees was one amazing week out Perry’s incredible journey as a runner. Perry seeks to give back to the running community and find purpose beyond competition to discover how his running passion can bring him joy week in and week out. To Perry, being a lifelong runner is even more rare and rewarding than competing in a world championship in the Pyrenees.
Photo provided by: Denver Perry.
Utah: Not A Bad Place To Grow Up As a Trail Runner
“Utah is amazing for trail running. You really can’t find a bad spot.” —Denver Perry
Perry discovered trail running on summer training runs with his Bonneville High School cross country team in Ogden, UT. At the time, he didn’t realize that trail running was its own sport. His team would run nearly twice per week on trails, typically on trail systems near Weber State University which bumped up against northern sections of the Wasatch mountain range. These were Perry’s favorite types of training days, “Running these trails was so fun and it was great training for cross country. I encountered so many different types of terrain and learned to run up, down, and sideways on complicated trails. For me, running and trail running were always the same thing.”
Perry came to the conclusion that many trail runners do when faced with “pounding the pavement,” “Running on roads was boring to me. I always wondered ‘why aren’t we running more on trails?’”
Perry’s trail running inspiration also stems from his parents, who are both runners. He recounts running and hiking famous trails with his parents, including the Rim to Rim trail in Arizona’s Grand Canyon, Wonderland Trail that encircles Washington’s Mount Rainier, and the Zion Traverse in Utah’s Zion National Park. Perry looked up to the way his parents practiced trail running, “My parents always ran because they loved it, not because they were trying to be fast or because they wanted to race and compete. This was a rewarding way to run because it allowed them to run and explore whatever they thought sounded awesome and cool. I’m so glad I tagged along on some of their adventures and we got to share these experiences together.”
Perry, left, on the Rim to Rim trail in Arizona’s Grand Canyon. Photo provided by: Denver Perry.
Perry’s exposure to the US Junior Mountain Running Team came from previous Utah high school trail running stars—Joe Benson and Talon Hull, who helped establish a dynasty of young Utah trail runners making US Junior Mountain Running Teams (fun fact: there was one Utah boy on the US Junior Mountain Running Team each year from 2015 to 2018). After graduating high school, Perry made it his goal to secure a “walk-on” spot on the BYU cross country team. Perry fell short of this goal, but wanted to put the fitness from his dedicated training to another purpose. He decided to apply for the US Junior Mountain Running Team. The rest is history. His excellent cross country results and early exposure to trail running made him a perfect fit for the 2018 US Junior Mountain Running Team and he was selected for the team to compete in Andorra. Perry would continue the Utah boys’ trail running legacy.
Missions Greater than Competition
Shortly after competing at the 2018 Junior World Championships, Perry took a religious mission for the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). His mission took him to Arizona for two years, and as is customary for LDS missionaries, he put sports on hold to focus completely on his spiritual commitments. Perry returned to Utah after his mission and was excited to reconnect with running. He did so less as a competitive practice and more as the adventurous journey that his parents had always shown him trail running could be.
Perry speaks on these insights, his current view on running and where the sport fits into his life since returning from his mission, “The most important thing runners should keep in mind is that running is about getting out and doing something amazing that you love and makes you smile. It’s actually really easy to let training get in the way of doing amazing things. For those people training for cross country seasons, want to run in college, or get on US Teams, know that these are all great goals worth pursuing and I can speak from experience that they are worth it. However, it’s important to recognize also how goals can get in the way of enjoying the process of running. Learn to enjoy the process, the daily grind of getting out of bed, putting on the shoes, and getting on the trails because ultimately that’s what you’ll spend all of your time doing. Even if you’re lucky and get to run for Team USA, that’s just one week of your life.”
Photo provided by: Denver Perry.
Perry shares his advice for goal-oriented young runners like himself who he worries may be missing the larger picture of running beyond just competition, “I spent a lot of time in high school thinking about college and running fast to impress coaches and I feel like I missed out on a lot of things instead of enjoying the fact that I was running awesome races and having great times training with my teammates. Make sure you’re always loving the process and if you aren’t, take a step back and reassess your reasons for why you’re really running.”
Building Utah Trail Running Culture
Although Perry has moved his focus away from competitive racing, he’s made it his goal to give back to the running community by organizing events and providing trail racing opportunities in his home state. For the past two years, Perry has worked as an event manager and race director at the Salt Lake Running Company, where he manages nine running events in the Salt Lake and Park City areas. His duties include staffing for events, volunteer coordinating, business administration, permitting and event oversight on race days.
Perry speaks on what it’s like shifting from racing to providing racing opportunities, “My job with the Salt Lake Running Company has totally changed the way I’ve always thought about running and given me a new appreciation for what it takes to organize a race. It’s satisfying work. There’s plenty of hard work spent emailing government officials, landowners, acquiring permits, and many things most people would never think go into race directing, but it’s all worth it when we see the event come together on race day. Seeing participants excited and pumped up before a race is an exciting feeling for me too. It feels good to be a part of the sport in a whole new way and give the opportunity for other people to experience racing which has been such a large part of my life for so long.”
Photo provided by: Denver Perry.
Perry’s first event, a 600-plus participant 5K race in Salt Lake City, was a “chaotic” but rewarding way to jump into his race directing career. Perry recounts his first race experience and how far he’s come as an event director already in two years, “When I first started race directing, I remember feeling like my brain was running in 1,000 different directions and everything was going to fall apart. It was stressful but now that I’ve done it for long enough I feel like I mostly have it under control. I consider my race days a success if I get bored—meaning that everyone on my team is doing what they’re supposed to be doing and I don’t have to perform much oversight. We’re at the point as a team where I feel like we’re a well-oiled machine. It often feels like we’re spending years planning a race and when race morning finally comes it’s a relief. I can count on everyone sticking to their roles and making it happen.”
Trail running has a funny way of coming full circle. One of the trail races that Perry manages, the Jupiter Peak 25K (previously the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase) has had a storied history as a competitive race in the Utah trail running scene. Rob Krar, Hayden Hawks, Maria Dalzot, and Megan Kimmel are just a few of the many exceptional athletes who have tested themselves on the Jupiter Peak course since its inception in 1995.
It was a win at this race in 2015 that propelled me to pursue a trail running career and later that year earn my place on the 2015 US Junior Mountain Running Team. I can’t help but think about how fitting it is that this race is now managed by Perry, someone who can speak to the opportunities the Utah trail running community provides to its young athletes. For both Perry and myself, running for the US Junior Mountain Running Team was a life-changing experience that was built on our early exposure to the wonderful Utah trail running culture.
Author Tayte Pollmann, during the 2015 Jupiter Peak 25K. Photo by: La Sportiva/Quinn Carrasco.
I’m glad to know that the Jupiter Peak 25K is in good hands and will likely remain a staple competition of the small but strong Utah trail running scene for years to come. It’s the historic races such as this one that will inspire the next wave of Utah trail runners and lead to unexpected, unforgettable trail running experiences—whether that’s a chance to compete wearing a Team USA singlet or, even more importantly, to live a life running trails day in and day out.
Curious to learn more about opportunities to represent the US in international trail running competitions in high school or college? See “Qualifying For 2024 International Teams” at the link here.
