Peaks to Valleys
Julie Ellison
Running Community Finds Footing on the Trails of Teton Valley
Kelly Bettner felt like pinching herself. Just a few hours earlier, she had slipped out of her house, leaving her three sleeping children at home with her husband, and headed to Teton Canyon, where she took off running up the trail to Alaska Basin. Now, eight miles later and more than two thousand feet higher, she stood next to an alpine lake surrounded by wildflowers and the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the Teton Range.
“When you live in Teton Valley, this can be your morning run,” Kelly says. “When you live here, you get to do what people go on vacation to do, anytime you want.”
Kelly ran track and cross-country in high school and college, but it wasn’t until she moved to Teton Valley seven years ago that she began to trail run. Now, she says, she’ll only run on roads if she has a friend who wants to do some speedwork; otherwise, she’s on trails. She likes to be able to run wherever she wants, at whatever speed is comfortable, for as long she pleases. For Kelly, trail running is all about freedom and being in nature.
And that seems to be the common thread that links the growing community of trail runners in Teton Valley. Charged with a mission of connecting one another and finding camaraderie amongst the high-elevation trails throughout the Greater Yellowstone
region, this informal and passionate group of individuals is helping more and more people discover the sport.
Michelino Sunseri is a professional runner sponsored by the North Face. He grew up running and went to college for cross-country and track, but by the time he graduated, he was burnt out.
“Where I went to college in Ohio, I was always running on concrete through suburbs,” Michelino says. “It was not very inspiring.” He actually quit the sport for a few years after he finished school, but then he moved to the Lake Tahoe area and took up trail running. “I began to find joy in running again,” he says. “It’s hard to look at the top of a peak and not want to go there. I love having the ability to get up in the mountains and to be inspired by the nature I get to experience.”
Michelino relocated to Teton Valley with his girlfriend, Bri West, in 2020. When he first arrived, he found it hard to meet people, especially other runners. But he quickly discovered that the Strava app—a popular fitness tracking app and website that allows users to record and share their activities, particularly focused on running and cycling—could be used for more than logging his runs and keeping track of his training. It also helped him make friends.
“I found other people doing cool runs in the Tetons on Strava,” Michelino says. “I’d send them a message, saying something like, ‘Hi, I’m new to the area, would you be down to go for a run together?’ I actually made friends that way. That kind of led to my idea of trying to put together a weekly group run.”
The resulting Wednesday night runs have been one way members of the Teton Valley running population have found each other. Local races—Wrun for Wray and the Targhee Wildflower Trail Run, for examples—also provide opportunities for people to meet other runners and find partners who move at similar speeds over similar distances. In the summer, local Hall of Fame triathlete Barb Lindquist hosts free running clinics at the high school track in Driggs, where runners congregate and find each other.
Kelly Bettner says she’s even made friends mid-run.
“I saw this woman running on a trail right near my house,” she says. “She looked about my age, and she seemed to like to run for a long time like me, so I stopped her and made her be friends with me. We laugh about it now. She’s more of an introvert than I am. I was worried that I was coming on too strong, but I also thought, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen? She says no?’”
Most trail runners like to run with a partner, a dog, or some kind of personal locating beacon in case something goes wrong. Running in the mountains is not without risk. Bears, moose, lightning, sudden weather changes, falls, and injuries are hazards that can be particularly dangerous when one is miles from the house or car, especially when running solo. That’s one reason weekly group runs have been a popular way to build community. Michelino says, on average, six to ten runners show up every Wednesday throughout the summer. Overall, he says, approximately seventy people are part of the WhatsApp group—Teton Valley Mountain Runners—he uses to organize the weekly sessions.
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Michelino does most of his competitive running in Europe in the fall. His time in the Tetons is about training and finding cool routes to explore. He likes to meet new, aspiring runners and is quick to emphasize that the group runs he organizes are not meant to be competitive.
“Running for me is a chance not to be competitive,” says Stacy Stamm. “Trail running is about being outside and enjoying the natural world. For me, it’s very meditative. I think it’s growing in popularity around here because people are moving here for the
world-class trails.”
“Granted, it’s a really short season, but there are tons of incredible trails in the area,” Stacy says. “My favorite trails are the ones that go through varied terrain, like the Green River Lakes–Granite Basin Loop. You start running through tree cover, then hit fields of wildflowers, until you get up into the alpine. It’s incredibly beautiful, and you can get really far quickly when you run.”
Stacy emphasizes that the trail running community is welcoming and nonexclusive. People might be intimidated by the image we tend to have of skinny runners in tiny shorts with little more than a water bottle dashing past them on a trail deep in the mountains. And certainly, Teton Valley has those kinds of athletes, but it also has people who walk more than they run, and for whom a trail run is as much about the conversation they have with a friend as it is about how fast they move.
“I think everyone can be a trail runner,” Stacy says. “If you run a little while on a hike, you are a trail runner. A lot of us walk uphill, jog on the flats, and run downhill. It’s really not about speed. It’s about getting outside, getting exercise, going to beautiful places, and feeling good.”
Megan LaTorre began jogging a few miles a few days a week for exercise as an adult. But then she and her husband started a family, and for a while she felt like she was either pregnant or breastfeeding, so the running stopped. Her family moved to Teton Valley in 2016, and for a couple of years, she was absorbed in kid world. Then, as the children became less dependent, she started going on trail runs and quickly fell in love with the activity.
“I struggle to call myself a runner,” Megan says. “It’s classic imposter syndrome. I’m slow. I haven’t run all my life. Then I remind myself that I ran a 10K, two half marathons, and climbed the Grand in a five-month period. I am a runner.
“It’s almost like going to church for me,” she adds. “Trail runs are the only time I can truly disconnect.”
Megan says that she was initially intimidated by other trail runners—“the tiny, stick-like gazelles” you see dashing through the mountains—but she’s learned that the trail running community is welcoming to all types of runners.
“People don’t care if you are fast or slow,” she says. “They just love that you are out there running. They love running, and love that you love it, too.”
Megan says she’s been amazed at how willing people are to share tips and information about different trails and techniques. One time she was in the parking lot at the base of the Aspen Trail getting ready for her run when a man who appeared to be an elite runner descended the trail. She asked him how the trail surface was that day, and he ended up talking to her for nearly twenty minutes about running, the trail, shoes, you name it. Everything running.
“There are really educated, really elite people around here who are happy to share with you,” she says. “People have been so supportive. There’s one woman who is a sponsored athlete who’s taught me so much about training, but she never would have told me about herself if I hadn’t asked. That’s just indicative of this community. People like to help out. They like that people are having fun running.”
Michelino appreciates that everyone who is a part of the local running community has a different background, approach, and reason for getting out on the trails.
“For me personally, trail running is about the freedom to go places on foot that other forms of transportation can’t take you,” he says. “Some people may be inspired by losing weight or feeling better by getting into shape. Some just want to be out in nature. All of those reasons are awesome.
“But one barrier for a lot of people is there can be danger involved—bears, injuries, weather—that’s why having a group where you know other people are out there, even if you are running at your own pace, can give people the confidence to do a trail run when they might not go on their own.”
To join the Teton Valley Mountain Runners group, visit Michelino’s website, tetontrailcoach.com, and click the Teton Valley Mountain Runners tab for a direct link to the WhatsApp group. Michelino and other members of the group are excited to see enthusiasm growing to get out on the trails, in whatever capacity works for each runner.
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Julie Ellison
Favorite Trails
Green River Lakes–Granite Basin Loop:
20.5-mile loop, 4,229 feet elevation gain
The loop, which starts north of Alta, Wyoming, at South Leigh Creek, can be run in either direction. The trail ascends through coniferous forest, passes through meadows painted throughout the summer by wildflowers, winds along the shores of alpine lakes, and goes over a mountain pass. It can be hard to follow at times, so carrying a GPS and/or map is critical to ensure you are on the route. The trail is often snow-covered in June and doesn’t get a lot of traffic, so go with a buddy to be on the safe side.
Aspen Trail:
4.9-mile out-and-back, 853 feet elevation gain
A popular trail that doesn’t venture too far into the mountains, the Aspen Trail is a fun roller that meanders through glades of aspen, popping out in a few places to give runners an expansive view of Teton Valley. The trail is particularly popular in the fall when the aspen leaves turn gold and the tread dries out.
Alaska Basin:
16.2-mile route with a lollipop loop, 3,070 feet elevation gain
Though the trail is very popular and can be crowded, especially on the weekends, it’s a classic area with spectacular views of the Tetons, abundant wildflowers, and enough challenge to keep most runners entertained.
Mail Cabin to Mikesell:
10.8-mile point-to-point with car shuttle, 2,086 feet
elevation gain
The route starts with a steady climb out of the Mail Cabin Creek drainage then runs along a ridge west toward Oliver Peak. July and August are prime time for wildflowers along the ridgeline, and much of the run is through open meadows that offer views of the Palisade Mountains. The final descent is a little rocky and steep, dropping you quickly down to the Mike Harris parking area.
Local Trail Running Events
Spitfire Ultra Trail Challenge
Menan, ID (North of Idaho Falls)
April 20
55K, 30K, 12K, 5K trail run
Menan isn’t exactly local, but it’s a popular warmup run for Teton Valley runners who are still limited by snow on trails here.
Wrun for Wray
Targhee Hill Climb
Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, WY
June 22
Held at Grand Targhee Resort, this roughly three-mile run goes from the bottom of the Dreamcatcher Chairlift up 1,840 feet to the top of Fred’s Mountain following the Bannock Trail.
Wildflower
Trail Run
Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, WY
July 6
Half-marathon or 10K trail run
The course follows Grand Targhee’s extensive singletrack trail network through fields of wildflowers and aspen glades to the top of Peaked Mountain and includes spectacular views of the Tetons.
Cirque Series
Grand Targhee Resort, Alta, WY
August 24
7.1-mile trail run
Part of a mountain race series held at six ski resorts located in Alaska, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, Grand Targhee’s race climbs 2,212 feet from the base area to Mary’s Nipple and over to Peaked Mountain, before descending back down.
