Raised in Cleveland, New York, Geoff Roes was a standout
track and cross country runner in high school. He went on to compete in
one season of cross country at Syracuse University before being plagued
by injuries and subsequently giving up the sport. For the next 10 years,
Roes was absent from the running scene.
It wasn’t until he moved to Alaska in 2005 that he came back to his running roots. Living in an unfamiliar place with few friends or acquaintances, Roes began running simply to fill his days. “Getting into ultras was really more of an accident,” he says. “I definitely didn’t ever intend to race distances this far.”
His first ultra came in 2006. Tagging along with a woman he had been dating who was biking the Susitna 100, he entered the Little Su 50K run that was held in conjunction with the event. “I signed up for it but didn’t really think I was going to do it. I kind of trained for it, but not really,” he says. After finishing first, logging the second-fastest time in course history, he told himself he’d never do anything like it again. “It was horribly painful,” he remembers.
Two days later, however, he was already plotting his next ultra. “I was determined to try it again and train smarter and see if it would get easier,” he says. The next year he ran and won the Susitna 100 miler, setting a course record. This race proved to be the first in a long string of century run championships for Roes.
It wasn’t until he moved to Alaska in 2005 that he came back to his running roots. Living in an unfamiliar place with few friends or acquaintances, Roes began running simply to fill his days. “Getting into ultras was really more of an accident,” he says. “I definitely didn’t ever intend to race distances this far.”
His first ultra came in 2006. Tagging along with a woman he had been dating who was biking the Susitna 100, he entered the Little Su 50K run that was held in conjunction with the event. “I signed up for it but didn’t really think I was going to do it. I kind of trained for it, but not really,” he says. After finishing first, logging the second-fastest time in course history, he told himself he’d never do anything like it again. “It was horribly painful,” he remembers.
Two days later, however, he was already plotting his next ultra. “I was determined to try it again and train smarter and see if it would get easier,” he says. The next year he ran and won the Susitna 100 miler, setting a course record. This race proved to be the first in a long string of century run championships for Roes.
From there Geoff won his next nine 100 mile races seting many course records including the course record in the 2010 Western States 100 mile endurance run with a time of 15:07.
Geoff Roes slogging to the top
Geoff Roes gives us a taste of his incredible come-from-behind victory at the 2010 Western States 100 trail race.
