The Summer Grand Traverse race is a two-day event that spans the distance between Crested Butte and Aspen (or vice versa, depending on whether you are running or cycling.) Including some of the USA's most impressive mountains, this race is a real achievement for all participants who complete the challenge. 

Returning to take on the running race this year is #TeamMontane athlete Brandon Johanns. Read our interview to find out about Brandon, what's special about the Grand Traverse, and how he is preparing for this year's race.

Being born and raised in Colorado, I grew up trail running, mountain biking, skiing and just playing outside year round.  I've lived in Crested Butte for over 10 years and recently became part owner of a small pet boutique called Mountain Tails!  I spend most of my free time playing and adventuring in the mountains with my border collie Aura!     

What’s the appeal of the Grand Traverse?

The Grand Traverse Mountain Run is Crested Butte's local ultra marathon.  It's one of the most celebrated races in Crested Butte and Colorado.  The race starts just a few blocks from my home and runs from Crested Butte ski resort 40 miles through the remote mountains to Aspen ski resort. There's something special about point to point races like the GT!  I often think of Frodo Baggins running from the Shire to Mordor while racing the GT!  A true hero's journey!

How have you approached this year’s race?

While the Grand Traverse is a very mountainous race, the course is pretty fast and runnable so I did most of my training on runnable mountain trails incorporating strides and speed work into my training plan.  In preparation for the GT, I raced Speedgoat 50k in Snowbird Utah.  Speedgoat boasted over 10k feet in climbing over the course of 50k.  This was a great rust buster and allowed me to practice my fueling and hydration systems for the GT.  All systems go!  

What is the best running advice you’ve ever received?

The best running advice I've ever received is one I've received over and over again but have had a hard time honoring. That advice being, "run your easy days easy".  It's important to run your easy days easy so that we're building a strong aerobic base and have plenty of strength and fuel in the tank to run our hard days hard.  Easy days should be ran in heart rate zones 1 or 2 or at a pace that you can comfortably talk in complete sentences.  My coach calls these runs, "forever effort" days because he wants me running at a pace that I could theoretically run at forever!  Once I started honoring my easy days, the quality of my hard days increased substantially.

Do you have a favourite piece of Montane gear?

Running year around in Crested Butte can be tough.  We get a lot of variable weather here. During a typical winter, Crested Butte will receive over 200 feet of snow.  I rely heavily on my winter Montane running kit to execute my training. My favorite pieces by Montane are the Slip Stream Thermal Trail Running tights, Switch Gloves with Pull Off Mitt and the Anti-Freeze Down Gilet.  Without these I would likely turn into a popsicle during my early morning runs!