Aravaipa Responds to Scott Traer

We got a long Holiday weekend kerfuffle people! How exciting to get some drama back into the trail running world, it’s been a hot minute!

Anyways, earlier today Scott Traer posted some allegations of wrongdoings on his Instagram and asked some pointed questions of Aravaipa and how they handled a possible situation that could’ve/should’ve lead to a disqualifying at this year’s Black Canyon (and yes, that race didn’t happen last week – so clearly this has been simmering for awhile).

Anyway Scott posts:

Deciding whether or not to share this story publicly was a very hard decision. I have race directed, commentated, created media and volunteered with Aravaipa Running and truly believe they are pushing our sport forward – and I consider the people there friends not race organizers and race directors.

First of all, posting this on Instagram is always a questionable choice because while it invites dialogue it also invites a ton of unnecessary pile on by folks just out there enjoying stirring the pot, or shitting straight into it.

Second, Scott addresses the race organization and not the athlete, and Aravaipa, the pros they are – and Jamil in particular, who penned this response – didn’t take long to respond publicly:

In an effort for authentic transparency surrounding the assessed 20 minute time penalty at the 2025 Black Canyon 100K, I felt it would be important to share from Aravaipa Running’s perspective how we came to this decision. We very much uphold the ideals of fairness in sport especially for races that have more than a trophy on the line (such as a Golden Ticket Race) but also grace for the humans that participate in our events.
…
While we realize at first glance Aravaipa may have enforced a penalty in more of a gray area for these rule violations, we did what we felt was right in this situation. This has given us a chance to take a look at our rules and adjust so that they are not completely black and white as situations rarely are. There are many unknown situations that arise in the sport and we prefer to act with nuance and grace.

At the current state of our sport “nuance and grace” is still the right approach. But our sport is growing up and especially events like Black Canyon are at the forefront of this professionalization. I don’t know how we’re going to keep the spirit of the sport alive, and keep the aforementioned “nuance and grace” – which I fully subscribe to – and also enforce clear rules and guidelines for the elites, who are racing for sponsorship dollars, prize money and tickets to some of the biggest races in the world.

Growing pains.