‘Pure magic’ – triathlon star the latest to make ultrarunning mark with podium at Black Canyon

Eric Lagerstrom‘s impressive start to his trail running career moved up a notch with his second place at the Black Canyon Ultras 50K last weekend.

The American is a three-time IRONMAN 70.3 winner in triathlon and his trail running debut late last year saw him not only win the Run The Rock 50k in Oregon but set a new course record.

His friend and ‘mentor’ Heather Jackson has made her mark in brilliant style in the trail running – and gravel bike – world after switching from swim, bike and running.

And over in the UK, former pro triathlete Lucy Gossage wowed the ultrarunning world with a memorable triumph in the 268-mile Winter Spine Race in January.

Impressive step up

And now Lagerstrom is following in her footsteps judged on his display on Sunday in Arizona at the renowned Black Canyon Ultras.

He was a close second to Jeshurun Small, clocking a time of three hours, 25 minutes and 41 seconds, with that duo the only runners to go under 3:30.

‘I also still love to compete’

And writing about it afterwards on his Instagram page, Lagerstrom said: “2nd at Black Canyon Ultras 50K 🤯 I came to see if I could hang with some of the best, and this result is still sinking in.

“What an absolutely awesome experience – I feel so lucky to be here doing this, and while I love just being out in nature on trail, I also still love to compete.

“Combining both, and feeling the collective energy is just pure magic. Thanks to all my sponsors, and to Paula, Nick, Heather, Wattie for a weekend I could not have done alone 🙏”

It will be fascinating to see where he heads next, definitely one to watch.