The featured trail runner for Spring 2022 is Jeremiah McGregor. Jeremiah lives in Bend and works at Grace Bio Labs in the logistics department and hopes to transition into working part-time and dedicate more time to training and even more time for recovery in the future. When not trail running, Jeremiah enjoys watching sports and spending time/hiking with his dogs and doesn’t like to miss an opportunity to get out and catch up with friends. Jeremiah also enjoys playing video games from time to time.
How did you get into trail running?
I have always been an avid runner but never knew the true trail running/ultra scene until I moved to Bend, Oregon.
What is your favorite trail to run?
South Sister Trail is my favorite trail to run because you get all the boxes checked on this one; it has great vert all the way up to the top of South Sister elevation (10,358), with options to stray off to a handful of beautiful alpine lakes.
What is your favorite trail race?
That’s a hard one. I’ve run a lot of amazing races but I’d have to say it’s between the Daybreak Racing’s Tillamook Burn and Alpine Runnings Elkhorn Crest. I’ve run both of these races a number of times and love them for the scenery, views, challenge, and overall experience being in those environments.
Tillamook Burn 50k
What are your weekly average running miles and ascent?
Weekly running miles average around 70-80 and alt 3,500-7,500 ft of gain. (depending on where I’m at with my training block)
What is a typical weekday run?
A typical weekday run is usually 8-12 miles, and I’ll typically go to one of the great local trails that Bend has to offer at a relatively easy effort.
What is a typical weekend run?
Weekend runs typically look like an easy med-long run on Saturdays and a long run with good vert on Sundays. I typically like to average 3,000 to 5,000 ft of vert.
Gnar Gnar (Paul Nelson)
What shoes do you wear?
I’ve really been liking VJ shoes; they offer a lightweight response with an aggressive grip that really gives me a lot of confidence on any type of terrain. They have great options for fast, lightweight, speedy shoes and medium to long-distance cushioned shoes. (They will have a very exciting release in June for those who are a fan.)
What is your favorite trail running apparel?
Runinrabbit & Arc’teryx are my favorite apparel; Runinrabbit (as most know) make amazing shorts (my favorite are the FKT’s) plus really soft tops and Arc’teryx for their outer shell coats.
What watch do you wear?
I am a huge fan of the Sunnto 9 Peak; my likes are battery life, its lightweight & durable, improved HR sensors, usability, and speed to create a route with the app and upload to watch, as well as the updates. I use it as my nighttime recovery monitor and think it gives pretty good feedback on sleeping patterns. It’s also very quick at being able to upload different modes when you’re about to start your activity. My dislikes are that I wish the watch faces themselves had more options.
What nutrition do you like to use on runs and races?
I am always trying to switch it up with nutrition and test products out, but I have found that a mix of Maurten, Honey Stinger, Spring Energy, and GU’s are my go-to gels and Tailwind Nutrition for my bottles. For long hot days, salted potatoes and watermelon are my favorite actual foods.
What do you like most about the trail running community?
I really like the mindset of our trail-running community here in the PNW. I can’t tell you how many friends I’ve made during races. I generally meet very nice people in this community who are always willing to help out, whether that’s advice or someone giving you a gel during a race. Even though there is a competitive race going on, I genuinely think that everyone is there for you.
Follow Jeremiah on social media. He’s most active on Instagram (give him a follow!,) Strava and Facebook for everyday life stuff.
Man, is he impressive. 😂