Runner: Coach TJ Harms-Synkiew

Name of “Event”: Flat Tops Wilderness 100-Miler

Date(s) of event: 07/16/2026

Time to complete: 45 hours 30 minutes

Location: Flat Tops Wilderness, near Meeker, Colorado

Gear – What did you bring?

I brought standard ultrarunning gear that would support me for up to 30-miles at a time. This included a 15-liter running pack, a 3-liter waist belt, 1.5 liter water bladder, multiple half-liter water flasks, rain jacket, warm layer, and nutrition.

Fuel – What did you consume and/or not consume?

I had a lot of liquid calories from high-carb drinks mixed into my water bladder. In addition to this, I used gels, granola bars and other traditional running snacks. I ate “real food,” including ramen, a cheeseburger and rice while taking breaks at my car between loops.

I went into this trip, under-fueled and had low energy the entire time.

Logistics – What kind of planning was involved for both prep and implementation?

This trip was planned in place of the Ouray 100-Miler, which was cancelled due to the Gold Mountain Fire and smoke conditions. I did a lot of research finding areas that were clear of smoke. I planned my route on the Gaia GPS app and also used Gaia when I changed my routes while in the middle of it. I ended up completing 4 separate loops all beginning and ending at Trappers Lake. I had a friend crewing and pacing me, but it was nice to keep the car in the same spot.

I didn’t need to filter water, as I wanted to be as self-sufficient as possible, but there were many water sources if I did go that route.

Where to find the info on this

I have nothing published publicly about this route, but you can reach out to me on the Team Run Run Website or on Instagram @harmssynkiew if you’d like more information about planning your own route in the Flat Tops Wilderness.

What went “right” or at least how you expected it to go?

• It was very nice to have support for this adventure, especially having a pacer for the night sections, since I was scared of the wildlife
• Dirt naps came in clutch and made things much better
• The scenery was gorgeous, as expected. Especially since it was wildflower season in the alpine

What went “wrong” or completely unexpected that you had to deal with?

• As I mentioned, nutrition was a bit of a struggle. Since I started behind, it was impossible to catchup and I had low energy for the entire duration.
• Based on my time, it was “slow” moving. The trails were difficult to follow and tricky terrain to move fast on. This caused a lot of frustration, and ultimately, slower movement.
• The amount of wildlife sightings was cool but also slowed me down a lot

Lessons learned for either the next trip or another’s first trip?

Look into each trail more before deciding to go on it. Just because it shows up on a map, doesn’t mean it’s still a maintained trail, or even a trail at all for that matter

Everything else!

Around 3 in the morning during night 2, the trail we were following on the map disappeared in the middle of a huge area filled with blown down trees. At the same time, we heard a pack of Coytes who made awful screaming and screeching sounds – I think they may have killed something but I’m not sure. Less than 5-minutes later, the route I had downloaded completely deleted from my phone. Thankfully, I memorized the other trails that showed up on Gaia, however, it was freaky, nonetheless.

There was a ridiculous amount of wildlife. I saw 3 moose in the very first 2-miles. Around mile 10, I saw a black bear cub running down the trail. On the first night, I saw literally hundreds of elk and deer.