Every good performance includes an encore.
For Durango’s Paul Knight, the past year of collegiate running at Colorado School of Mines has been his last dance, and it was a huge success by any standard. Now, Knight is looking to continue his running career with The Trail Team, which aims to help former NCAA athletes enter the professional trail running scene.
“Growing up in Durango, we have such a great structure there with middle school and high school cross country,” Knight said. “But what made it so fun was running on the trails in Durango … I've always known that trail running has a special place in my heart. So now, seeing that I could try to compete professionally in trails … It's something that's always been so special to me.”
Only six applicants are accepted to join The Trail Team every year. Knight was one of two men accepted out of an estimated 250-300 hopefuls, likely thanks to his incredible final year at Mines that closed out an already-illustrious career.
Knight began his year with an injury. During summer training, he had a lingering knee problem that sidelined him for several weeks. He had no expectations heading into cross country in the fall, but Knight credited his coaches and teammates with helping him remain confident and trust his experience.
The confidence helped Knight take the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference cross country individual title in a field that included four eventual national top-10 teams (including Mines). Knight had been targeting the RMAC championship for a full year, so earning the win was a huge boost heading into the Division II cross country national meet.
At nationals, Knight wanted to be in a position to win the race. Knight and Mines junior Ethan Grolnic led the first half of the 10,000-meter race, which Knight said he will never forget. He ended up in a hard-fought fourth place with a time of 29 minutes and 48.0 seconds as Adams State senior Kidus Begashaw took home the title in 29:38.8.
“In the last kilometer of the race, and it turned into an absolute dog fight with (the top pack),” Knight said. “I ended up having to battle it out with that group. I came in fourth, which I was really happy with, especially given the way that I ran it. I knew I wanted to give myself a shot at winning, and I think that's exactly what I did, even if it's not what happened at the end of the day.”
After an All-American finish in cross country, Knight earned two more for indoor track. He ran 13:50.77 to take fifth in the 5K and 8:10.09 for 13th in the 3K. These honors came after a unique season for Knight. He kept training after cross country nationals (instead of taking the traditional break) and ran an indoor nationals-qualifying 5K time of 13:44.91 less than two weeks later on Dec. 6.
This qualifying mark meant he could stack mileage and build fitness until nationals in March, rather than constantly lowering his mileage for races during the season. Knight put in three months of the highest-mileage training he had ever done, averaging around 105 miles per week.
This high mileage let Knight add two more All-American trophies to his case, but also left him feeling a bit burned out. He talked to his coach and switched up his training cycle to one that would give him slightly more rest heading into outdoor track.
Once again, the training paid off. Knight used the base he had built in the winter to claim his second RMAC title of the year, winning the 10K with a time of 30:16.14.
Knight’s final collegiate race was the 10K national championship on May 23. He entered the race with confidence and a race plan that would give him a chance to win. With seven laps to go (out of 25 total), he executed his plan, jumping to the front and setting a challenging pace.
By the final lap, only two other runners were still with Knight. In a thrilling battle to the finish, Grand Valley State senior Koby Fraaza fought off Knight to win with a 29:20.62. Knight finished as the national runner-up with a 29:22.11.
“I gave it absolutely everything I had,” Knight said. “Because of that, I am so happy to end my career on that note. If I could run the race again, I wouldn't change a thing because I know I ran the best possible race that I could.”
Having finished college, Knight pivoted to focusing on trail running and his career outside of running. Knight hopes to use his master’s degree in biological engineering to start a career in medical devices or a similar field where he can make an impact and help people. His goal is to find a balance between the two, ideally having an engineering job and being an active trail runner.
The Trail Team was launched in 2022 by pro trail runner Andy Wacker. It is a nonprofit that receives money from donations and sponsors. It hosts camps and pays for athletes’ race housing and transportation, but does not pay its athletes.
Many of its members are former NCAA runners, and its goal is to help bridge the gap to pro trail running by giving athletes resources and a community. Ideally, athletes secure a sponsor or two and ‘graduate’ from the team to become full-fledged pros. Knight had been following The Trail Team for a few years after seeing other D-II runners join and have success. It seemed like a no-brainer for him to at least apply.
Athletes for The Trail Team are given goal races. Knight’s first race with the team was on Monday at the GoPro Mountain Games in Vail. He competed in the 20K trail run, finishing in 1:24:50.5 to take second behind Eli Hemming, a current world-class trail runner and former Team USA triathlete.
Knight’s next race with the team is the Broken Arrow 23K on June 21 at Palisades Tahoe Ski Resort in California. The race is part of the World Mountain Running Association World Cup, a worldwide race series. It is also a chance for Knight to make Team USA and compete for the U.S. at September’s Trail Running World Cup Final in Poland. If he wants to earn a spot, he’ll need to be one of the top three male finishers at Broken Arrow.
“It'd require a breakout performance,” Knight said about what it would take for him to qualify. “It's another level. I'm not in college anymore, I’m playing with the big dogs. I would need a really stellar performance, but I just want to give myself a shot in the race. I’m trying not to have too high of expectations, but (at the same time) knowing that if I put myself in a place where I could make the team, on the right day, it could happen. So why not? Why not me?”
ajbonanno@durangoherald.com
