JMTR Introduces New Race Director

Laura in the playground of the New Mexico Sangre de Cristo mountains

Jemez Mountain Trail Runs (JMTR) introduces Laura (Musgrave) Martinez as the new JMTR Race Director (RD). Laura grew up in Los Alamos and has been a member of the JMTR organizing committee since 2019.  A competitive swimmer through college, Laura discovered trail running at the age of 29 when she moved back to Los Alamos at the end of 2016, after a decade spent living in California and NYC. The JMTR 15 mile in 2017 was her first trail race and first run over a half-marathon. From that point forward, she was hooked. She knew she had found the community she had been missing in her life.  Since then, Laura has run distances as long as 100 miles and finds the trail running community to remain one of the most grounding and positive aspects of her life. Alongside her sister, Laura was co-director of Pajarito Trail Fest in 2019 and 2020 and enjoys being on the organizing and supporting side of trail running as much as she loves participating as a runner. She is both honored and humbled to be involved with such a well-run, long-standing trail race. Her vision for the future is to continue to give back to the Los Alamos and northern New Mexico communities, to cultivate a strong culture of inclusivity, to continue to focus on efforts at environmental sustainability, and to grow the race in both reach and opportunity.

Q&A with Laura

1. What is your favorite fueling for races? Anything potatoes! Boiled potatoes with salt and pierogies especially. Anything longer than 50 miles and quesadillas start to taste extra great, too.

2. What are some things others might not know about you? 

   1. I am a bonus mom of two amazing kids, who I feel fortunate enough to have known for eight years. 

   2. I have a rescue German Shepherd mix named Guinness, an homage to my favorite country and one of my favorite post long-run beverages. 

   3. One of my favorite things to do is turn on music and cook with my husband. 

   4. I have two sisters who have grown into some of my best friends as adults, few things make me happier than spending time with them. 

      
      

The JMTR organizing committee would like to thank Tom Stockton and Bill Geist for serving as co-race directors for many years.  Bill began as race director in 2010 with a short absence from 2013 to 2015 when Tom served as RD.  Since Bill's return to Los Alamos in 2016, Tom and Bill have served as co-race directors.  The JMTR is a community effort and Bill, Tom, and the rest of the JMTR organizing committee and volunteers are excited to support Laura in continuing to put on the exceptional event that is JMTR. 

Bill Geist chasing Tom Stockton around Los Alamos in 2017

A Brief History of the JMTR (as written by Terry Wallace)

In 2006, Aaron Goldman, a Los Alamos ultrarunner (and extraordinary humanitarian), called a friend of his, Kristen Kern (coincidentally, the race director of the Valles Caldera Runs) and broached the idea of running a trail-based ultra around Los Alamos.  There had always been a strong running community in the town, but access policies to land and roads adjacent to the 40 square miles of Los Alamos National Laboratory changed dramatically after 9/11.  This eventually spelled the end of long road races, and Goldman wanted to revive the racing scene on the spectacular trails in the adjacent Santa Fe National Forest.  Aaron and Kris thought about a 50 miler, a marathon and a long-distance relay race.  The marathon eventually morphed into a 50 km ultra, and the relay was dropped for logistic reasons (relay runners would actually have to travel further to their hand-off stations than they would actually run).  Goldman expected about 20 or 30 runners total – when he had an interview with the local newspaper to drum up support he stated, “any weekend jogger can run our 50 mile course”.  The original race was successful beyond all hopes – about 100 runners started, although only 50 finished (apparently the non-finishers had not been jogging on weekends enough).  The next year there were 200 runners, and the JMTR became a fixture.

The 2025 edition of the JMTR is the eighteenth annual running of the event. It was canceled in 2020 due to Covid-19 risks and in 2022 due to wildfire risk.

Aaron Goldman, the force behind the original Jemez Mountain Trail Run event in 2006. Photo from Sue Norwood, at the JMTR pre-race dinner in 2009.  Goldman passed away a short time before the 2010 JMTR.