Staged at the Peoria Sports Complex in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, Across the Years is an event that features a variety of distances, ranging from the 6-day to the marathon, including 100-mile and 200-mile races, 24 to 72-hour races and even a Last Person Standing competition.
Recently, I traveled to the Albi 24-hour event in the south of France, near Toulouse, with a friend, Thomas Beyer, who I met a few months prior during the Marathon Des Sables. As is customary in this Sahara race, you encounter many unique characters with fascinating life stories. Thomas is no exception.
In Albi, last October, Thomas was trying to qualify for the Canadian national team of the upcoming world championship of 24-hour, scheduled for October 2025, also in Albi. As I write this, after running at Across The Years last December where he achieved 126.8 miles and a third-place finish, he is now in Koper, Slovenia, doing a reconnaissance run for another 24-hour race—this will be his third attempt at completing his personal goal of 224k (slightly more than 139 miles), ensuring him a top spot on the Canadian team.
The circus atmosphere at Across The Years was impossible to ignore. However, significant achievements in ultrarunning were also happening. I was captivated by the remarkable determination displayed by two women. Stephanie Rosebaugh who participated in the Last Person Standing challenge, finishing third overall and first woman, completing 142.5 miles in 33 hours and 50 minutes, which set a new women’s record for the event and also marked her personal best. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Jozie Geromini accomplished her first-ever 100-mile run.
While I’m sure many others, both men and women, achieved fantastic performances at Across the Years, Stephanie Rosebaugh’s pace was steady and significantly faster than most of the men.
Rosebaugh did not win or become the Last Person Standing, so to speak, but she sure scared the hell out of many of the men in the race.
I also noticed Jozie Geromini when she could no longer run at the end of her 100-mile race. Her face was filled with pain and misery and her footing was unsteady, reminding me of my past races. She worried me, yet her determination to keep walking left a lasting impression.
I was genuinely in awe. It’s not about whether I knew Jozie and Stephanie, it made me question whether I could ever achieve what they accomplished.
Long live fixed-time racing events.