Molly Seidel, the bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympic marathon who lives in nearby Flagstaff, tweeted about it. So did Rachel Schneider, another Olympian in Flagstaff. The middle-distance runner Nikki Hiltz jokingly posted a photo wearing a sweatshirt that says “I Pooped Today.” David Ribich wryly distanced himself from the controversy, clarifying that his professional team, the Brooks Beasts, trains in Albuquerque, not Flagstaff.
Beyond the jokes, however, is a more complicated story, as well as an unlikely truth: The professional running ecosystem in the United States relies heavily on a public high school track in a city with less than 10,000 people.
Flagstaff has become a mecca of distance running, rivaling or even surpassing Portland, Ore., and Boulder, Colo., over the past decade. It sits about 7,000 feet above sea level, the perfect elevation for year-round altitude training, and boasts mild summer temperatures and hundreds of miles of trails.
As runners moved there, infrastructure developed. Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff has won five of the last six men’s N.C.A.A. cross country championships, and the running shoe manufacturer HOKA sponsors a professional team, the Northern Arizona Elite, based there.
Almost as important as Flagstaff, however, is the track in Sedona that helps runners follow the live high, train low credo of endurance athletics.