Eagle Valley twins named to U.S. Mountain running team
Rising juniors Dylan and Tyler Blair will compete at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup in Montana Palencina, Spain on June 22
Ryan Sederquist/Vail Daily
Eagle Valley rising juniors Tyler and Dylan Blair followed in the footsteps of their older sisters by starring on the Devils track and cross-country teams the past two seasons. This summer, the twin brothers will represent the U.S. on the international trail stage — just like Joslin and Samantha before them.
Tyler and Dylan Blair were named to the eight-member team traveling to Montana Palencina, Spain, to compete at the International U18 Mountain Running Cup on June 22.
“That’s pretty special,” said Myriah Blair, who doubles as distance coach during the track season, and more importantly, Mom — during every season. She said Tyler and Dylan came along to Italy when Joslin won gold at what was then called the WMRA Mountain Running International Youth Cup (U18). At the time, it was the first medal earned at the event by the U.S. Samantha — who guided Team USA to a team bronze with a fifth-place finish at the event in 2019 — placed 13th in the U20 up and downhill mountain race at the inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in November of 2022.
“(Dylan and Tyler) have been watching it for years and have been super honed in on it,” Myriah Blair said. “They were over-the-moon excited (to make the team). It’s very special for all four kids.”
“My reaction to being selected for the U.S. mountain running team was filled with excitement,” Dylan Blair told TrailRunner.com. “I ran out of my classroom at school and answered the phone as fast as I could. Once I heard the great news I started screaming and jumping with joy with a few of my teammates that were passing by.”
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His twin brother’s reaction was similar: “When I got the call to be on the team, I screamed in my high school hallway,” Tyler Blair said. “I was super excited.”
In addition to contributing to the Devils historic fifth-place state cross-country meet team finish last fall, the Blairs helped Eagle Valley win the team competition at the 2023 National High School Trail Championships in Salida. Dylan Blair was fourth in that race, right in front of Salida’s Zeke Wilcox, who also made the U18 Mountain Running Cup team. Coronado High School’s Boston Potts rounds out the boy’s roster.
The U.S. girls team includes Mountain Vista’s Claire Guiberson, two-time Nevada state champion Eleanor Raker, 4:48-miler Sophia Rodriguez of Mercer Island, Washington, and Boulder’s Sierra Wall.
Athletes will contest a 5-kilometer trail course consisting of 224 meters of elevation gain and descent. A livestream of the event will be available on u18cup2024.com.
Eagle County runners have a history of competing in international trail events beyond the Blairs, too. In 2022, Porter Middaugh placed fourth at the U18 Mountain Running Cup. The next year, fellow former Husky Will Brunner helped the U.S. men’s team win gold. Finally, Battle Mountain’s Lindsey Whitton and Milaina Almonte placed 18th and 28th, respectively at the 2023 U20 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.
