TACOMA, Wash. - An avid runner, Pacific Lutheran University cross country coach Adam Frye took his passion to the next level this summer, competing in the Cascade Crest 100-mile race in July.
 
Frye finished the grueling trail race that featured over 23,000-feet of elevation gain in 21 hours, 56 minutes, and 15 seconds, navigating the challenging and at times technical terrain to place fourth overall in his first-ever 100-mile ultramarathon.
 
"The most rewarding part was feeling the community around the race. There's so many local people that I know that are out there. To me that's the greatest thing about running at any level— whether it's high school, college, or beyond— is that community of people," said Frye. 
 
A runner his entire life, Frye has gradually morphed into a ultramarathoner, embracing the longer distances and the bigger challenges that the trails have to offer. 
 
The Minnesota native was an 800-meter runner in high school. He became a steeplechaser in college at Division III Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and it's there that his love of the trails and trail running really took off. 
 
"There was a good network of single track mountain bike trails in the city limits (of Decorah). So that was an opportunity to get out and explore. I enjoyed the trail running while still focusing on racing track and cross country in college and roads after college."
 
Frye moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2015 and that's where his interest in trail running really took off as he explored the trails with his wife Ladia Albertson-Junkans who is also an ultrarunner. 
 
"Around 2015 I felt like I reached some of my goals in road running, and competing in trail running was a new avenue of running competition to explore."
 
Frye made his ultramarathon debut in 2018, running a 50-kilometer race (31 miles) that May before recording a top-ten finish later that summer in his 50-mile debut at the White River 50. 
 
"The White River 50 went well enough and I had enough fun that it got me excited to continue to push the envelope a little bit with racing long distances."
 
Frye took the leap to the 100-kilometer distance (62 miles) in 2021, placing fourth in his debut at the Siskiyou Out Back before notching a third place finish at the Waldo 100K later that summer. 
 
With the success at the 100K distance, Frye was again ready for another challenge as he geared up to tackle the 100-mile distance and his debut at the Cascade Crest.  
 
"The training really wasn't that much different (from 100K to 100 miles) for me, but the biggest difference is from being out there for say 10 to 12 hours to 20-30 hours. Being out there overnight and on your feet basically for a whole day."
 
"The 100Ks I had done, it's a full day of running but you're not out there overnight at a time you'd normally be sleeping. The thing I found in the 100-miler was my legs held up really well, I felt like I had good legs throughout, but it was more the general fatigue."
 
While Frye enjoys continuing to push his body to its limits, he's able to see how it benefits his coaching at PLU.  
 
"I do think that continuing to train and to compete, and push myself, helps me to be able to relate to the student-athletes. Obviously if you previously competed you can remember what it was like to some extent. But continuing to live that on a daily basis and really appreciate and identify with the challenges, both physical and mental, that they're dealing with, I think really helps my perspective in coaching."
 
"I definitely take inspiration from the athletes in what they're doing. And hopefully they're finding some inspiration in me continuing to push myself and train and compete."
 
Frye's ability to relate to his student-athletes has paid dividends. Frye coached four individual national champions as track & field coach from 2017 to 2022 while the Lutes men's cross country program won the Northwest Conference title in 2018. A Lute has won the NWC individual cross country title in four of the last seven years and last fall PLU had a student-athlete from both the men's and women's program qualify for the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships. 
 
Last spring Frye decided to step down as head track & field coach and focus just on the cross country program as head coach. It's a decision that has helped Frye improve his fitness and compete in races in the spring when he would have ordinarily been coaching on the track. 
 
"While it's super hard not to be involved as closely with track & field anymore, I think it's been a positive for my family, for my running, and has allowed me to focus on cross country year round and the needs of that program."
 
The added flexibility around the work at PLU along with the support of his family and running sponsor— Brooks— has helped Frye take his running to the next level.
 
"The support of my wife has been huge for my own running and the support I get from Brooks has been helpful and allowed me to invest into my training and racing."
 
While Frye is currently recovering from the Cascade Crest 100, he's hoping to hop in a few local races later this summer before trying to gain a coveted lottery spot in the prestigious Western States 100 in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains.