New Mexico State runner crushes ultramarathon course

When Thomas Croshaw crossed the finish line to complete a 50-mile run in Colorado recently, he wasn’t gasping for air nor did he collapse in exhaustion. He was smiling.

“I really didn’t feel all that tired,” said the 20-year-old Albuquerque native. “My legs, of course, felt like they ran a long way, but since I fueled well and was getting calories to continue burning, my legs never ran out of gas.”

Croshaw, who currently competes in track and field for New Mexico State University, didn’t merely compete, he won the July 12 Life Time Silver Rush 50 in Leadville — one of the country’s most grueling races — in near record time. He ran it in 6 hours, 36 minutes, and 40 seconds, the second fastest recorded time on the course.

Silver Rush 50 racers climb nearly 8,000 feet throughout the course high up in the Rocky Mountains, tackling treacherous terrain full of “baby heads” — loose, round stones that can roll out from under their feet.

“I rolled my ankle like three or four times in the first half,” Croshaw said.

Still, he never lost sight of the beauty around him.

“The Colorado Rockies are incredible,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that, even if I was really suffering at one point, I can look up and see (the mountains). It was such an incredible opportunity to be out there.”

Croshaw’s journey to the top of the ultrarunning world began on the elementary school playground when he would run laps for fun during recess. He later joined a charter school running club and eventually ran with the Cougar Track Club, an Albuquerque youth cross country team.

But it wasn’t until his junior year at Volcano Vista High that he began to take running seriously.

Now, Croshaw logs 65 to 80 miles running per week.

His typical training includes two high-intensity workouts — often around 15 miles each — and a long mountain run on Sundays. Biking sessions round out the routine.

“Training is year-round. It never stops,” he said.

Getting ready for Leadville, though, required more.

“The preparation is a challenge for a race like Leadville, because Leadville, Colorado, is at 10,000 feet and the race only goes up from there,” he said. “I focused on maintaining my two workouts a week, which helped my speed and my power output. Then, the weekends I would do mountain long runs to build speed resistance and build strength being up in the mountains.”

One of the most overlooked aspects of ultrarunning, Croshaw said, is nutrition.

“You have to get a lot of fuel in,” he said. “Training the stomach to be able to handle that was another big part.”

During the race, Croshaw consumed five energy gels every two hours and 1,000 milligrams of sodium per hour.

Croshaw also credits his support team for playing a key role in his win.

“I really felt a lot of gratitude for the people that supported me through this goal,” he said. “Of course, I had to run the distance, but I couldn’t have run this fast without my parents and family being there to help me at each station; having all the water bottles there to hand off to me, having gels to hand off to me.”

Croshaw received a classic Leadville memento for his victory: a first-place bowl and a pickaxe.

Now it’s back to collegiate competition. He plans to shift focus toward the NCAA cross country season, with an eye on qualifying for nationals in 2026 and breaking into the top seven in Conference USA, after finishing 13th twice.

Still, he hasn’t closed the door on ultrarunning.

“In general, I think I’m definitely going to end up back on the trails,” he said. “It’s something I really love and enjoy, especially the road running. To me, the logistics and tactics are so much more exciting in trail running.”