Ultra runner aims for lofty feat on Y Mountain Trail

PROVO — An ultra runner was attempting Sunday to close in on a feat he believed nobody had ever attempted—covering 200 total miles on the Y Mountain Trail while recording 100,000 feet of vertical climbing.

Michael Greer began his laps up and down the trail Thursday night, and by Sunday at lunchtime had completed 61 trips, though rain threatened to slow his pace.

“They say if your goals don’t scare you, they’re not big enough—and this one’s been pretty scary,” Greer said during a Sunday interview with KSL TV. “I’ve got some blisters on my heels from all the up and down, but outside of the blisters (I’m) feeling really good.”

According to his wife, Kellie Greer, the Provo native had surpassed 150 miles by Sunday afternoon and was on track to reach his goal of 93 laps by late Monday or Tuesday.

“I have very mixed emotions about it,” she said. “I support him in anything he does but definitely, like, it is a little bit crazy for sure.”

Why Greer chooses to be an ultra runner

On his journey, Greer was hoping to generate attention through his social media accounts and to raise money for multiple causes.

He said the Televerde Foundation helped to give incarcerated women a second chance.

Greer also dedicated his journey to Aaron Jensen and Kelly West, who are both battling cancer.

“There’s been so many times where I’m like, ‘I can’t do this, I shouldn’t do this, I need to wait,’ and then I think about the women of the Televerde Foundation, I think about Aaron Jensen, I think about Kelly West—they don’t have ‘off’ buttons, they don’t get to just turn it off and put it off until later, and so I’m like, I have to do it,” Greer said.

Jensen—an ultra runner himself—said he was originally diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2020 and wound up with a permanent colostomy bag after surgery.

“I was cancer free, resumed ultra running, started ultra running with a colostomy bag just to kind of show you can live a normal life with a colostomy bag,” Jensen said.

The cancer returned last year, however, and he said he had been undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

“I was filled with gratitude—I really was—so much gratitude for what he’s doing,” Jensen said. “I understand the difficulty of it because I’ve done ultra running myself.”

Greer said he was up to the challenge of “the most insane, hardest 200” he could do on their behalf.

“I feel like it’s very fitting based on those amazing people and what they’re going through, and the battles they fight every day.”