Running in Their Footsteps
The Preslars—Cindy, Matt, and their sons Max and Ricky—are deeply woven into our mountain’s fabric through the non-profit Cloudcroft Runners
On a warm November morning, Cindy Preslar sits down with me in their family home to talk running, life, and Cloudcroft.
While we chat, Cindy’s son, Ricky, rests by a window, looking out into the yard full of four big dogs—one of Cindy’s, three belong to Ricky’s brother Max. One golden retriever, a fluffy solar panel, stretches out on the sunny lawn overlooking the Preslar’s mountain property outside of the village.
The bright walls—some yellow, red, blue— are covered in family photos, colorful art, and other evidence of a full life.
Beneath a sparkling display of suncatchers—a line of trophies and awards sits in the windowsill, each earned by the Preslar family, who share a love of long-distance running and the outdoors.
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 Mountain Monthly.
Cloudcroft Runners: A Legacy of Endurance and Community
Cindy Preslar launched Cloudcroft Runners in 2014 to revive racing in the high-desert mountains and to fundraise for students who needed assistance.
For years, Cloudcroft had been a ghost town for runners. The Rails-to-Trails race was gone. So was the Governor’s “Highest 10k.” Cindy wanted them back—she just didn’t know how.
“I had no idea how to put races on,” she admits. Enter Amy Collins, a Las Cruces connection with race-organizing experience. Together, they launched Run through the Clouds and Trails and Rails in 2014.
Cloudcroft Runners evolved its offerings, at one time switching from the point-to-point Cactus to Clouds ultra to the in-town Cloudcroft Ultra when busing fell through.
Beyond promoting running, the organization served the community.
Cindy and Matt organized the races for nonprofit purposes, donating money raised through the events to the Cloudcroft Schools. Students volunteered for events that supported various organizations, including the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO), Technology Student Association (TSA), athletic teams, cheerleaders, and Scouts.
The races also brought a significant economic boost to the town, putting heads in beds.
At 8,600+ feet, Cloudcroft offers something rare: high-altitude training in a small-town setting. Runners from Las Cruces, El Paso, and beyond returned year after year, filling hotels and restaurants. “I think we pack Cloudcroft,” Cindy says—and local business owners confirm it.
The Preslars recently transferred the Cloudcroft races (Trails and Rails, Cloudcroft Ultra, and Cactus to Clouds) over to Shane Asbury with Wanderlust Running, ensuring the tradition continues.
Partners in Life and Running
Matt Preslar is a lifelong resident of Cloudcroft. Cindy settled in Cloudcroft in the late 1990s shortly after meeting Matt—the couple celebrated their 25th anniversary this year in March.
Cindy has been running since middle school, but became serious about it in college after taking an “Adventure Running” class in Connecticut. The longest race she’s run is the 34-mile Canyon de Chelly Ultra with Matt—an exclusive experience after winning a lottery to run the race on Navajo land.
Cindy had a long career in education, teaching science, PE, and the fourth grade. Later, she worked as Cloudcroft Schools’ Social Media and Website Coordinator. She retired last year and is currently involved in real estate with Miyah Beug at Aspen Trails Real Estate. (Miyah is Max’s girlfriend, and their pups, Cindy’s granddogs, are some of the pack that greeted me as I drove up.)
Her running and teaching career shaped her discipline and perspective. Cindy’s routine is steady and practical: “almost daily, two to three miles, just to clear my head.”
Matt’s career path included selling firewood, being a hotshot, and working in real estate before he founded Preslars Dirt Works. He also coached cross-country at Cloudcroft Schools.
Matt’s most grueling race wasn’t in New Mexico—it was the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, 100 miles through France, Switzerland, and Italy. Thirty-six hours of running. Cindy laughs: “He’s much faster and more intense than I am.”
Matt runs more miles in a year than Cindy does, often adopting a “weekend warrior” approach, where he will “crank out 10 [miles], no problem” sometimes after work.
The Next Generation: Max and Ricky
The Preslars raised their two sons in Cloudcroft, where “it’s great. Everybody knows them.”
Max, 22, started the 575 Tree Service business after deciding he wanted to make money selling firewood. He grew up familiar with chainsaws because his father sold firewood, and Max taught himself to climb trees on their property.
Max also has helped his family in the running community, even pushing his younger brother Ricky in his adaptive wheelchair during the Run through the Clouds road race one year.
Ricky, 19, attended the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Alamogordo. Cerebral palsy limits his mobility, but not his adventurousness. With the help of his family, he has completed two marathons and “at least five or six half marathons and then some shorter races.”
He’s skied at Ski Apache since age four, tried adaptive mountain biking, and now flies with his family in the plane Matt recently earned his pilot’s license to operate.
The family has flown to Payson, the Grand Canyon, Taos for anniversaries. Sedona is next.
Cindy and Matt, together, have flown running culture in Cloudcroft to new heights.
Through their endurance running and deep connection to Cloudcroft’s schools and community life, the Preslars have fostered an outdoor sports events culture in Cloudcroft.
The Preslars recently transferred their three races to Shane Asbury’s Wanderlust Running. After a decade, it was time.
But Cindy still runs almost daily—two or three miles “just to clear my head.” The routes wind past her house, through Cloudcroft’s forest trails, sometimes in snow. Some are the same paths she mapped when she was pushing Ricky’s stroller, dreaming of races that would bring runners back to the mountains.
That dream worked–now it’s shared with Shane Asbury. And Cindy can keep running.
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Beautful story about how grassroots community organizing can revive a local sports culture. The way Cindy and Matt connected race organizing to student fundrasising shows they understood it wasn't just about runnig, but building something that serves the whole community. High-altitude training spots like Cloudcroft are underrated gems for endurance atheletes.