When Finn Melanson and Eli White looked at the Salt Lake City trail running scene in early 2019, they saw an opportunity. There were a lot of great, competitive trail runners based in the valley. But they were all training in isolation. It raised a lot of interesting questions. What could be achieved if they were all brought together under one banner and common mission to train and race at the highest levels of the sport? Would the existence of a trail running team motivate other talented runners from across the country to move to Salt Lake City and join in? If they could get a proof of concept off the ground, could a Salt Lake City trail running team serve as a model for other mountain running hubs across the United States? How might this project help grow the sport of Mountain Ultra Trail running in general? With that, Finn and Eli established the Bonneville Barnstormers. The namesake is a nod to the ancient Lake Bonneville and the trail that meanders along the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains where we do so much of our training. In the spring of 2019, they set out to recruit some of their closest training partners and competitors they met along the way at local races. Today, in the fall of 2020, the team now boasts 7 members and is always on the lookout for new talent.