Welcome to Arizona XC/TF, Your home for all things track & field
About the founders: Austin Pestka
Austin Pestka was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and grew up around the sport of cross country and track & field, participating in running clubs in his early years before joining the track and cross country teams in middle school. He would then attend Shadow Mountain High School where his father, Gregg Pestka, was in his 18th year of coaching cross country and has coached multiple state championship teams and individuals, including two AIA DI Cross Country Championships in 2001 and 2006. Austin would eventually help the Matadors to three years in a row of top-6 finishes at the AIA DIII Cross Country Championships, helping the Matadors finish as high as 3rd as a team in 2021. He also qualified for the AIA DIII Track Championships in 2022 in the 3200 meter.
Towards the end of his junior year in 2022, Pestka started making YouTube vlogs documenting his high school’s track team under the name “Austin Pestka Vlogs”. He slowly gained traction and a social media presence going into that summer, as he started filming workout videos and interviews with the state’s top runners. That following cross country season, he was offered to work for Arizona Milesplit to help with the state’s media coverage. This was also the start of the rebranding of “Austin Pestka Vlogs” into “apinmotion”, in which he moved his focus on content from YouTube to Instagram.
Pestka would graduate Shadow Mountain in 2023, and continued his academic studies at Arizona State University. Within his first semester, he was hired as ASU’s cross country and track photographer, and started to travel with the team in the Spring of 2024. During this time, he would still cover the high school track scene, while also balancing ASU’s media coverage.
As Pestka would continue to grow more of an online presence, he would start collaborating with major media outlets and filming content for some of the world’s top runners.
Pestka has covered multiple NCAA Cross Country and Track & Field championships, as well as covering Olympic gold medalists like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Matthew Centrowitz, Rai Benjaiman and much more. He’s also captured major high school moments like Gilbert’s Vance Nilsson setting the national record in the 300mH, covering national records that take place at the famous Arcadia Invitational, and the historical Footlocker Cross Country National Championship. His NCAA coverage runs extremely deep, covering multiple Big 12 Conference Championships, Mt. Sac Relays, Bryan Clay Invitational, Texas Relays, and much more.
Pestka’s involvement within the running community goes beyond just his work behind the camera. He’s very involved within the media space of running, and spends just as much time strengthening the local community and creating genuine connections with people as he does behind the lens. He’s put on many free events within the valley, including his popular “Group Runs” that typically take place at the Reach 11 Trailheads, as well as the famous “Wendy’s 4 for 4 Mile” held at Shadow Mountain High School in recent years. Pestka’s presence within the media space has elevated Arizona’s recognition for the incredible athletes that have been produced by this state, but he also cares deeply about the kids getting excited for track and field and creating bonds and connections that goes beyond the eight-lanes of a track.
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About the Founders: John Harris
John Harris was born in Phoenix, AZ before moving down to Tucson, AZ in 7th grade which was when he first joined the track team. In middle school, he would compete at local city championship meets and USATF races, not taking things too seriously. Harris would then attend Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson, which is known for its rich history in competitive distance running and home of multiple state championship teams and individuals.
Harris started finding state-wide success after COVID limitations took away his sophomore track season, and helped the Lancers win back-to-back AIA DIII Cross Country State Championships in 2020 and 2021, securing top-20 finishes individually both years. On the track, Harris also finished 7th in the DIII 1600m in 2021 with a personal best of 4:26.36 during his junior year.
Harris had intentions of continuing his athletic career at the collegiate level, until his training was de-railed by the delayed diagnosis of Lyme disease, in which he had tried to run through during his senior year unknowingly. During his downtime from recovery, he started bringing his camera to track meets to vlog and take photos of his teammates.
After graduating from Salpointe Catholic in 2022, he then continued his academic studies at the University of Arizona. Harris then started picking up smaller freelance jobs with local road races and other events, while also being a volunteer coach at Salpointe Catholic. As he continued gaining experience, Harris would also shoot for Milesplit, before getting offered to work his first major collegiate track meet for FloTrack at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.
Since then, he’s gotten various opportunities shooting workouts and races with world-class professionals like Cameron Myers, Hobbs Kessler, Josh Hoey, and Yared Nuguse. He’s also very involved with the high school scene covering major events like Nike Cross Nationals, the Arcadia Invitational, and the Footlocker XC Championships. His list of experience continues with NCAA Cross Country Championships, Grand Slam Track, and even the 2025 London Diamond League meet.
Harris enjoys providing high quality footage of all levels of the sport, especially being able to capture special moments for people that don’t have the resources to. As Harris reminisces on his days within the sport, he knows how valuable the pictures and videos of his biggest moments are, and being able to hold a lifelong digital memory is something that money won’t be able to buy when the moment passes. Because of John Harris, capturing these incredible moments are possible, and producing them in the highest quality remains a priority for all the media he creates.
Written by: Nate Pestka