Matias Saari of Anchorage posted an impressive finish at the Traunsee Bergmarathon in Gmunden, Austria, where he covered the 70-K race in 8 hours, 37 minutes to finish second among 241 men’s finishers. The grueling ultramarathon gained some 4,500 meters (14,700 feet) in elevation. Saari was one of only four men to break the 9-hour… Read more »
Climbing and descending the steep slopes of Seward’s Mount Marathon one time is an accomplishment. For Joe Nyholm, a single trip is merely a warmup. On June 1, Nyholm completed a marathon on Mount Marathon by running and hiking 26.5 miles in 18.5 hours while climbing 35,902 vertical feet. “I didn’t feel worn down until… Read more »
– By Matias Saari; Alaska Sports Blog Contributor 1. Allie Ostrander, age 22 (PR 49:19, 2017 champion) If she decides to race, it’s hard to imagine Allie O getting beat. The Soldotna native and current Boise State University standout won the junior girls’ race six times, is the defending women’s champion and boasts the 2nd… Read more »
– By Matias Saari, Alaska Sports Blog Contributor Picking the top-10 for the men’s race at Mount Marathon is a crapshoot as perhaps 20 guys are capable of achieving that result. Standing out from the crowd are the course record holder, a couple of pros sponsored by Salomon, the “Gang of Four” mountain fanatics, a 40-something… Read more »
Zach Miller from Colorado became the first elite runner to sign up for the Crow Pass Crossing shortly after registration opened on May 1. His buddies Tim Tollefson and David Laney — both have finished on the podium at the prestigious Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc 100-miler — then followed suit. No elite trail runner… Read more »
Chad Trammell of Anchorage conquered a competitive men’s field in winning the inaugural Skyline Traverse, a grueling 28K run along one of New Zealand’s most spectacular skylines. The Alaskan was first in the race in 2 hours, 43 minutes, 16 seconds to best the field of 69 finishers. Trammell finished more than 12 minutes ahead… Read more »
Chad Trammell of Anchorage was victorious at the TransRockies Run in Colorado, a grueling six-day, 120-mile race through the heart of the White River and San Isabel National Forests. He didn’t just win, he dominated the men’s open division that featured 47 finishers. Trammell won five of the six races with a series total time… Read more »
Anchorage’s Scott Patterson picked up a pair of top-5 finishes at The Rut, a series of serious mountain running events over Labor Day Weekend in Montana. One day after placing third in Friday’s vertical kilometer race, the 24-year-old turned in a fourth-place finish in today’s 50K race. The 50K race was actually shortened to 42K… Read more »
When former Anchorage resident Abbie Rideout checked the projected times at ultrasignup.com in advance of last Saturday’s brutally hard Speedgoat 50-kilometer mountain-running race, she was only the sixth- or seventh-ranked woman. Granted, the rankings are based on past performances and not necessarily indicative of one’s current fitness. But with the likes or Magdalena Boulet and… Read more »
Anchorage runners Harlow Robinson and Matias Saari broke the record in the 12 Peaks Challenge, a grueling, roughly 36-mile trek along the dozen highest summits in the Chugach Mountains above Anchorage. The two friends set out on their adventure at 5:17 a.m. Wednesday morning and finished at 3:27 a.m. this morning, climbing some 25,000 vertical… Read more »
