Alaska Mountain Runner

Knoya Ridge

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Location:

Anchorage,AK,US

Member Since:

Jul 13, 2009

Gender:

Female

Goal Type:

Half Marathon Finish

Running Accomplishments:

Bird Ridge Mountain Race, 2009: 70 minutes

Mount Marathon Race, 2009, 1:41

Short-Term Running Goals:

To post faster times in this summer's mountain races plus finish a half marathon at at the end of the summer. Would like to improve my Mt. Marathon time for next year plus run the Moab 33K in February.

Long-Term Running Goals:

I would love to do an ultra-distance race, 50 miles or even 110--oh, oh, oh!

Personal:

Single parent, live in Alaska, LOVE trail running, and the trails here are rough, baby. My dog is my best running companion, since she scares away the bears and moose.

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Miles:	This week:	0.00	Month:	0.00	Year:	0.00

Sun, Jul 19, 2009

Race: Knoya Ridge (4.5 Miles) 01:08:11

Easy Miles	Marathon Pace Miles	Threshold Miles	VO2 Max Miles	Crosstraining miles	Total Miles
4.50	4.50	0.00	0.00	0.00	9.00

Ran the Knoya Ridge Mountain Race this morning. The race is only to the top only; then we had to run back down again on our own. Rainy weather, lots of rolling hills for the first half, and then we hit the LONG and slow climb to the peak.

Sad news: A 22-year-old runner with a pre-existing heart condition collapsed and died about 400 feet from the finish. It was TERRIBLE. We were all crying as we stood around and waited for the helicopter to deliver his body back to his family. A doctor and nurse who had been running the race administered CPR but couldn't revive him. I can't begin to tell you the surreal feeling of standing of top of a mountain in the middle of nowhwere, the clouds rolling in and all that beauty, and seeing someone's body covered with racers' windbreakers waiting for the helicopter. It was stark and tragic and oh-so-silent. Really makes you respect the wildnerness, and the mountain, and the miracle of our beating hearts.

The race was basically called off after that. My unoffical time was 68 minutes. You can read more about the event at: http://www.adn.com/running/story/869611.html

Night Sleep Time: 0.00	Nap Time: 0.00	Total Sleep Time: 0.00	Weight: 0.00	Calories: 0.00

Comments

From Burt on Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 23:07:28 from 98.167.151.26

Oh man Cinthia. That is horrible. Sean Sundwall and Paul Peterson from the blog both ran in the Olympic Trials for the Marathon when Ryan Shay collapsed and died. I can't even imagine.

From Merri on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 16:03:47 from 67.104.0.92

Wow that is the craziest story ever. But good job on your race!

From moosegal on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 at 16:43:26 from 216.67.12.201

Yeah, it's kind of scary that Alaska mountain races offer NO aid stations, no sports drinks or gels at the top. And you work those miles too--they are STEEP! Racers have to pack everything, and top runners often carry nothing to net a faster time.

But still--the beauty of running up those mountains, nothing around but more mountains (and so much silence!) is worth the risk.

From Scott Wesemann on Tue, Jul 21, 2009 at 13:25:05 from 66.239.250.209

Welcome to the blog fellow trail runner. I would love to see some pics of the beautiful Alaska hills.

From sam Dean-Howard on Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 04:05:21 from 90.201.147.157

HIya, thats terrible, I feel for you and the other racers also for the mans family, very sad, although I am sure he prolonged his life with running and having a healthy lifestyle rather than being unhealthy, he may have gone sooner, and at least he was doing something he must have loved!

Ditto Scott would love to see some pics of the alaska hills :)

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