If anyone is interested, ktuu.com is live streaming Mount Marathon today.
Youth 9:30 AM, Women 11:15 AM, Men 3:30 PM ADT (1 hr beyond Pacific)
At least one camera appears to be partway up the mountain. Not sure how high up they get for the adult races since the terrain is rather steep and it's rainy. (That said, I've seen them get their camera up our local mountain for coverage - not to the top, but past the gnarliest areas.) But their coverage from the base can see some of the lower action (but above the shrubs) on the mountain..
For those not familiar with Mount Marathon, it's one of the oldest trail races in US having started in 1915. Dipsea is older. It's about 3-3.5mi with 3022 feet of uphill in about 1 mile - then back down again. I think the town of Seward swells from about 2000 to 10,000 people for July 4 highlighted by Mount Marathon.
Looks like they stopped the youth coverage after about 1 hr. Fastest women will be about 5x min and men 4x min.
Tim
Wow. Looks like a real back killing power hike. Everyone is bent over at 70 degree angle with hands on their knees. Great music. Thanks for sharing.
“Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway!
Faster Than Your Couch!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Run for fun.
Here's a "map" of the route.
Le professeur de trail
Just read the article about the winning times. What's teh story about the guy who "went missing" last year? That just seems weird. It looks like atotally exposed mountain with lots of people. How could he go missing like that?
My favorite day of the week is RUNday
This, unfortunately, is the question that still has people scratching their heads. He was a race rookie who had never been on the mountain before, in spite of organizers encouraging people to be on the mountain (now a requirement and you must sign that you've done that). He had poor eyesight. Weather was wet, foggy with clouds drifting in and out. At 3 hours he was still on his way up when everyone else had finished. The course was closed, but at the time there was no rule saying the organizers can force you off the mountain and, as with all trail races, the course is open to the general public. While the "top" is quite obvious on race day with the crowds and flag at the turnaround rock, they were all gone by the time he got there. The timers had just left the top, the guy was within 200ft and seemed fine, so he was allowed to continue.
One theory is that he missed the "top", and kept going. Apparently, the main trail does go beyond but I'm not sure where. The mountain itself has another 1000+ ft up to it. Another theory is he fell through a snow bridge or snow cave collapsed on him. A bear might have gotten him. And there's still occasional wonderings whether he pulled a disappearing act.
The race implemented some changes this year that would help with situations like this but still leave the basic aspect of the race intact. Rookies had to cover the entire course beforehand and sign that they did. There were two orientation tours for the lower 1/3 of the mountain. You had to be at least half way up within 1 hour or be pulled. Sweeps were used. There were more monitors. They put up directional signs near the bottom so people wouldn't accidentally get on the path that went to the falls - the most photogenic part of the course for its carnage. They also allowed for closing that path if conditions were too dangerous. That path was closed for the morning races, but was open for the men's afternoon race, although most came down another way.
MTA: GoPro Cam video of the top and downhill of Mt. Marathon 2013. Notice the "top" how flat it is. Remove all the people and the flag, and it's not as obvious how to get down. The down trail is different than the up, although I suppose you could just reverse, if you knew you were at the turnaround. This is one of those things where the trail is obvious to those familiar with the course; not so obvious to a newbie.
(I've never been on the mountain so just repeating news articles plus what some people who have done the race say.)
I originally had this as part of prior post, referring to the winning times, but decided to separate it out.
This race is like the Olympics locally - probably best known sporting event in the state after Iditarod Trail Sleddog Race.
You may not have seen this FB observation by LRS (Skinny Raven):
"Lots of people talking about Eric Strabel's new record at Mt. Marathon yesterday. The Raven wants to put in perspective how long it took to break Bill Spencer's 32-year-old record. When Bob Beamon set his "unbreakable" World Record in the long jump at the 1968 Olympics, it only took 23 years before it was eclipsed. The current longest standing track and field record is just 29 years old. Considering the advances in training, equipment and competition over the last 32 years, Spencer's record is even more impressive. LIKE if you appreciate the quality of Spencer's former record!"
That was a so-awesome race. I'm not sure if it showed in the streaming (I'm on slow DSL), but looking at the video clips on KTUU last night and other pictures, you can see where Eric passed Rickey on the downhill, but you can also see Rickey closing on the final 1/2 mi of asphalt to the finish line.
To put this in perspective, Eric is one of the few people up here who can keep up (well, almost) with Geoff Roes. They decided it was time for the 3-hr barrier on the Crow Pass Crossing (24 mi of tough trail, including a glacier river crossing and bears who sometimes come to watch) to die a few years ago. Both broke the barrier but Geoff was a bit ahead. Eric also broke the 3-hr barrier on the Matanuska Peak Challenge last year (14mi, 9000ft up, on an out/back course).
I might also add that Eric grew up training on the same trails we still use here. His dad and other volunteers built them in the mid 1980s for hs xc ski and running training. Bill Spencer helped design some of the newer ski trails out here - more suitable for recreational skiers but will also have competition trails. So this race was pretty exciting.
The people that were going after the record were also training on incline tm that go up to 38 degrees. Eric also coaches nordic skiing at APU, whose ski program is almost like a developmental Olympics level program.
That is crazy and very sad. Looks like such a cool event and for something like that to happen is tragic.