Come on LTH.  Let's go, stand at the base of the mountain and drink beer while they struggle up and down the mountain.  We'll be the real winners.

SOLD!

There was a write-up in a recent issue of my local running club's news letter about this race.  He said getting up the mountain is only half the challenge...it's coming back down that's the hard (and treacherous) part.

The down part is definitely what separates the winners from the also-rans. Occasionally there's a strong enough climber that they can hold onto their lead after the downhill. It's an open course so you can pick which route to come down - fast and possibly dangerous and some less dangerous routes. Most, if not all, of the injuries occur on the downhill - and a couple collapses from the heat of lead runners on the asphalt. (Alaskans, esp. nordic skiers, don't do well in the heat.)  Papers or TV or other photographers get some amazing shots of people wiping out.

The hill part averages about 55% slope or 3,000ft up in 1 mile (and the same for the downhill). There's about 0.5mi flat on asphalt at the start and end.

This race is 2nd only to the Iditarod as far as local fame and prestige is concerned. It's easily our most competitive running race. It's one of the oldest trail races in the country, maybe 2nd only to Dipsea. For perspective, it's probably known locally better than any other running race, including Boston. Mount Marathon winners are generally known more for these victories than their Olympic participation in nordic skiing. (that may change if Kikkan medals in next winter Olympics)

It should be noted that had the new rules been in place n 2012, the lost runner would have never been allowed in the race since he had not been on the mountain before. 3 hours to the top is much, much slower than anyone else. I believe everyone else had finished, and he was still going up.

Allowing people to continue beyond the cutoff time is not unusual - just call your time in when you're done. Some races consider it official, others don't count it or consider it unofficial.

To get an idea what mountain running in this state, and in particular, Mount Marathon look like, take a look at Alaska Mountain Runner's FB page . Look at some of their albums: https://www.facebook.com/alaskamountainrunners/photos_albums .

I've only done one of the easy ones, which don't involve rock cliffs or crossing glacial rivers.

Only 3 wks to the next one.

MTA: The race is so popular that they not only have a lottery, but a raffle and then an auction for race entry. successful bids have ranged up around $800, iirc - this is for what's a little longer than a 5k, but has 3 dimensions and personality. Definitely a cash cow for the city.

I don't remember if any of those articles mention it, but the town of Seward swells from about 2,500 people to over 30,000 for the July 4 celebration, which the race highlights.

Wow, I had no idea it was such a big deal.  I had assumed it was a smaller, informal event.  All the mountain runs I've done have cut-off times. They always emphasize that it's as much for the safety of the volunteers as for the runners.  Of course, in Colorado a lot of that has to do with weather.  Lightning storms love to crop up in the afternoon.

 

Anyway, it still seems odd that they never found a trace of the guy.

Many of our trail races have "course closure" times, when the finish line closes down. Many of our trail races don't usually have any aid stations. Without roads, there's really no way of evacuating someone who's slow. So the path of least resistance is to let them finish on their own. They know it going into a race. Some winter races can evacuate people by snowmachine or airplane, but I believe they charge $200, which is why they take an imprint of your credit card at the start. Or you can backtrack under your own power to the start.

Shorter races generally don't have cutoff times since it's not a big deal. And if the sweep runs the race (and wins), then sweeps the course, most people are done anyway - even those who stopped for pictures.

In the case of Mt. Marathon, it was beyond course closure time, and the people at the turnaround had packed up and were heading down after a bunch of hours in either rain or foggy conditions (coastal Alaska). The guy was about 200ft from the summit and seemed fine, so they didn't hesitate to let him continue. (trails are open to the public)

The down part is definitely what separates the winners from the also-rans. Occasionally there's a strong enough climber that they can hold onto their lead after the downhill. It's an open course so you can pick which route to come down - fast and possibly dangerous and some less dangerous routes. Most, if not all, of the injuries occur on the downhill - and a couple collapses from the heat of lead runners on the asphalt. (Alaskans, esp. nordic skiers, don't do well in the heat.)  Papers or TV or other photographers get some amazing shots of people wiping out.

 

The hill part averages about 55% slope or 3,000ft up in 1 mile (and the same for the downhill). There's about 0.5mi flat on asphalt at the start and end.

 

This race is 2nd only to the Iditarod as far as local fame and prestige is concerned. It's easily our most competitive running race. It's one of the oldest trail races in the country, maybe 2nd only to Dipsea. For perspective, it's probably known locally better than any other running race, including Boston. Mount Marathon winners are generally known more for these victories than their Olympic participation in nordic skiing. (that may change if Kikkan medals in next winter Olympics)

 

It should be noted that had the new rules been in place n 2012, the lost runner would have never been allowed in the race since he had not been on the mountain before. 3 hours to the top is much, much slower than anyone else. I believe everyone else had finished, and he was still going up.

 

Allowing people to continue beyond the cutoff time is not unusual - just call your time in when you're done. Some races consider it official, others don't count it or consider it unofficial.

 

To get an idea what mountain running in this state, and in particular, Mount Marathon look like, take a look at Alaska Mountain Runner's FB page . Look at some of their albums: https://www.facebook.com/alaskamountainrunners/photos_albums .

I've only done one of the easy ones, which don't involve rock cliffs or crossing glacial rivers.

 

Only 3 wks to the next one.

 

MTA: The race is so popular that they not only have a lottery, but a raffle and then an auction for race entry. successful bids have ranged up around $800, iirc - this is for what's a little longer than a 5k, but has 3 dimensions and personality. Definitely a cash cow for the city.

 

I don't remember if any of those articles mention it, but the town of Seward swells from about 2,500 people to over 30,000 for the July 4 celebration, which the race highlights.

Thanks for sharing the pics. Insane, but awesome.

Tennessee is always a fun road trip.  I'd seriously do that.

 

The one we really need to do it for is the Barkley Marathons which is quite possibly the toughest race on the planet.

 

Barkley Marathons

 

It used to be hard, but Laz has softened up a bit. Nowadays it seems like theres a finisher every 4-5 years

I don't think it softened up as much as it started attracting world class talent.  You have folks running it now that have sub 2:30 marathons to their credit.

A runner in another forum told me about this thread and suggested I chime in.  I was one of the thousands who went to Seward for the party last year-to watch, not run. It was my first time, so we tried to do everything including the fundraiser dinner and the briefing for the runners/ auction.  The runners signed waivers, but I don't believe the one last year included a statement that they'd been up the mountain. However, they were told they shouldn't race unless they'd been up. I heard that.

One of our group was very familiar with the mountain, having hiked it numerous times, and said it was the worst conditions she'd seen due to the rain from the night before and slick mud.  We hiked part way up and watched the kid's race. Amazing kids!  I couldn't get all the way up-mud was too slick for my hiking boots and the hikers in our group who were able to go to the top all used their snow spikes.

It was actually quite fun to watch and the runners coming off the cliffs seemed to be having a great time. We didn't see either of the bad falls or know about the guy who was missing for a couple days.  We won't go this year.

There are some pics with the kid's race near the end on the Anchorage D News site. You have to go to 8 or 10 of the winner's photos to get to the mountain ones.  http://www.adn.com/2012/07/04/2531254/mount-marathon-2012-67243-07-04.html