Cool runnings: Wasilla High School runners brave the cold temperatures

Nov. 28, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Not much has kept a devoted group of Wasilla High School cross country runners from doing what they enjoy this winter - running.

There's some snow on the ground? No problem.

Trails are icy? Let's go!

The temperature just hit 10 degrees? We'll see ya outside.

Really the only things that have kept the focused group of Warrior athletes off the running trails this winter are the extreme winds - you know, the one's that hit about 80 mph - or the friendly advice of the WHS administration. School districts frown on outdoor extracurricular activity when the temperatures and wind chills dip too far below the zero mark.

But if at all possible, Wasilla's Elle Fuller, Jimmy Sliwa, Rohn Buser and Josiah Stewart - along with their run-hungry coach Gary Howell, have been beating down the frozen paths on a daily basis.

Why?

&#8220I love to run,” Fuller said on Tuesday while preparing for a brisk jog around Wasilla High School in the 10 degree weather.

While the winds have forced Fuller and her teammates inside. The November temperatures, seen as obscenely cold to some, have not bothered Fuller.

&#8220We can dress for the cold,” Fuller said. &#8220I've got five layers on now.”

The group of runners have a variety of experience running in the colder conditions. Fuller said she ran most of last winter, but &#8220compared to last year, this year has been a whole lot more difficult.”

Stewart is a rookie to the winter running.

And Buser, son of Iditarod legend Martin Buser and a musher himself, has a fair bit of experience dealing with the colder temperatures.

&#8220I usually have a little bit more gear on,” Buser joked. &#8220I'm not running.”

Howell said he tries to plan his team's workouts according to the weather.

&#8220We probably won't sweat today, but you know you're working hard when your eyelashes turn white,” Howell said. &#8220When the breath freezes on your eyes, you know it's pretty good.”

Longer warm-ups are key on the colder days, Howell said. And then, of course, it takes more time for the muscles to warm up once the runners are inside and the training is done for the day. That's when the muscles get that tingly feeling.

While the group has been able to run on most of the colder days, high winds have kept the athletes inside. When that was the case, Howell took his crew to the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

&#8220It's really been great having that facility,” Howell said.

The use of the track that circles the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in the sports complex, has allowed the runners to train at much higher speeds, Howell said. On one day, Howell and his runners battled through 24, 400-yard sprints. That's six miles worth of running.

While runners can wear the necessary clothing to ward off the cold, there are other obstacles.

&#8220… the wind biting at your face, the resistance against you,” Fuller said.

But the runners have been able to take it to another level inside the sports complex.

The love of running is not the only thing fueling these athletes desire to log the miles in the sub-freezing conditions. In a beautiful bit of irony, the Wasilla athletes are actually training in these bitter cold temperatures for a race held in balmy California.

Fuller, Stewart, Buser, Sliwa and Kendra Nelson are slated to compete in the Foot Locker Western National Cross Country Championships at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif., on Dec. 2.

Nelson, a member of the Wasilla wrestling squad, has spent most of her time on the mat, rather than the cross country trails, but will compete in the national event, Howell said.

The runners leave on Wednesday, and will have a day or two to acclimate themselves to the California temperatures that are at least 50 degrees warmer than the averages they've been experiencing.

Are they worried about the tremendous difference in climate? Excited is more like it.

&#8220A lot of kids have long sleeves on down there because they think it's cold,” Howell said. &#8220But all the Alaska kids will be out there doing high knees in just their singlets. All the people are thinking, these kids are nuts.”

To Howell's knowledge, his runners are the only Valley athletes set to attend the national competition. But annually, the event includes runners from across the 49th state.

With the race on Saturday, Howell said the Warriors will have a day or two to check the course out and take a few laps in weather that doesn't require the use of a parka.

Howell said it would be crazy to shift from the weather the Valley has seen recently to 68 degrees in just a day. Cross country teams don't even make a long road trip in the state, on the day they race.

Training for 16 weeks, the group has basically had two cross country seasons.

&#8220The funny thing about this is, the time between state and nationals is longer than the actual cross country season by about two weeks,” Howell said. &#8220They had a seven-week season, and we've been training for nine weeks.”

There are a few reasons why this devoted group has braved the less than ideal conditions, and continued to train even after the end of the prep running seasons.

There is the chance to go to California in December. They run because they want to. And like Fuller, there is the motivation of running toward a college scholarship.

Fuller is seeking a finish time she can submit to potential college running programs. The event is sort of a breeding ground for future college runners, and times earned at the event are a good way for recruiters to judge talent, especially if that runner happens to be from Alaska.

&#8220It couldn't be just about the trip for me,” Fuller said. &#8220California is a good motivation, but I love to run.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.