Government Peak set for Saturday

HATCHER PASS — For the second year in a row, Alaska’s mountain running season will begin with a grueling climb up Government Peak in Hatcher Pass.

“It sort of sets the tone for the whole season,” race director Mark Strabel said Wednesday after returning home from a trip about halfway up the race trail to set markers.

Last year’s Government Peak run drew rave reviews from competitors for both the challenging nature of the course, as well as the hospitality of its organizers. The race begins at Strabel’s parents’ Mountain Streams Bed and Breakfast, which makes for a picturesque and friendly environment for some of Alaska’s top mountain runners to stretch their legs.

In the inaugural race last June, Anchorage’s Brad Precosky added to his large collection of mountain running titles by winning the men’s race, while Talkeetna’s Taz Mannix ended a string of 13 consecutive Alaska mountain race wins by Seward’s Cedar Bourgeois.

Strabel said he expects Precosky to return for this year’s event, while Mannix is busy training with the U.S. Ski Team and likely won’t be back. Still, because the race counts for points in the Alaska Mountain Running Grand Prix series, Strabel said the expected field of around 200 runners should be chock full of top competitors.

“A lot of the top runners that want to compete for that are going to be there,” he said.

With an elevation gain of 3,000 feet over just two and a half miles, the uphill-only race again promises to be a difficult one, even by mountain running standards. After winding through alpine meadows for the first half mile, the course basically heads straight up the side of 4,781-foot Government Peak, following an old moose hunting trail originally pioneered by Ed Strabel.

Mark Strabel said participants can expect good trail conditions along the way, with most of the lingering snow near the top now melted.

“There’s still a little bit of snow, but it’s not as much as it was a couple weeks ago,” he said.

Precosky won last year’s race in a time of 49 minutes, 34.8 seconds to beat Trond Flagstad by 19 seconds. Mannix covered the route in 55 minutes, 3.2 seconds to best Najeeby Quinn by 23 seconds. Bourgeois was more than three minutes back.

The race is run as a fundraiser for the Colony High School cross country running and skiing teams, and Strabel said he expects a crew of 20-30 volunteers — most of them team members — to help out with logistics, including serving as race officials, setting trail markers, helping with parking and signing up racers.

Parking is limited, and this year Strabel said organizers have decided to charge $3 for vehicles containing three or fewer people.

“It’s just our way of encouraging people to car pool,” he said.

Bicycles and motorcycles can still park for free.

A children’s race for kids ages 12 and under will be held this year, although over a modified course from last year. This year’s kids race will follow a two-mile trail up to a finish line just above the treeline.

Adult entry fee is $30, while kids race for $20. Participants can sign up the day of the race beginning at 9 a.m., or visit www.alaskamountainrunners.org/calendar and click on the race link.

To reach the race start, head north out of Palmer along the Glenn Highway and turn left onto Palmer-Fishhook Road. From there, go seven miles to Edgerton-Parks road and take a left. Two miles down Edgerton-Parks will be a sign for Mountain Streams Bed and Breakfast.

Strabel said wooden medals will be given out to the top three finishers in both the men’s and women’s race, while children’s winners will receive special commemorative Frisbees.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth

@frontiersman.com