Houston half to support new trails

HOUSTON — Alaska’s new Houston Half-Marathon and Relay might not be as famous as the races in Texas, but it will be run for a good cause.

As reported by the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation in a June 2013 Trails and Parks Master Plan for the Mat-Su Area, Houston High School is “the only Mat-Su Borough high school without ready access to cross-country ski trails,” and that happens to go for cross -country running trails, too. Although the cross-country program is growing, head coach Chad Rice said, new trails would definitely give the team a boost, and encourage new skiers.

“We haven’t had much here in the way of trails in the past because when the new high school was built (in 2004), all we had was trails behind the middle school, and that’s only, at best, a half-mile loop,” Rice said.

For distance runners at the high school level who typically run races of at least 3 miles, half a mile of trail doesn’t really cut it — especially not for Nordic skiers. Even the middle school students run 2 to 4.5 miles a day, coach and eighth grade math teacher Sara Collison said.

So, Houston Middle and High schools hope to raise funds to remedy the issue with 13-, 1-, and .5-mile races. Gorilla Fireworks, Taylor Fire Protection Services, Diversified Tire and First Choice Physical Therapy have shown their interest as community members by sponsoring the event. Participants will be eligible for prize drawings at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, before the races.

Unlike most races of this caliber, the schools are offering same-day registration and bib pick-up at the middle school from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., in addition to Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The course will follow the bike path along the Parks Highway from the Houston Middle School parking lot and turn back at the Houston fire station.

“We’re really excited about it because it’s the only half marathon in the Valley that we know of and it can be run as two- and three-person relay,” Rice said of the event.

However, the trail project will take more than one day of racing to fund and complete. Former coach Pat Egelus got the first 400 meters started, Rice said, but there is still much to be done. Because the school district cannot allow the team to do any work with heavy equipment on their own, Rice said, they had to hire a licensed and bonded outfit to do the trail work. The bid offered to them by Statewide Clearing to do the job, Rice said, sits at $100,000.

“It’s a huge deal for us to be able to raise that money, so we’ve been looking at grants and fundraising, hence the race,” he said.

Since the Houston Half is a new race, Rice voiced some concern over the struggle to accrue popularity and just get people to sign-up.

“We just really need community awareness,” Rice said.

Not only awareness, but effort. With Rice teaching high school physical education classes, coaching high school cross-country, being a father to his five children and active in his church, it’s probably safe to say he has his hands full.

“It’s a lot for me and I’m not a super planner organizer like my wife, Robin,” he said.

Robin has done much of the organizing for the race, through her 4-year-old company, Begin it Now Racing. She is also the founder and organizer of the Why Not Tri sprint triathlon in Wasilla, her husband said.

However, the fact of the matter, he admitted, is that not everyone in the area wants to run a race to help out, and not everyone sees the project from a runner’s or skier’s perspective.

“It’s going to be another challenge to keep motorized vehicles off of it, so in the future we’ll be needing money for fencing in key areas,” coach Rice said.

Rice said he looks forward to the trails being opened for non-motorized use such as bicycling and maybe a disc golf course eventually, but the area of Houston, Big Lake and Meadow Lakes is known for their snowmachine and ATV riders.

“It’s just something kids don’t even really think about doing because their parents aren’t into it,” Rice said of cross-country running and skiing.

Currently, the Houston High cross-country team is just 13-members strong, and the school has never had a Nordic ski program, though “that’s kind of a dream,” coach Rice said.

But Big Lake Elementary has a little volunteer program and 25 sets of Nordic skis now, so the tides could be turning.

“We’ve got a tremendous need for some close cross-country ski trails and that’s what I’m hoping this trail system will (do), ignite some excitement in the community with getting out and doing something else besides snowmachining,” coach Rice said.

Houston’s middle school coach, Collison, expressed a similar sentiment, and pointed out that sports like skiing and running have other benefits besides physical fitness.

“It’s a really neat concept for the students to learn about endurance and perseverance and challenging themselves,” coach Collison said. “I had a few runners earlier this year who wanted to quit but learned really good life lessons on finishing what you start, keeping a nice pace and not being the first to finish but being able to finish something you put your mind to.”

Houston High’s current star runner, senior Andrew Spencer has also taken advantage of the sport and the trail project from a different angle.

Not a cross-country athlete from the beginning, Spencer used to play basketball but gravitated toward running last year.

“I kind of like running and my dad actually did cross-country too, so I thought I might do well at it,” Spencer said.

Not only is he Houston’s top runner now, but Spencer took on the responsibility of mapping the new trails with a GPS and marking trees to be cut down for his Eagle Scout project this summer. It “sounded like a really good one,” he said, so with coach Rice’s help, the preliminary work for the trails was completed, and Spencer received his award.

For additional information about the races or to register online, visit thehoustonhalf.com.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.