Mountain runners to hit Government Peak

May 20, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Runners interested in hitting the slopes still have time to enter the first big mountain running race of the season.

&#8220I'll be taking registrations up until 10 a.m. race day,” said Mark Strabel, race director for the first-annual Government Peak run, which is scheduled for June 2.

The race will be the first in the Alaska Mountain Runners' Grand Prix, a series of mountain races that also includes the Robert Spurr Hill Climb (Bird Ridge), Mount Marathon, the Crow Pass Crossing, the Matanuska Peak Challenge and the Alyeska Classic.

Tackling Government Peak, located near Hatcher Pass just outside of Palmer, is no easy task. Strabel said the course up the 4,781-foot mountain isn't for the faint of heart.

&#8220It's just uphill,” he said.

Adding to the difficulty, he said is that there isn't much of a trail, and at last report there was still a fair amount of snow at the top.

&#8220I've been up it about once a week since the middle of March, and it's actually got more snow on it now that in March,” he said.

Strabel said he's hopeful that warm temperatures predicted for this week will help to thaw the peak and allow for a full race. If there's too much snow, he said the course may have to be shortened.

Strabel, whose parents live at the foot of the mountain, said he's been dreaming of holding a race on the mountain.

&#8220It's been two years in the making,” he said.

Strabel likened the Government Peak course to the Bird Ridge course, and said there's a good mix of climbing and hiking.

&#8220It's got everything from mountain running to stand-up straight and reach out and touch the ground,” he said.

The entire trek up the mountain covers approximately 3,000 vertical feet in roughly two and a half miles.

Strabel said much of the trail is above the treeline, so racers won't have too much brush to worry about.

&#8220It's pretty open,” he said.

Strabel said he's expecting between 200 and 250 participants in the race, which doubles as a fund raiser for the Colony High skiing and cross country teams. In addition to the open race, there's also a youth race for children 12 years old and under. The course for the younger athletes is only about half as long.

Cost for adults is $20 to register online and $15 for children 12 years old and younger. Getting signed up early pays off, Strabel said, as entrants who sign up after May 25 will see their entry fees rise by $10.

Entrants can also register the day of the race at the starting line, which is located at Mountain Streams Bed and Breakfast.

Registration is available at the Alaska Mountain Runners Web site at www.alaskamountainrunners.org.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com