Mud, suds draw record Crazy Lazy field

PALMER — After slogging through the mud, ice and snow of Lazy Mountain Saturday, there was only one thing on the minds of runners in the Crazy Lazy Mountain Race.

Beer.

Alexander Eckert earned the prized honor of getting to tap the keg of locally-brewed Arkose Brewery suds after winning the second annual race in a record time of 1 hour, 5 minutes, 6.1 seconds on Saturday.

“This is a hobby and a passion for me,” said the 23-year-old from Oberweissenbrunn, Germany.

Eckert was talking about mountain running, but he could have just as easily have been talking about the beer, which helped create a festive, summertime feel at the end of the late-winter race. As finishers came jogging down the mountain, competitors and spectators shared smiles and beer while enjoying sunny skies that pushed temperatures near the mid 40s.

There was just one small complaint, and that came from the never subtle Najeeby Quinn, who searched the crowd for someone to trade her blonde brew with. See, Quinn is not a light beer kinda gal.

“Tap something stronger next time,” said the 36-year-old Anchorage runner, who won the women’s race in 1:12:35.2 to slash more than 20 minutes off Alisa Kincaid’s 2015 time.

Aside from a lack of more eye-opening grog, Quinn said she enjoyed herself on the trail, a 7-mile loop course that gained more than 3,000 feet in elevation before returning to the start/finish line.

“This is a super fun race,” she said after outdueling Palmer's Christy Marvin.

Quinn, a competitive ski marathon racer, said she used a strong uphill push to build a lead on Marvin, who’s a better downhiller.

“This is her mountain,” Quinn said of her friend and frequent training partner. “I just ground it out today.”

Marvin finished in 1:14:29.4 to claim second place. Annie Liotta was third in 1:23:52.1.

As a sign of the race's rapidly growing prestige, it was included in this year's Alaska Mountain Runners Grand Prix, a series of mountain races used to determine the season's top athletes. The race also carried with it an automatic entry into the Super Bowl of Alaska mountain running, Mount Marathon.

Like Quinn, Eckert’s athletic background is in long distance skiing and running. The University of Alaska Fairbanks athlete said he decided to do the Crazy Lazy this year both because he’s friends with several of the competitors and because of the chance to earn an automatic berth into Mount Marathon.

“I’ve always wanted to do that just for the fun of it,” he said of the July 4 race in Seward.

Eckert broke the record set last year by Palmer’s Ben Marvin by more than a minute.

Racers said conditions were variable, with mud at the bottom, ice in the middle and snow at the top. Chugiak’s Kenny Brewer, who drove Eckert to the race from Fairbanks, said this year’s conditions were easier to race in than last year’s.

“Last year everything was glare ice,” said Brewer, who finished second in 1:06:29.7.

Russell Johanson was third in 1:06:48.9.

Like most competitors, Brewer ran with slip-on spikes over his shoes, but pulled them off once the race got near the bottom.

The bright sun and growing popularity of the spring race drew a record field of 140 competitors. Looking around the music-filled parking lot, Brewer said it’s easy to see why the race is rapidly gaining prestige in mountain running circles.

“It’s so great to have one of these to tune up at the beginning of the season,” he said. “It’s fun to come out here where there’s not really any pressure. It’s a super cool event.”

For complete race results, visit webscorer.com.