Rough race

POINT MACKENZIE — Few if any belt buckles have ever been more difficult to come by than the 30 handed out Monday evening to the finishers of this year’s Susitna 100.

“This year was brutal,” race official Rita Wade said Monday morning, just hours after the final finisher in the 100-mile race crossed the finish line at the Point MacKenzie General Store.

Of the 77 individuals who signed up for the annual race across the Susitna Valley, nine bowed out before the race even started, and 38 ended up scratching along the trail. Just 30 remained to claim the prized belt buckles given to race finishers at the post-race banquet Monday evening.

Racers said Sunday that wind and the fresh, blowing snow that accompanied it made for extremely slow going, especially for competitors who chose to try and ride their bicycles over the “mashed potato” snow.

“It was mostly pushing, not riding,” bicycle rider Jeff “Swami” Swanstrum of Anchorage said after returning to Point MacKenzie after pulling out of the race Sunday.

Swanstrum said he and riding partner Tony Berberich decided to scratch after taking more than 17 hours to complete less than half the course.

“It wasn’t a good year for bikes,” Swanstrum said.

Skiers fared a bit better.

Anchorage’s Chet Fehrmann was the first competitor to make the round-trip course from Point MacKenzie, across the Susitna River then out to Flathorn Lake and back. Fehrmann finished the course in a time of 20 hours even, finishing up at 5 a.m. Sunday morning. By comparison, last year’s fastest skier finished the race in 14 hours, 15 minutes.

The top bicyclist in the race this year was Anchorage’s Pete Basinger, who defended his title from last year by making the run in 1 day, 1 hour and 30 minutes. Basinger did the course in just 10 hours, 41 minutes in 2007.

Other top finishers included Fairbanks’ Rorik Peterson in the men’s foot race division, Anchorage’s Laura McDonough in the women’s foot division and Anchorage’s Sharon Sell in the women’s ski race. Neither of the two women’s bicycle entrants managed to reach the finish.

After spending more than 32 hours on the trail, Peterson said he was happy to make it back in one piece.

“I’ve been wanting to be home for about 18 hours now,” Peterson said shortly after 5 p.m. shortly after crossing the finish line.

Walking and jogging the course was made extremely difficult by the heavy snow conditions and high winds, which Peterson said seemed to be blowing in his face the entire time.

“You just had to hunker down, put your head into it and hope your hat doesn’t fly off,” he said.

After this year’s ordeal, Peterson said he may need a bit of convincing to return for next year’s event.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” he said. “These conditions may have scarred me.”

Of the 30 racers who did complete the 100-mile course, many said they weren’t really sure what kept them plugging along mile after mile.

“I don’t know why most of the die hards kept at it,” bicycle rider Billy Koitzsch said at the finish line.

Though exhausted after spending more than a day pushing and riding his bike — ”It was more pushing than riding through to Eaglesong (33 miles into the race),” — Peterson said he figured the weather was just part of what makes the race so appealing.

“You’ve entered a race you know you may have to push the entire 100 miles, so you’re already in that frame of mind,” he said.

Going without sleep is hard, although Koitzsch noted he may have had a leg up on his fellow competitors in that department.

“I’ve got a new baby, so I don’t sleep much anyway,” he said.

Racers in the shorted 50-kilometer “Little Su 50K” didn’t fare much better with the weather. Though only having to complete a course just a third as long as the 100-miler, only 41 of the original 100-person field completed the race to claim their ceremonial coffee mug. Thirty-five racers never bothered to start the race, while 24 more had to scratch before finishing.

Anchorage skier Brion Beerle was the first racer to complete the course, returning to Point MacKenzie in just less than five hours. Jennifer Campbell of Anchorage won the women’s ski division, Wasilla’s David Johnston was first in the men’s foot race, Wasilla’s Gail Taylor won the women’s foot division, Anchorage’s Ben Ball was the first men’s bicyclist and Anchorage’s Kimberly Riggs won the women’s bike division.

Last year, bikers had the upper hand, with cool, sunny conditions making for a hard-packed and fast trail. This time around, however, most racers said those on skis were definitely having an easier time of it.

“Skiers deserved a year,” biker Billy Koitzsch said. “But they got hurt also. It wasn’t an easy year.”

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

Susitna 100

Saturday-Monday

Point MacKenzie General Store

Men’s Bike

1. Pete Basinger, 1 day, 1 hour, 30 minutes; 2. (tie) Greg Matyas and Tom Peichel, 1:04:56; 4. Billy Koitzsch, 1:07:33; 5. Josiah Freeman, 1:10:35; 6. (tie) Jacques Boutet, Timothy Kelly and Joe Pollock, 1:13:35

Women’s foot

1. Laura McDonough, 1:10:10; 2. Christina Cannard, 1:15:59; 3. Janet Casal, 1:20:05; 4. Sarah Lowell, 1:20:15; 5. Shawn Lawson, 1:22:49

Men’s foot

1. Rorik Peterson, 1:08:21; 2. Jamshid Khajavi, 1:14:36; 3. Ed Bennett, 1:15:59; 4. Matthew Montavon, 1:20:59; 5. Bob Haugh, 1:21:30

Women’s ski

1. Sharon Sell, 1:08:33; 2. Gina Taylor, 1:08:50; 3. Jodie Banks, 1:10:08

Men’s ski

1. Chet Fehrmann, 20 hours; 2. Christopher Wrobel, 1:04:14; 3. Jim Jager, 1:05:22; 4. Frank Cahill, 1:05:36; 5. Kevin Dobelbower, 1:06:14; 6. Jim Lokken, 1:06:51; 7. Mark Titzel, 1:08:51; 8. Mark Selland, 1:08:53; 9. Thomas Coolidge and Tom Hunt, 1:09:03; 11. Mike Biergrohlslein, 1:09:54

Little Su 50-kilometer

Saturday

Women’s bike

1. Kimberly Riggs, 8 hours, 2 minutes, 0 seconds; 2. Danisa Rudolph, 9:01:17; 3. Jeanette Lee, 10:09:45; 4. Carole Holley, 10:09:47

Men’s bike

1. Ben Ball, 5:38:57; 2. Brij Pontis, 5:48:25; 3. Jon Douglas, 6:13:34; 4. David Hart, 6:19:49; 5. Tony Allen, 8:14:41; 6. Jeff Kellard, 9:01:17; 7. Michel Villon, 10:19:00; 8. Rob Hatfield, 10:47:00; 9. Bjarne Holm, 10:56:00

Women’s foot

1. Gail Taylor, 7:06:41; 2. Karen Williams, 7:59:32; 3. Beryl Anderson, 9:21:50; 4. Shannon Rochelle, 9:23:53

Men’s foot

1. David Johnston, 5:50:42; 2. Daniel Salvador, 6:25:33; 3. Brian Uher-Koch, 6:55:36; 4. Jake Torrey, 8:36:41; 5. Jordan Jenckes, 8:37:37; 6. Eric Meier, 9:15:48; 7. Thomas Brown, 9:23:57; 8. Clint Baker, 9:24:37; 9. Jim Hadlock, 9:26:51; 10. Tyler Maxwell, 9:44:00; 11. (tie) David Elliot and Michael Vallquette, 9:47:00

Women’s ski

1. Jennifer Campbell, 6:04:30; 2. Ann Farris, 6:22:55; 3. Aurora Agee, 7:12:47; 4. Karen Hurtd, 8:39:05; 5. Mary Janis, 8:59:34; 6. Jennifer Kluever, 8:59:49

Men’s ski

1. Brion Beerle, 4:59:12; 2. Todd Kasteler, 5:12:17; 3. Aaron Ramirez, 6:29:31; 4. Dwight Iverson, 7:52:35; 5. James Hurd, 8:39:05; 6. Scott Kluever, 8:59:50