Su Valley trails a great community asset

SU VALLEY — First quarter of my senior year is almost done, and I am amazed by how fast the time flies. I am fortunate to have attended Susitna Valley Junior/Senior High School all six years. It is a 2A school, sixth through twelfth grades, with 192 students. Going to a school with so few students gave me the opportunity to shine. I play four varsity sports a year, something rare at a larger school. I have been a class officer for many years, and am now the student body president. I enjoyed all facets of high school, but my real passion has been cross country running. Susitna Valley High has the best trails in the district. Our trail system is extremely beneficial for both students and community members. The Borough provides funding to maintain our trails for cross country running and skiing.

Built in 1986, our trail was laid out to reflect the best of the scenery. The trail follows along the shore of a beautiful lake, up and down hills with glimpses of Denali. It never gets muddy, or deeply rutted and is an easy fast course. In the summer it is framed by a green canopy of leaves. In autumn as the leaves fall, the trail is covered with a beautiful array of yellows and oranges. “I do know that all the schools love to race our trail,” said Su-Valley’s head cross country coach, Lisa Drumm. “It is fast, spectator friendly, and beautiful. The main benefit it is that we don’t have to travel to train for races. We can just run out of our back door.” And run we do. We average four miles a day, five days a week, from July to October. And it is exhilarating. We race 5K every Saturday, and Su-Valley has been known for our great teams.

Our trail is not limited to running; it is a marvelous ski trail. We host district races on our trail for skiing too. “Our location is a little sweet spot,” said Su-Valley’s ski coach, Marne Gunderson. “The best thing is that we have good snow because it stays cold so we can keep skiing all season. Our trails are available to other schools in the Lower Valley.”

Not only students use our trails. Many community members use our trails year round for skiing and running. During our Su-Valley Invitational, we host races from preschool through high school. I’ve been racing here my entire life. It is a great way for promoting a healthy lifestyle for all family members. We are so fortunate to have this facility, I have made great memories here and plan to use this trail system after I graduate.

Bernadette Hartley is a senior at Su Valley High School.