Ulimate test or torture?

July 24, 2007

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Gary Howell will never forget his first attempt at the grueling Crow Pass Crossing endurance race.

Somewhere between bouts of cramping, vomiting, extreme fatigue and even some mild hallucinations, Howell managed to find the energy and motivation to finish the course - 24 miles of torturous terrain that stretches from Girdwood to Eagle River.

But not only did Howell complete the mountain marathon, he finished among the top athletes in the race.

Howell placed seventh at the 3 hour and 34 minute mark, well ahead of his personal goal of four hours.

Monday, as he reflected on the trails and tribulations of the race he'd competed in just two days before, Howell - the varsity cross country running coach at Wasilla High School - said he was greeted with an overwhelming feeling of absolute elation as he crossed the finish line at the Eagle River Nature Center.

&#8220I almost cried, I was so happy,” Howell said. &#8220Tears of joy.”

Howell said he never could have imagined the feeling of finishing the most difficult running event he has ever dreamed of attempting.

&#8220I've won some 5-K's, done some other things that would be considered significant, but finishing seventh in the Crow Pass - that far exceeds anything I've done,” Howell said.

The only thing that even comes close, he said, is watching his Warrior running squad win the Northern Lights Conference championship last year.

&#8220That's a little bit different though,” Howell said.

Howell has coached area runners, frequents local running events and ran competitively on the prep level, but the Crow Pass Crossing marks the first time Howell has ran outside the boundaries of the average 5 or 10-K event.

&#8220I'd always toyed with the idea, being able to run a marathon,” Howell said. &#8220I thought if I do one, it might as well be the ultimate one.”

So with the help of friend and fellow runner Mark Strabel - the head coach of the Colony High School cross country team - Howell spent the summer preparing to traverse the terrain that features unpredictable rocky trail and a peak elevation of 3,888 feet.

In early June, Howell, Strabel and a group of young runners completed a trial run of the trail, just to see what the course was like. And since this was his first stab at Cross Pass, or any marathon for that matter, Howell had to apply to be included in the field.

Considering the difficulty of the race, race rules state each athlete must complete another marathon in less than four hours in the year prior to the event. There is also a time limit of six hours to complete the Crow Pass Crossing, and all competitors must carry a certain amount of gear - a full set of long underwear and rain gear, and a water bottle.

Strabel also wrote a letter of recommendation on behalf of Howell.

Howell said someone had to assure the organizers that he is not just a Rambo wanna-be, and physically capable of completing the race.

During the average summer, Howell said, he'll routinely run about 30 or 40 miles a week. But that's just preparing for a season of training young runners on his cross country team. This year, he doubled that mileage, averaging from 70 to 80 miles a week. And much of that mileage was logged at either Hatcher Pass or Crevasse Moraine.

Howell said having a particular event in mind certainly helped him during his training.

&#8220It's neat to have a goal, be able to work toward something,” Howell said.

Plus, the mountain running experience Strabel shard with him was invaluable, he said.

&#8220There's no way I could have done this without Mark,” Howell said.

But as any extreme endeavor, Howell needed to experience Crow Pass to really know what the event was all about.

&#8220I don't even know how to phrase it. It's so unbelievably punishing,” Howell said. &#8220All the other running I've ever done the lungs burn, the legs burn but it's over so quickly by comparison. You never reach that full level of depletion.”

But on Saturday, Howell put his body to a stress he'd never conceived possible.

&#8220With all the training runs I've done, I'd never even been close to pushing my body like that,” Howell said.

Matters were complicated when he ran out of water during the race.

Prior to the start, Howell had mapped out spots on the course where friends and family would swap water bottles with him, to ensure he always had plenty of liquid.

Howell said he drank the last of his water during the fourth mile. His brother was to meet him on the summit with fresh water, but the two never met. When he got to the summit, and his brother was not there, he continued through.

But at about mile 12, Howell said, he thought he had no choice. So Howell filled his bottle with river water.

&#8220I risked the beaver fever over definite dehydration,” he said. &#8220My calves started to cramp, and I thought I was in trouble.

&#8220It was way hot, so I dipped into one of the rivers.”

Howell joked he'll find out in the next 24 hours if the water has any long term effects on him.

While he's not sure if he'll have any future problems from drinking the river water, Howell was feeling the effects of putting liquid on a deprived system.

&#8220My body just rejected it,” Howell said. &#8220I started vomiting.”

Howell said it took about 10 minutes to settle down and cease the sick feeling.

If vomiting was not enough, Howell said he also had some minor hallucinations late in the race. He thought he saw his mother along the course.

&#8220But that's not possible,” Howell said with a laugh. &#8220She's in Reno.”

There were moments where he was dizzy, and others where he thought his legs were just going to quit.

But Howell continued on, at a much faster pace than he ever imagined.

Howell broke his watch during the second mile, and for the most part, had little idea where in the field he was at. At the summit, Howell said he was in about 40th place. But at one point much later in the race, a group of spectators yelled to him he was in seventh.

&#8220I didn't remember passing that many people,” Howell said.

The territory following the summit certainly fit his strengths, Howell said.

At one point, Howell said he was in fifth place, But at about the 22nd mile, he felt like he completely bombed. It was there, he was passed by two other participants.

Howell said he pretty much ran alone throughout the race.

&#8220I was in a unique situation,” Howell said. &#8220I was kind of in between people by like two minutes.”

Howell said it's too early say whether he'll try to top his seventh-place finish sometime in the future.

&#8220I don't know. It's only two days after,” Howell joked. &#8220Give me a month.”

Howell was one of several Valley athletes to post notable finishes in the event.

Allan Spangler, a former Colony High School cross country and track and field athlete, finished ninth. Wasilla's David Johnston, an athlete who has completed the Boston Marathon in each of the last years, finished 38th.

Strabel finished 33rd.

Among the other local finishers were Palmer's Lance Kopsack (17th) and Braun Kopsack (31st).

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Crow Pass Crossing

Eagle River, Saturday

Women

1. Steer, Rachel 3:58:48.1; 2. Taylor, Gail 4:00:17.2; 3. Lewanski, Greta 4:04:51.2; 4. Tibbetts, Monica 4:06:21.8; 5. Brady, Paige L. 4:09:53.0; 6. Latosuo, Eeva 4:11:25.3; 7. Kincaid, Alisa 4:17:07.3; 8. Fink, Karol 4:27:38.1; 9. Drinen, Suzanne 4:28:07.2; 10. Sauer, Jane 4:34:30.2; 11. McDonough, Laura 4:36:06.3; 12. Johnston, Gina 4:40:16.5; 13. Kuklok, Meaghan 4:44:24.9; 14. Hjelm, Heidi 4:44:54.6; 15. Fisk, Robin 4:45:54.8; 16. Raney, Melanee 4:50:18.3; 17. Brown, Ellyn 4:53:58.8; 18. Gauthier, Kyle 4:59:40.2; 19. Neustel, Raye Ann 5:02:03.9; 20. Pekar, Misty 5:15:09.8; 21. Jackson, Megan 5:15:30.4; 22. Huntley, Lucy 5:15:32.7; 23. Van Hemert, Ashley 5:15:33.0; 24. Hildreth, Lara 5:17:35.5; 25. McDonough, Amber 5:22:15.2; 26. Crow, Cindy 5:30:21.9; 27. Ozturgut, Jana 5:30:29.9; 28. Robinson, Kim 5:35:57.8; 29. Bell, Heather 5:38:49.5; 30. Schwenn, Shelly 5:38:50.0; 31. Gillilan-Gibson, Kelly 5:54:36.4.

Men

1. Roes, Geoff 3:07:49.8; 2. Robinson, Harlow 3:10:38.5; 3. Saari, Matias 3:16:08.1; 4. Kintz, Damien 3:16:45.0; 5. Flagstad, Trond 3:24:42.9; 6. Stinson, Patrick 3:32:48.1; 7. Howell, Gary 3:34:24.5; 8. Reimer, Adam 3:36:10.1; 9. Spangler, Allan 3:36:56.3; 10. Gren, Hugh 3:36:56.6; 11. Jackson, Jonathan 3:37:59.2; 12. Hull, Darren 3:39:05.0; 13. Treinen, Max 3:39:38.7; 14. Bertschi, Isaac 3:40:08.8; 15. Green, Matt 3:42:05.0; 16. Clark, Chris 3:42:23.4; 17. Kopsack, Lance 3:42:44.0; 18. Ward, Ben 3:43:04.7; 19. Seaman, Chris 3:43:08.7; 20. Uffenbeck, Benji 3:43:58.1; 21. Whitney, Robert 3:46:19.7; 22. Brady, Mark E. 3:46:20.1; 23. Humpal, Steve 3:46:45.4; 24. Weddleton, John 3:48:00.0; 25. Treinen, Lex 3:49:43.5; 26. Spiess, Ben 3:50:20.5; 27. Mohler, Micah 3:50:22.4; 28. Potts, Jim 3:51:01.5; 29. Robertson, Chris 3:52:53.1; 30. Robinson, Vin 3:55:42.2; 31. Kopsack, Braun 3:57:21.5; 32. Heatwole, Mike 3:57:50.8; 33. Strabel, Mark 3:58:25.7; 34. Garber-Slaght, Chris 4:01:26.4; 35. Pfeiffer, Dave 4:03:42.3; 36. Niva, Josh 4:05:36.8; 37. Pekar, John 4:06:39.1; 38. Johnston, David 4:06:44.3; 39. Ray, Jared 4:07:08.5; 40. Crow, Matt 4:07:44.5; 41. Amstadter, Kyle 4:08:04.0; 42. Pekar, Brian 4:08:11.3; 43. Walther, Jason 4:09:27.4; 44. Forrest, Kimball 4:10:03.9; 45. Conaway, Jeff 4:10:38.2; 46. Burton, Thomas 4:11:02.1; 47. Casurella, Jonathan 4:12:57.8; 48. Thomas, Fred 4:14:57.7; 49. Montague, Michael 4:15:19.9; 50. Bass, Dave 4:21:48.8; 51. Taylor, Kevin 4:22:50.0; 52. Lafranle, Paul 4:25:03.0; 53. Johnson, Marc 4:26:26.5; 54. Cushman, Rob 4:26:41.8; 55. Peltier, Travis 4:29:50.1; 56. Pletnikoff, Paul 4:32:14.4; 57. Neal, Donovan 4:33:04.1; 58. McLeod, Allen 4:33:41.9; 59. Kirby, Matthew 4:35:10.6; 60. Broderick, Brian 4:39:18.8; 61. Sandvik, Trygve 4:40:00.1; 62. Rebischke, David 4:42:45.9; 63. Mitchell, Peter 4:43:16.3; 64. Voorhees, Brent 4:44:40.6; 65. Hveding, Fred 4:47:04.3; 66. Mohler, Eric 4:47:40.8; 67. Dvorak, Joshua 4:48:53.0; 68. Neumann, Jleik 4:54:04.4; 69. Ring, Brian 4:54:37.8; 70. Steinhauser, Evan 4:56:26.9; 71. Ballantine, Tab 4:59:29.0; 72. Melone, Lloyd P. 4:59:38.8; 73. McDonough, Jim 5:00:08.6; 74. Allen L.M., 5:04:22.8; 75. Arnold, Charles 5:11:02.9; 76. Woody, Doyle 5:12:59.8; 77. Barnett, Shad 5:14:31.0; 78. Christie, Aaron 5:16:49.0; 79. Armentrout, Ben 5:24:25.4; 80. Suddock, Matt 5:31:25.4; 81. Anderson, Brian 5:43:44.3; 82. Schnell, Rick 5:44:30.9; 83. Arntson, Edward L. 5:49:40.3; 84. Hildreth, Chris 5:53:02.3; 85. Baker, Clint J. 5:58:17.6.