Valley greats upset by international runners

SEWARD — While most Americans were celebrating Independence Day this July 4, a few international runners were celebrating, too.

Professional Swedish runner Emelie Forsberg and Spanish mountain running extraordinaire Killian Jornet Burgada, Forsberg’s significant other, now own the all-time Mount Marathon Race records. Forsberg’s finish time of 47 minutes, 47 seconds crushed the 1990 record of 50:30, set by Nancy Pease, who continues to run mountain races around Alaska. Similarly, Jornet trumped three-time champion Eric Strabel’s 2013 record of 42:55 with a time of 41:47.

Recent Kenai Central High School graduate Allie Ostrander also came out with a bang for her adult race debut, beating Pease’s record by two seconds for second place this year.

Christy Marvin, of Palmer, came in third, down from her 2013 win and her 2014 runner-up finish to U.S. Olympic skier Holly Brooks, who did not race this year.

“I knew they were gonna be stronger than me on the climb, so I just kinda, to some extent, had to run my own race,” Marvin said, of Ostrander and Forsberg. “Normally the downhill is my strength but I didn’t have a great one today.”

One of Marvin’s feet was struck with plantar fasciitis during a marathon Outside earlier this year, putting a damper on her first couple months of training, but she wouldn’t use that as an excuse. Marvin said she probably couldn’t have beaten Forsberg or Ostrander “even on my best day.”

“While I may not have had the race that I had hoped for, those girls are out of my league. That’s incredible,” she said. “For someone to go and beat a Nancy Pease record by 2 minutes is like, wow, that’s, obviously (Forsberg’s) a professional runner and that’s what she does.”

Meanwhile, Marvin is busy raising three boys, one of whom finished fifth in the junior race in the seven to 11 age group.

But Marvin’s not bitter about the increase in competition — far from it.

“It is really exciting for women’s mountain running just to see that kind of talent come and, you know, join our race. I got beat today but I’m just really excited about what the ladies were able to accomplish this year,” she said.

“That’s how records go down, is with that kind of competition,” Marvin added.

Najeeby Quinn, of Anchorage, and Denali Foldager-Strabel, of Seward, rounded out the top 5 for the women.

On the men’s side, Strabel — who wed Foldager a week before the race — also wasn’t too broken up about his defeat, shaking hands with his fellow competitors and smiling for interviews.

“We’re really happy each one of us are here,” Strabel said. “Each one of can make ourselves better.”

And he didn’t let the new or returning competition psyche him out on the mountain, either.

“Speculating is for the spectators,” Strabel said. “I’m not gonna spend any energy on trying to predict what’s gonna happen … so I’m just concentrating on what I can do (during the race).”

As for the weather, he said, “it could’ve been a lot worse.”

“I am not complaining,” Strabel said. “I did the best that I could.”

As did the rest of the frontrunners. Returning Colorado racer Rickey Gates — who was fourth last year and second the year before that — was the runner-up this year in 42:56, almost 4 minutes faster than his 2014 race. (Last year, temperatures were much higher than in 2015 or 2013 — in 2013, Gates ran a 43:04 in weather comparable to this year.) Anchorage runner Jim Shine, who won the Knoya Ridge Run, Government Peak Climb and Bird Ridge races this year — all part of the Alaska Mountain Runner’s Grand Prix series — took third in 43:11. Fifth place went to British Columbia athlete Nick Elson.

The up-and-coming

Further down in the top 10 of the men’s and women’s races, two more Valley athletes put their mark on the mountain.

On the women’s side, 2010 Colony High School graduate and Mount Marathon Race veteran Heidi Doner moved up in the ranks from last year, shaving almost 8 minutes off her 2014 time. The personal record jumped her from 22nd to eighth place this year, with a time of 59:46.

Doner said her training strategy completely changed this season, but kind of on accident.

“I stopped running and I started lifting and I just kept hiking,” she said. “I didn’t even run (Mount Marathon) this year before today, which was really just because I was busy.”

On the men’s side, 2010 Palmer High School graduate Wylie Mangelsdorf took 10th this year, after a sixth-place finish in 2014 and a third-place finish in 2013. His time of 45:46 was almost 2 minutes faster than last year, but slower than his first-year personal record of 44:09.

But he spent the last few months settling into his new home in Colorado, and just flew into Alaska last Wednesday. He also tested out a self-made and self-executed training plan this year, rather than running with a team at his now-alma mater, Principia College.

“It was different,” Mangelsdorf said. “(I had) a lot of things that came up that I had to put before training … so, you know, I was just out here to have fun.”

Colony graduates Lyon Kopsack (2014) and Allan Spangler (2005) and Palmer’s Ben Marvin also made the men’s top 15.

Luke Jager, of Anchorage, and Riana Boonstra, of Ninilchik, won the boys’ and girls’ junior races, respectively. Palmer’s Alyson Kopsack finished 10th.

Contact Caitlin Skvorc at 352-2266 or caitlin.skvorc@frontiersman.com.

2015 Mount Marathon Race Results

July 3, Seward

Girls’ results (half mountain)

Top 10

1. Riana Boonstra, 32 minutes, 38 seconds; 2. Molly Gellert, 34:00; 3. Ruby Lindquist, 34:12; 4. Hannah Booher, 34:54; 5. Annie Connelly, 36:00; 6. Briahna Gerlach, 36:30; 7. Clare Cook, 36:33; 8. Hannah Brown, 36:41; 9. Heidi Booher, 36:55; 10. Alyson Kopsack, 37:42.

Other Valley Finishers

29. Ruby Woodings, 44:55; 31. Brooklyn Kopsack, 45:10; 34. Rya Berrigan, 45:43; 37. Josi Zugg, 46:09; 46. Aila Berrigan, 47:48; 74. Sarah Uschmann, 53:51; 75. Brittyn Werner, 53:51; 76. Tiana Lee, 54:34; 80. Colleen Haan, 56:12; 92. Mystery Showalter, 1:02:47; 99. Emma Uschmann, 1:08:28.

Boys’ Results

Valley finishers

28. Bodhidharma Gross, 34:00; 31. Ali Papillon, 34:20; 42. Roman Gross, 36:04; 56. Joseph Kincaid, 39:11; 66. Jaxson Lee, 41:28; 69. Coby Marvin, 42:20; 70. Ian Millard, 42:35; 78. Dylan Duffield, 45:36; 80. London Lee, 45:56; 92. Jared Hawkins, 47:57; 104. Cameron Padgett, 55:25; 111. Jordan Hawkins, Palmer 1:22:53.

Women’s Results

Top 25

1. Emelie Forsberg, 47:48 2. Allison Ostrander, 50:28; 3. Christy Marvin, 52:59; 4. Najeeby Quinn, 55:34; 5. Denali Foldager-Strabel, 56:17; 6. Aubrey Smith, 57:08; 7. Rachel Dow, 59:44; 8. Heidi Doner, 59:46; 9. Lydia Blanchet, 1:00:20; 10. Wendy Sailors, 1:00:26; 11. Hallidie Wilt, 1:00:50; 12. Sarah Glaser, 1:00:54; 13. Gyongyver Schilling, 1:01:03; 14. Christie Haupert, 1:01:45; 15. Sheryl Loan, 1:02:01; 16. Angela DiBerardino, 1:02:08; 17. Anna Widman, 1:02:28; 18. Karol Fink, 1:02:58; 19. Kinsey Loan, 1:03:02; 20. Kelsey Coolidge, 1:03:11; 21. Alisa Kincaid, 1:03:20; 22. Lauren Fritz, 1:03:28; 23. Tsaina Mahlen, 1:03:31; 24. Mira Hopkins, 1:03:41; 25. Isabel Barnwell, 1:03:47.

Other Valley finishers

30. Abby Jahn, 1:05:32; 32. Leslie Varys, 1:06:24; 58. Justine Reese, 1:10:52; 62. Jocelyn Kopsack, 1:11:35; 87. Stacey Kolstad, 1:15:24; 89. Cheryl Ess, 1:15:29; 105. Renee Millard, 1:17:32; 109. Dani Buckley, 1:18:25; 118. Kellyn Brothis, 1:19:17; 137. Emily Veenstra, 1:21:52; 146. Danielle Weber, 1:22:56; 152. Rebekah Diotte, 1:24:22; 159. Tracie Haan, 1:24:59; 160. Billie Jo Kopsack, 1:25:19; 196. Amber Sheffield, 1:30:30; 231. Eliza Zugg, 1:39:43; 235. Tracy Corneliussen, 1:41:20; 252. Jasper Wallace, 1:45:49; 253. Susan Skvorc, 1:45:52; 280. Kelly Mann, 2:08:18.

Men’s Results

Top 25

1. Kilian Jornet Burgada, 41:48; 2. Rickey Gates, 42:56; 3. Jim Shine, 43:11; 4. Eric Strabel, 43:26; 5. Nick Elson, 43:46; 6. Matt Shryock, 44:44; 7. Adam Jensen, 45:21; 8. Erik Johnson, 45:23; 9. Matias Saari, 45:40; 10. Wylie Mangelsdorf, 45:46; 11. Kenneth Brewer, 46:13; 12. Lyon Kopsack, 46:29; 13. Ben Marvin, 46:38; 14. Matt Novakovich, 47:16; 15. Allan Spangler, 47:16; 16. Miles Knotek, 48:51; 17. Tor Christopherson, 49:01; 18. William Ross, 49:08 19. Peter Mamrol, 49:22; 20. Patrick Conway, 49:22; 21. Ben Ward, 50:01; 22. Brent Knight, 50:02; 23. AJ Schirack, 50:50; 24. Donald Taylor, 50:53 25. Shawn Erchinger, 51:03.

Other Valley finishers

34. Darin Markwardt, 53:27; 56. Nicholas Whitmore, 57:00; 61. Lance Kopsack, 57:55; 66. Lane Reed, 58:18; 69. Aaron Dickson, 58:36; 91. Ryan Maxwell, 1:01:57; 94. Jeremy Weber, 1:02:32; 105. Scott Gage, 1:03:47; 106. Brandon King, 1:03:48; 124. Dallas Seavey, 1:06:24; 132. Turner Rodgers, Houston 1:07:36; 142. Nicholas Brunger, 1:08:40; 148. Braun Kopsack, 1:08:48; 152. Caleb Wolfe, 1:09:01; 155. David Knapp, 1:09:36; 166. James Murray, 1:10:54; 180. Davis Dunlap, 1:12:22; 190. John Williams, 1:13:47; 191. Anthony Marchini, Palmer 1:13:48; 213. Dylan Gumminger, 1:17:06; 214. Bryce Rodgers, Houston 1:17:08; 217. James Rodgers, Houston 1:17:50; 224. Kevin Peterson, 1:19:12; 251. Dane Green, 1:22:59; 257. Joseph Hawkins, 1:24:31; 305. Chester Showalter III, 1:54:29.