Valley runner crowned Hatcher Pass Marathon champ

WILLOW — Despite rain, the parade of Hatcher Pass Marathon runners crossing the finish line Saturday were all wearing smiles.

David Johnston of Wasilla won the second annual marathon through Hatcher Pass on Willow Fishhook Road on the men's side with a time of 3 hours, 19 minutes and 59 seconds. Shawn McTaggart of Anchorage set a new course record for women at 4:01:49.

Twenty-five men and women from ages 19-66 ran the full marathon. Sam Crow of Bethel finished second in 3:41:26 and 19-year-old Dare Hedum finished in third running a time of 3:44:55.

Nearly 100 participants total ran in the marathon put on by the Willow Race Series. Many chose to split into relay teams. Hatcher Pass Roadkill runners Jim and Amber McDonough and Greer Gehler finished in 3:29:17 to win the relay. Tonic Triumvirate finished second at 3:31:57 and Nancy Lake State Park Relay finished third running a combined time of 3:36:10.

“It's really a mix of runners we get in the relays. It's a lot of fun,” said race organizer Andrea Hambach. “A lot of teams are families or husband and wife. We had some high school teams last year. It's interesting to see who comes together to run a relay.”

The race saw similarly spectacular numbers and performances in it's second year.

“To be honest, I expected her to break the record. She's real quick,” said Andrea Hambach of McTaggart. McTaggart is a two-time finisher of the Iditarod Trail Invitational. Johnston, an Alaskan runner extraordinaire, did not beat his 2011 time, but Hambach was still impressed with his performance.

“He ran a 3:13 at the Mayor's Marathon, but it was real hot. This course is much tougher, so I think he improved from race to race,” Hambach said.

The course starts on the Willow side of Hatcher Pass and comes all the way to the summit, finishing near the Independence Mine. Temperatures at the finish were a chilly 43 degrees and raining, but everyone enjoyed perfect conditions and beautiful scenery for most of the race, according to Hambach, throughout the 26-mile race.

“The first finishers didn't see rain. But for the voluteers and spectators when it started to come down, it was pretty nasty,” said Hambach.

The race aims to showcase the beautiful Hatcher Pass. The relatively small number of runners along with plenty of aid stations make it very runner-friendly. Because of the small number, also, each runner gets plenty of encouragement from the volunteers and spectators around the course.

The race is put on by and supports the Willow running club, which puts in much of the volunteer work around the marathon.

“We have revived the Willow Running Club this year. We've got an outstanding group of not just people from Willow, but the lower part of the Valley as well. They played a very big role. A lot of them were volunteers,” said Hambach.

The race drew a similar number as the first time it was run in 2011. Hambach says she expects it to get bigger, due to the beautiful scenery of Hatcher Pass and the large number of positive feedback from spectators and runners alike.

Contact Tim Rockey at tim.rockey@frontiersman.com or 352-2252. Follow @trockeynews on Twitter.