On partnered with Jonah Steinberg to tell a story about Mount Marathon. An incredible race that help influence my stoke for mountain running. A short video cannot show everything, but the main point I want to express is that the Alaska endurance and running community is incredible. I am grateful to have grown up in such an amazing place!
Crewing for JJ
I got back to Steamboat last week after racing the Alyeska Cirque Series race and quickly had another race on the radar. This weekend was for Jessica and my job was to be her race crew along side her parents.
She raced the Leadville 100 mtb. It seemed like a pretty fun event and got me kind of excited about the longer races out there.
For crewing I went to the first feeding station which was at mile 28 & 74. The parents went to the station at mile 44 & 59. I was fully prepped for a quick pit stop. I’ve been closely watching the F1 season and know the importance of the pit-stop. I flagged Jess down and she blew by me :) That’s one way for a quick stop. The camel denied her first feed. 70 miles to go…
I had about 3 hours until I’d see Jessica again so I ran up to the Divide trail and hammered out some intervals. I got back to the feed station and this time Jess loaded up- she took a fresh camel back full of caffeinated Tail Wind, ate a bunch of Oreos, gobbled down some salt sticks, and allowed me to shove two gels into her kit. She crushed and raced with a smile each time I saw her.
Day after the race I planned to do a 3-4hr run on the divide trail and as one would expect Jessica joined me for 1.5hrs of the run despite being tired and stiff from her 8 hr race :)
On the drive back home we stopped at Copper Mountain and jumped on our bikes to ride that section of the divide trail. The trail was so fun and the view were so awesome that the ride accidentally went over two hours. Whoops! Explains why the fatigue from the race hit Jess so hard Monday and Tuesday.
Run recap
After a mellow spring and early summer July has been a bit of the opposite. July 1 marked the start of the Cirque series and the beginning of my summer running racing schedule.
July 1 I raced the Snowbird Cirque Series events placing 2nd. Later that evening I got on the red eye from Salt Lake to Anchorage so that I could compete at Mount Marathon in Seward.
Mount Marathon, which is always in July 4th, was extra muddy and messy this year. Despite the rain there was an awesome crowd cheering all of us up and down the mountain. I felt really good climbing and am happy to have my fourth win at this event.
The winners trophy made it down to the bars and got the traditional free fills! The AK mountain running community is an awesome crew. Super tight group who are all supportive of each others efforts and goals. It's a cool fam to be a part of!
July 6 I got back to Steamboat and had a quick turnaround to Leadville to 'support' Jessica in racing the Silver Rush 50 miler bike race. I say 'support' cause she told me to just go for a run while raced. So I watch her start and finish and while she raced I went and ran Mt. Elbert, which is the tallest peak in CO.
After Leadville I had the week in Steamboat coaching before leaving for SLC for another Cirque Series race. This time Brighton was the race location. This course was the most technical course I've done outside of Alaska. It was fun see a new ridge and battle with a mix of familiar and new faces in Utah. I got the win and my race recap would best be described by going in and out of moments of feeling great then feeling terrible. Some races are like that and working through those rough patches is good practice.
Now I have about two weeks at home before returning to Alaska to compete at the Alyeska Cirque event. Plans for the next two weeks include some night rides, getting onto some snow to ski, and lots of swims in the river.
Picture credits!
1: @fearnowka 2: Todd List 5: @stephanie.marwil
World Champs 2023!!
After the Birkie I took one chiller of a day in the Midwest before flying to Slovenia on Monday. The travel was surprisingly well and when I arrived in Slovenia around 8am on Tuesday I went directly to the race venue. It was nice to be forced to walk around learn the layout to the venue. I also got to watch our US girls crush it in the 10km Skate and see our first World Champion in that event dominate in person. So impressive!!
I got a few easy days in before racing the 50km classic. The jet lag didn’t seem to bother me this trip and I felt pretty recovered from the Birkie by Friday.
The race kind of had a steady grinder of a pace from the gun. It was the ideal set up for me as my prep this season has me feeling fit but probably lacking the ability for several big pace changes or surges. I ended up 22nd, which I'm happy with, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t believe I could have done much better with a few aspects of the race falling in my favor- untimely broken pole being one aspect. But I cannot complain as I’m truly just so stoked to be back over here with my buddies skiing every day!
Before I return to Steamboat I have one more race. The big one on the World Cup circuit— the 50km skate at Holmenklllen. So stoked. This is my favorite race and a race I have yet to knock out of the park. Each time I do it I walk away with a lot of lessons- i’ll be reviewing my old training logs (I doubt I really wrote any notes other than ‘boxed’ or ‘gotta improve my climbing’). Saturday will deff test what fitness I have!!
view from the hotel last night :)
Birkie- cheese curds
So I got to Wisconsin and bought some cheese curds to help with my Birkie prep. The curds were honestly pretty sub par. I later found out they were from Minnesota, which likely explains the lack of squeak.
Photo cred: Rooted Studios
The Birkie, as always, was an incredible week. Staying with our Wisconsin host family, it was a nice reunion of friends this year. Super fun to spend a couple days with a few former teammates I hadn’t seen in close to a year.
As usual I felt great when race day came. I’ve always felt pretty good at the Birkie I contribute that to the good vibes that lead into the event. I’m very grateful for the family that hosts me and makes it a great trip each year.
In the race I committed to myself (and Jessica) that I would push a hard pace early. I broke away from the pack around the 3km mark and lead from that point on. I felt really relaxed and comfortable with the pace. I knew I ran the risk of being caught and using up matches, but I played my best card on the day and it worked out well!
The crowd and the amazing cheering at this race is super incredible. But possibly the most special part of the race was skiing along side Jessica as she pushed the pace of the women’s pack. She finished second, which is so impressive after a summer of full-time work and studying for her exams. She’s a tough one :)