Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Susitna 100 mile Run, Wasilla, Alaska

On February 16-18 I ran the Susitna 100 in Wasilla Alaska. This race is run primarily on frozen swamps, lakes and rivers. With this in mind, you would think the sled would glide and it would be a very fast race. Just prior to the race over a foot of snow fell. The snow continued to fall through Saturday and Saturday night which escalated into a whiteout blizzard! The snow was so deep, there were very few areas where I was thinking "wow, this is almost effortless gliding across the ice." To add insult to injury, the snow covered and froze on my sled making it feel like I was pulling a cement truck! Anyway, the snow finally stopped on Sunday afternoon and the scenery began to reveal itself. The mountains and endless horizon that had been hidden by the snow gave me a renewed sense of energy and hope. The ice fishermen, bush houses, small planes and snow machines reminded me of the culture of living in the bush and this weather was just business as usual. The course is mostly flat with occasional sections of hills. It was a relief to hit the final checkpoint with plenty of time to finish the last 15 hours in under the cutoff. After just having run Arrowhead 9 days earlier, this was probably the most taxing race yet. I still loved it! Alaska rocks! 3 races down and one to go!!!!!

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