Thought some of you might be interested in the crazy thing I did in Anchorage on Sunday (7/23/06). The 6K Arctic Valley Trail run.   www.aeff.uaa.alaska.edu/volz/trailrun/  I can hardly claim to have done much running.  With a 1500'elevation change on a 6K loop, it was probably the hardest physical thing I've ever done in my life. And none of these little up's and down's. It was one long up with a short time along the top of the ridge followed by one long down.

The initial uphill took me 38 minutes (probably less than a mile and a half) and it was by far the steepest hill I've have ever tried to climb.  I was seriously afraid that if I slipped I would slide all the way down to the start. So I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and actually passed a lot of people.  No skill involved here, just determination fueled by terror of not making it to the top.  At least five times I thought I was at the top only to see that it was just a little dip in the trail followed by an even steeper section. When I expressed dismay at this the guy next to me said "Yeah, there's always a lot of false summits." It was very disheartening to look up and see the line of people far above almost disappearing into the clouds. At one point I did slip and had a hell of a time getting going again. As I was slipping I said out loud that I've never seen a trail this steep.  The woman behind me said "I've never done a flat race." If it wasn't for the footprints of those ahead of me that I used like a ladder I doubt if I could have made it.

Finally to the top but there was no rest here. This was probably half a mile along the ridge with a few spots that I actually felt safe running. But most of it was on a path just barely wide enough to walk on with an extremely steep drop off on the right.  Knowing my ability to fall on the widest, smoothest, most level path I took it VERY slowly.  

Then by far the most difficult, scariest, most ego-deflating section; the downhill.  Seeming even steeper than the uphill, it was all I could do to turn my feet sideways for traction and inch my way down, step by cautious step.  That was bad enough but the whole time I had to keep moving off the trail to make room for people flying past me at a full tilt run.  I have no idea how in the hell they were doing it. I did make it down with only one minor mishap.  On a wider part of the trail I got too confident, slipped, and did a not so graceful shoulder roll, coming close to twisting my ankle.  None of the other runners were in sight at the time but my performance was right in front of an obviously insane family hiking UP the path I was inching down.  The woman was carrying a one year old in a front pouch thing, a little boy was trooping along behind and the man was carrying what looked like a large three year old in a back carrier!  I wasn't hurt at all but I surely was embarrassed!

Finally I got to the finish and was able to put on a good show of running through the chute.  But the great thing is, in this crowd of locals, I was amazed to find that I wasn't last!   www.aeff.uaa.alaska.edu/volz/trailrun/results.html  . Everyone (except for the one man and one woman behind me) cheered and congratulated me and I felt like I had finished a marathon.  On Monday, my thighs (a new pain spot for me) were so sore I could hardly walk but I felt like I had really earned that T-shirt!

I've attached pictures of the ridge we climbed and the view from part of the trail (taken after the race).  But the pictures do not give you any sense of how steep that sucker was.

Jarrett