Eventhough I'm not racing this year somehow I have a ton of Mount Marathon obligations... I don't mean this in a bad way but I suppose it just goes to show how much this race permeates Alaskan culture and illustrates how hard it is to get away!
The past couple of weeks I've been telling people that I won't be at the race because "it's hard to watch a race you really want to be a part of" but over the last couple of days I've changed my mind - I can't stay away. This year's running is going to be too exciting to miss, even if I have to stand on the side of the mountain as a spectator/cheerleader extraordinaire.
The "out of town guests" team Salomon left to right Emelie Forsberg, Kilian Jornet, me & Ricky Gates
What's all this hype you might ask? Well, first there was the premiere of the 3022 movie, the documentary that followed last year's race. The premiere was two back to back shows at the Beartooth, complete with athlete panel and embarrassing ice breaker games & schwag. The movie (compliments to Max Romey and Natalie Fedak) was given 4 stars by the local paper and consequently, three more sold out shows were added. And.... then three more, towards the end of the month.... ! (Wow!) If you want to check out the website do so HERE but I'll warn you, it's not available online due to future film festival plans :)
With Jeebs at the Premiere
3022 got more stars than Avengers: Age of Ultron or Cinderella?!?!?!
While I cringed at the close ups of my bad bangs (sorry but bad hair is relevant and embarressing) Max and Natalie did a fantastic job explaining the lore of the mountain and told the story of the racers. Also, for a race that is extremely hard to spectate, the cinematography was awesome and you really get a feel for all 3022 feet of the course.
Monday night's Q&A compliments of Salomon and Skinny Raven
3022 on Alaska Public Radio:
Max in the studio....
The latest KTVA story on Eric Strabel and Denali Foldager - not Strabel (!) "Love Story"
The wedding cake - complete with a piece of Mt. Marathon on top - whatever happened to the bride and groom?
Today's ADN article about the lottery process to get into Mt. Marathon:
ADN preview of the women's race:
Watch for our segment on KTVA's show, Frontier showing Sunday morning and replaying Sunday evening....
Me and Clint (and let it be known that I'm a proud graduation of the "McCool School!")
By now you probably get the point. One could literally waste hours upon hours reading all this stuff, making predictions about the race, etc, etc. There are certainly worse ways to spend time :) There is a reason Mt. Marathon is the "Olympics or Super Bowl of Alaska." I just love the fact that a mountain running race, of all things in the biggest sporting event in AK aside from the Iditarod!
True to my theme of "branching out" Rob and I are taking off on a 2-day packraft trip early tomorrow morning. The river, Clear Creek, has been on our to-do list for at least five years and tomorrow we're doing it! It's literally been years since I've been in my boat so I hope I remember how to do it! Rob got me a new skirt for my birthday this past April so I'm excited to put that to use. (Spray skirt that is!)
On Saturday I hope to be all over that mountain cheering at the top of my lungs, finding another use for Olympic clothing (hello patriotic red, white and blue) and handing out water. It's going to be a different year but I look forward to watching others put it all on the line.
In other brief non-Mount Marathon news we celebrated our official "cabin warming" in Hope on Solstice. This project has been "Rob's Olympics" the past five years and he did an amazing job! We still live in an 800 square foot shack in Anchorage but Hope sure turned out nice!
Solstice crowns & bunny ears!
The backside of the "Hope Hamptons" compliments of Matt Waliszek's camera....
Cheers to an exciting, SAFE race for everyone who has the honor of taking the 3022 challenge. And to the rest of you, Happy Fourth of July, however you may choose to celebrate it.
Sincerely,
Holly
