Competitors from all over Alaska and the Lower48 were in Kodiak last week for the first annual mountain stage race. More than a hundred runners tackled three of the island’s main peaks over the course of three days.
Saturday afternoon, June 21, near the Pyramid mountain trailhead, a hundred racers rushed through an inflatable arch for the final day of the three-day race. Many of the competitors have never raced this trail before, which features 2,138 feet of elevation gain in less than five miles.
But others, like Marina Cummiskey, grew up hiking this mountain.
“I feel like my strong suit, potentially, as a Kodiak kid is pushing it up," she said. "I am not as good at flailing down the mountain with no fear like some of these runners have. I’m so impressed by how fast they fly down.”
Cummiskey, who was visiting her hometown from Vancouver, Canada, was one of 120 runners participating in the first ever Kodiak Mountain Series from June 19 – June 21. According to Michael Bach, one of the race directors alongside Nick Kesling and Chad Pysher, nearly 70% of the runners were from off-island. 16 of those came from the Lower48, from states like New Mexico, Oklahoma and California, while a vast majority came from the Anchorage bowl or elsewhere on the road system in Alaska.
Bach said last year he and his fellow directors were out running on the local trails as they often do, and they discussed a desire to share Kodiak’s landscape with others.
“Going out, going on the trails, and thinking how do we share this? How do we expose the treasure that we have here in Kodiak in a way that helps supports the trails and the sustainability of those trails," Bach explained. "And so a couple of us have done big mountain races, done stage races elsewhere and thought, ‘what a great opportunity to bring that here.’”
The result was a uniquely Kodiak event, supported by numerous volunteers and local organizations, that reportedly is the first mountain stage race of its kind in Alaska. There were no age categories; anyone 14 years-old and up could participate either as an individual or as part of a team of three runners.
Registration opened for the race back in January and within the first few hours the cap of 100 participants was met. When taking into account the local Kodiak High School students who volunteered with Island Trails Network to earn qualifying spots for the race, and those who were only doing one of the three mountains as part of a team, the total number of runners was 120.
Each day, Thursday through Saturday, yellow school buses transported all the runners from the Kodiak High School to the trailhead and would pick them up at the end of their race. Porta-potties were trucked in for the competitors along with a mobile banya provided by one of Kodiak Mountain Series’ many sponsors, Kodiak Banya Co., and even post-race massages were available to the runners, all for free.
Local runner and physical therapist, Levi Fried said recovery between mountains was very important during this race.
“Recovery is great in any race you’re doing obviously, that’s all part of it. But it’s really unique to be doing back to back to back mountain stage races. So you’ll have track guys that are running multiple races in like a day or two. Those are all short races, flat. And so this is taking so much more out of you like physically on your body; mentally it’s grueling to try to get up for a race like this every day,” Fried said.
Dr. John Everett with Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center was on hand as well during the race to provide medical care if needed according to Bach. Other than one bloody knee and some scrapes or bruises, it seems that the racers didn’t require his services during the event.
Over the three-day mountain stage race, runners traversed roughly 19 miles of alpine, rock and shale, with occasional tundra; totaling 7,500 feet of elevation.
The first day, on Heitman mountain, was 60-plus degrees and sunny, but during the second day of the race, on the top of Sharatin mountain, racers reported foggy conditions, poor visibility and snow on the trail. Sabrina Farmer, one of the “Alpine babes” who has a wedding coming up in the next few weeks, took a tumble on Sharatin and lost her wedding ring. Luckily she was able to retrieve her ring Saturday evening with the help of some Kodiak residents and their metal detector.
Going into the final mountain on Saturday, Pyramid, many of the racers were feeling the effects.
“We’ll see how Pyramid goes. Two days of racing before this is…You know we’re all human at the end of the day. There’s a nervous system inside of me too," Achilles Theisen said.
That isn’t his legal name but it’s what Theisen calls his athlete persona and sponsored brand name. As a self-coached runner, he does these sort of races as often as he can and gets sponsors to financially support him. Theisen said he’s been training for these types of races since he was a young man growing up in Kenai.
“Well at this point, I’m 28, unemployed and trying to do athletics. So I’ve dedicated my life to training, for the better part of a decade," Theisen explained. "So of course I show up to any race and the goal is to win. And at this point [on day three] the goal is to try to be as dominant as possible."
Dominant would certainly describe Theisen’s time in Kodiak. He was the first runner to finish each of the three mountain stages and the fastest one overall, finishing with a total time of 3 hours and 15 minutes for all three mountains combined. On Saturday, he was the only one to complete the roughly 5-mile Pyramid loop in less than 50 minutes. Full results can be found online at https://www.kodiakmountainseries.com/.
Not all the competitors were in it for the win or the prizes though. Some, like Kodiak resident Daniel Mendez, told KMXT that they just wanted to do all three mountains.
“Main goal was to finish it and second goal is to have a lot of fun," Mendez said.
KMXT: How are you feeling? We’re on day 3, do you feel like you’re going to accomplish those goals?
Mendez: I think so. I’m pretty sore, but I think I’m going to be able to finish it, yes.”
Mendez finished the Pyramid loop in an hour and a half, and he’s already planning to do the mountain stage race again next year.
And with the overwhelming interest in this inaugural Kodiak Mountain Series, Bach, the race director said it’s likely they will continue to hold future races like this one.
“Three days is a lot for a lot of people," Bach said. "It’s a ton to ask of our volunteers, it’s a ton to ask of our community. I’m a big ultra runner, like I like very long distances. I would love to see something later in the summer be from some remote location to town.”
Once the prizes are paid out to the winners and the fees are all calculated, Bach said the organization will donate the remaining proceeds to Island Trails Network.
