Winning Mount Marathon was the ‘most special result’ of Klaire Rhodes’ blossoming running career

Anchorage’s Klaire Rhodes was late to the game of competitive sports, having not participated in them as a youth outside of dabbling in swimming and dance at South Anchorage High School.

However, after discovering a love for mountain running while she was pursuing her undergraduate degree in college down in Colorado, she has been a rising star in the sport ever since.

Last weekend marked her fourth straight year finishing in the top five of the women’s division in the annual Mount Marathon race but unlike the previous three times, she was the first woman to cross the finish line with a time of 49:49.

“It was probably the most special result of my running career,” Rhodes said.

[David Norris wins a fifth Mount Marathon, smashing his own record, while Klaire Rhodes claims her first victory]

Some might assume when looking at her mountain and trail running resume and list accolades that her 2022 national title at the USATF Trail Marathon Championships would be the highlight of her career thus far. But Mount Marathon was a gateway to the sport and holds a special place to her as an Alaskan.

“Mount Marathon was really my big introduction into mountain running,” Rhodes said. “It has always kind of had a special place in my heart. I’ve come back every year and have been able to see myself progress each year. It’s always one (race) I try to come back to. It’s a really fun tradition and it did mean a lot.”

Her highest previous placement was fourth, and though she didn’t set a new course record for the women’s race as David Norris did for the men’s, her time marked the fourth-fastest in race history for her division, which was still a “big deal” for her to achieve.

“This one meant a little bit more (than winning a national title) especially because I was able to run a fast time,” Rhodes said. “To win is a big deal but to be able to put yourself in the context of the race’s history almost means more. … It makes me feel like (winning) wasn’t just a fluke. I really was meant to win and run a fast time.”

Community support sparked and continues to stoke competitive fire

Athletics wasn’t a big part of her life growing up and into the early stages of adulthood, but her love for mountain running has now grown into a fiery passion.

“The more I race and the more I train, it’s definitely a big part of who I am and it makes coming to these Alaska races even more special because I’ve just got to know the community so much more,” Rhodes said. “My love for the sport is as strong as ever.”

She doesn’t train with a formal group but does have a coach based in Boulder, Colorado, who develops training programs and encourages her.

The love, support and sense of community she gets back home from the strong Alaska running community is a big part of what inspired her to take up the sport and push herself to great heights.

“I feel the most like myself here and I am looking forward to continuing to train here,” Rhodes said. “It definitely has its challenges, especially in the winter. But I feel like I know all the special tricks to get through and I’ll probably be doing a lot of traveling down to races as well.”

Race highlights and future plans

Rhodes had temporarily relocated to Reno, Nevada, for her master’s program but recently moved back to Anchorage in early June. Prior to competing in Mount Marathon, she competed in a 50K race down in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in late June, so she didn’t have a lot of time to get reacclimated to Alaska racing.

“I did a few weeks of training here but for Mount Marathon specifically, I only went down the Saturday before the race so less than a week prior,” Rhodes said. “I always like to get a preview of the course just to get comfortable and remind myself just how crazy it is.”

The most challenging part of the race wasn’t the climb or descent of the mountain she scaled but rather the mental aspect of being in a close competition with women’s runner-up Kendall Kramer of Fairbanks, who finished with a mark of 51:20.

“I had never raced so close to someone else,” Rhodes said. “We were right together basically the whole climb up and she was right on me, matching me step for step and I was kind of struggling mentally with anticipating how it would go.”

While she was preparing herself mentally for the possibility of getting passed and being content with a second-place finish, she was still determined not to just concede it.

“I try to prepare myself for all the scenarios but also try to stay in and know that in a short race, anything can happen,” Rhodes said.

Going downhill was a lot of fun for her as were all the cheers and high-fives she received from spectators and supporters in the crowd as she came down the final stretch into town.

“You never know how many of those moments you’re going to get in your life so I tried to soak it up the best I could,” Rhodes said.

She is currently finishing up her master’s degree in geography and will be officially graduating in August after the conclusion of her research project.

“My next career steps are uncertain but I definitely plan to keep running at the forefront of my life for sure,” Rhodes said.

Up next for her is a trip overseas to France near the end of August. There, she will participate in a 50K race called the OCC, a final for the UTMB World Series and described as “the ultimate challenge for mid-distance ultra-runners” by the race website.

“It’s a big international-level event that will be very competitive. I’m doing a lot of long runs and spending a lot of time in the mountains preparing for that,” Rhodes said.