Sunshine, scenery and ski-conditioned legs dominate Turnagain Arm Trail Run

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 7

Eight-mile racer Allan Spangler bounds down the trail brushing aside branches. Runners competed in four and eight-mile divisions in the Turnagain Arm Trail Race. Both divisions ended at the Rainbow Creek Trailhead. (Marc Lester / Alaska Dispatch News)

When race leader Taylor Ostrander stumbled with a mile or two left in Thursday night's 8-mile Turnagain Arm Trail Run, Najeeby Quinn was right there to help.

And then she wasn't.

"She tripped in front of me and I kinda did a pick-up, and then I hit the hills," Quinn said.

And then the battle for first place in the women's race was over.

Using leg strength built over the winter, Quinn reaffirmed her superiority in the race that marks the beginning of Southcentral Alaska's mountain running season.

Quinn, 37, won for the eighth time and shaved 10 seconds off the course record she set in 2011 on the southern route of the Turnagain Arm trail, which goes from the Potter trailhead to the Rainbow trailhead.

Scott Patterson, 25, claimed his first victory on the trail that parallels Turnagain Arm and the Seward Highway. He finished in 51 minutes, 18 seconds to beat a pair of runners fresh off the Boston Marathon – Allan Spangler (52:14) and Chad Trammell (52:35).

Quinn clocked 1:02:51 to win by a healthy margin and reclaim the title in one of her favorite events. She placed second last year, her first defeat in nine race appearances.

"I'm stoked," she said. "I over-raced for where I am in my fitness."

Quinn, who said she doubted if she could win and doubted if she could post a fast time, got a bit emotional when she heard her time as she crossed the finish line.

"I teared up," she said. "This is awesome. I seriously thought I'd be really slow tonight."

Runners were treated to a mostly dry trail, sunshine, a bit of a breeze and stunning views of Turnagain Arm.

Turnagain Arm is more of a trail race than a mountain run, but the field of about 200 runners – about 150 in the 8-mile race and another 50 in the 4-mile race, which went from McHugh Creek to Rainbow – was primarily a mountain-running crowd.

So it was perhaps no surprise that the winners spent the winter skiing, building strong legs that helped them make decisive moves on uphill terrain Thursday.

Quinn's leg strength came from months of ski mountaineering, which entails climbing up a mountain and then skiing right back down it.

Patterson's came from months of elite-level cross-country skiing, a season he capped in early April by winning the national championship in the 50-kilometer race.

Patterson was dueling for the lead with Trammell and fourth-place Matt Shryock when the three reached the halfway point at McHugh Creek. The trail's biggest climb comes right after that, and Patterson took full advantage.

"I know I'm fit right now," he said, "so I tried to charge up and make them run up that hill."

The others tried to follow, but couldn't.

"He gapped all of us," said Trammell, the defending champion who last year set a course record on the northern Rainbow to Potter route. "We all tried to up our pace, but it was to no avail."

Said Spangler, who at the time was right behind the lead pack: "When he made that move, there was nothing I could do."

While Patterson was coming off a long ski-racing season, Trammell and Spangler were both coming off the Boston Marathon.

Trammell said his legs are still recovering from both that race and an eight-hour obstacle race he did prior to Boston. Spangler said he has recovered well but hadn't done a hard workout since the marathon.

That may be because he's busy with other things. On Saturday he's getting married, and next week he and bride-to-be Nina Schwinghammer are moving to Juneau.

Youth prevailed in the 4-mile race.

In the women's division, 14-year-old Tatum Witter (40:12) beat 12-year-old Sadie Benter (46:36).

In the men's division, 50-year-old Brad Benter won in 33:47 and was followed by 16-year-old Bodhi Gross (36:33), 12-year-old Ali Papillon (36:34) and Roman Gross (37:47). Bodhi and Papillon are brothers and Roman is their cousin, and all three are home-schooled.

None challenged the record book, leaving Quinn as the night's star.

Quinn gave credit to 22-year-old Ostrander for pushing her. Quinn said the two ran together for the first four miles at a pace Quinn described as "super slow."

Quinn said she feared she was holding back Ostrander, a college cross-country runner, and she she was glad to see Ostrander pull away on a flat portion of the trail.

"I thought, 'you're young – you're like 10 – just go,' '' Quinn said.

Quinn made up ground on the hills until she finally caught up with Ostrander with a mile or two left. That's when Ostrander tripped and Quinn lent a helping hand before zooming past her.

She said she didn't think twice about assisting someone she was hoping to beat. It's a solidarity thing.

"You always help the girls up. The guys you step on," Quinn said. "We peel each up off the ground, and we hold each other's hair when we puke."

8-mile run (top 10)

Men — 1) Scott Patterson, 51:18; 2) Allan Spangler, 52:14; 3) Chad Trammell, 52:35; 4) Matthew Shryock, 53:29; 5) Matias Saari, 54:18; 6) Kenneth Brewer, 54:53; 7) Cody Priest, 55:45; 8) Paul Kovacs, 57:54; 9) Mark Iverson, 58:57; 10) Jay Mullen, 61:42.

Women — 1) Najeeby Quinn, 62:51; 2) Taylor Ostrander, 64:29; 3) Lauren Fritz, 66:22; 4) Shannon Earl, 67:07; 5) Mandy Vincent Lang, 67:12; 6) April McAnly, 71:15; 7) Kira Leonard, 73:08; 8) Mariah Graham, 73:22; 9) Kelly Donnelly, 73:25; 10) Kristina Eaton, 73:40.

4-mile run (top 10)

Men — 1) Brad Benter, 33:47; 2) Bodhi Gross, 36:33; 3) Ali Papillon, 36:34; 4) Roman Gross, 37:47; 5) Mark Carr, 40:19; 6) Christopher Gerace, 44:15; 7) Jonah Gage, 46:33; 8) Logan Cuddy, 48:02; 9) Nathan Rehberg, 48:21; 10) Josie Garton, 49:06.

Women — 1) Tatum Witter, 40:12; 2) Sadie Benter, 46:36; 3) Julia Kunzler, 48:42; 4) Kalen Ramey, 49:19; 5) Colette Zidek, 49:36; 6) Charlotte Edmondson, 50:57; 7) Georgia Kubic, 51:29; 8) Olive Heatwole, 51:31; 9) Karin McGillivray, 53:46; 10) Dallas Baldwin, 54:44.