Hoka Teton Test Drive

After 6 months away, this view made me weep with joyAfter 6 months in Anchorage, battling rain and mud on the trails this summer, I’m taking my first vacation from my new job. I’m in Jackson for 10 days of sun and mountains, mostly peak bagging and catching up with friends. It’s also a chance to put my Hoka Stinson EVOs through their paces on more technical terrain.

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Hoka One One Review

Hoka One One Stinson EVOLast year I wrote a piece on running different. In it, I focused on the impact that the barefoot running movement has had on running technique. It’s not like the technique is new or even “lost”. It’s just that the jogging craze of the 70’s popularized heel striking and things went downhill from there.

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Alyeska Climbathon Race Report

Looking down the tram line to the hotel and start.That’s a wrap, folks. My first competitive mountain running season is officially over. I went big at the end, too. As you know, if you read my previous post on the race, the Alyeska Climbathon took place last weekend - up the North Face trail and down the tram as many times in 10 hours. I was dreading it. Mainly because I knew there was going to be unpleasantness at some point during the day. Not the usual anaerobic discomfort but the kind of pain that comes only on long outings. This one didn’t disappoint.

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Climbathon Recon

5 rounds of fun.The big beat down of the year looms less than a week away. The Alyeska Climbathon takes place next Saturday, September 8. Starting at the base of the Alyeska tram, competitors will ascend the 2,000 vertical feet of the North Face hiking trail as many times as possible between 9am and 7pm. The descent will be via the tram which will be running a 10 minute schedule. Last years winner finished 12 laps for a total of over 24,000 vertical feet and about 26 miles of hiking, all uphill. 

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Alyeska Classic Mountain Run

The view from the Alyeska tramThe final race of the Alaska Mountain Runners Grand Prix series happened this past Saturday with the Alyeska Classic Mountain Run. The shortest of all the events on the calendar, it involved 2,100 vertical feet up a 2.2 mile mix of cat roads and short single track sections to the top of the resort's tram. The race also served as a fund raiser for Matt Kenney who suffered a severe traumatic brain injury during a fall at this year's Mount Marathon race. All proceeds from the event go toward his daunting medical bills.

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