Lars Arneson
As a display of his versatility, Lars Arneson has won obstacle races, mountain running races, trail running races and winter triathlons among other events.
On March 26, he added a ski win to his resume, prevailing at the Arctic Valley Rally ski mountaineering race.
Arneson, of Anchorage, won the long course competition (3,500 feet of vertical gain) in 1 hour, 15 minutes and 29 seconds. The route featured three ascents — two using climbing skins and one via hiking — and three descents on lightweight racing gear.
Caroline Brisbois was the fastest woman in 1:43:46.
The short course (2,000 feet of vertical gain) winners were Michael Moerlein for the men (53:01), Carol Stratton (56:17) for the women and Gunnar Polk for racers age 15 and Under (1:00:19).
Arctic Valley Rally. Photo by Adrian Barniak
A total of 104 racers finished, many of them wearing elaborate costumes.
Full results here.
Eight days earlier, Arneson also won the opener of the 2023 Alaska Mountain Running Grand Prix, the Crazy Lazy in Palmer.
On a windy day with variable snow conditions, Arneson raced a loop up and down Lazy Mountain in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 33 seconds. Galen Hecht, who held a narrow lead over Arneson after the climb, was runner-up in 1:05:27 while Taylor Turney placed third in 1:05:51.
Meg Inokuma, 43, of Palmer, handily won the women’s race in 1:14:10, nearly four minutes ahead of Christy Marvin (1:18:02).
Results for all 235 finishers here.
The next race in the 8-event Grand Prix is Kal’s Knoya Ridge Run on May 25. The next major trail race is the Turnagain Arm Trail Run on May 11.
View the Alaska Mountain Runners mountain and trail running calendar here.
Crazy Lazy in 2022 below summit. Photo by Christy Youngblood