Klaire Rhodes
Alaskans showed up at Lake Sonoma, the Boston Marathon, and the Skyrunning North & Central American Championships primed to race against premier competition.
The Lake Sonoma half marathon was led start-to-finish by former Anchorage resident, Klaire Rhodes. The 24-year-old, who currently resides in Reno, Nevada pursuing graduate school, left nothing up to chance, opening up a 44-second lead over Moose Pass’ Ruby Lindquist after 1.5 miles.
The undulating 13.1-mile course played into Rhodes’ and Lindquist’s strengths as trail runners, accumulating over 2,300 feet of elevation gain throughout the route. Rhodes continued to widen the gap, increasing her margin en route to the finish, prevailing in 1 hour, 46 minutes and 27 seconds.
Lindquist out-dueled Colorado’s Brittany Charboneau, a 2:33 marathoner and runner-up at the 2020 U.S. Trail Nationals, edging the 35-year-old by three seconds to finish in 1:55:00.
Lindquist, who now represents North Face as a part of their athlete development program, adds another top-10 performance to her resume after finishing seventh at the FOURmidable 50K in February.
In the men’s 50-mile race, Wasilla’s Tracen Knopp had an impressive showing, moving up twelve places throughout the race that featured nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain to finish fourth.
Tracen Knopp
Knopp, formerly of Colony High and the UAA Ski Team, ran strategically, passing competitors every few miles. By the halfway point, he found himself in seventh but continued to make a push for the podium.
Knopp, the youngest of the top-four finishers, stopped the clock at 7:05:47. Despite his herculean efforts, the 24-year-old finished just one place shy of being named to the U.S. Team for the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.
“Great experience and confidence builder knowing that I can run with the best of them,” said Knopp. “Had less than an ideal build going into it … but all was well on race day.”
Colorado’s Drew Holman won the race in 6:44:20.
Further south, another former Colony High runner vied with top athletes, this time at the Skyrunning North & Central American Championships in San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rica.
Josh Taylor, who represented Team U.S. last summer at the Youth Skyrunning Championships in Andorra, made his second international appearance, racing at high altitude.
Josh Taylor
The steep course, which was held around 7,800 feet, included an additional 4,000 feet of elevation gain throughout the 20-kilometer course. The route included fixed ropes, twisted roots, and momentary fog, challenging the runners in humid conditions.
The 22-year-old put up a valiant effort as the only American in the field, finishing tenth in 2:26:08.
Mexico’s Miguel Ángel Pérez took top honors in 1:51:09.
At the 127th running of the Boston Marathon, more than 35 athletes with Alaska connections completed the 26.2-mile race.
Leading the contingent was Anchorage’s James Miller, who finished in 2:49:30 to place 1,699th out of 30,000 runners. Miller ran nearly identical halves, recording splits of 1:24:40 and 1:24:50.
Just 32 seconds later, former UAA standout and All-American Marko Cheseto achieved his third Boston victory among T62 athletes — a category for athletes who are also double amputees and run with prostheses.
Marko Cheseto
Cheseto, who represents Nike, finished in 2:50:02. He currently holds the world records for double amputee athletes in both the marathon and half marathon, after losing his legs below the knee due to frostbite in 2011.
Mariah Burroughs, a four-time NCAA qualifier for UAA, led the Alaskan women in 3:15:52 to place 1,244th.
Kenya’s Evans Chebet defended his title in 2:05:54, while compatriot Hellen Obiri secured her first marathon victory in 2:21:38.
Other Alaskans at Boston:
Adam Vanderen, Ketchikan, 3:02:50; Brian Glaspell, Chugiak, 3:10:11; Collin Atkinson, Seward, 3:12:22; Patrick Lewis, Seward, 3:18:49; Kayleigh Eddy, Petersburg, 3:20:03; Torrey Short, Homer, 3:21:43; Amanda Cherok, Homer, 3:22:32; Colleen Richards, Anchorage, 3:22:58; Arianna Johnson, Fairbanks, 3:24:24; Riley Burroughs, 3:25:51; Ilana Schnaufer, Anchorage, 3:27:00; Shannon Perrins, Anchorage, 3:27:02; Lindy Henrick, Anchorage, 3:28:09; Amy Reed, Anchorage, 3:30:41; Ashlee Weller, Anchorage, 3:34:25; Lucy Galloway, Eagle River, 3:36:06; Amanda Day, Eagle River, 3:37:01; Suzanne Sauerteig, Juneau, 3:38:59; Christina Thom, Anchorage, 3:44:10; Gregory Finstad, Fairbanks, 3:48:39; Marketa Ith, Petersburg, 3:51:03; Richard Boone, Fairbanks, 3:54:26; Andy Holland, Fairbanks, 4:01:37; Adelaide Johnson, Juneau, 4:05:14; Samantha Simpson, Anchorage, 4:06:00; Michelle Fabry, Anchorage, 4:06:01; Arthus Hussey, Fairbanks, 4:07:55; Mark Holman, Anchorage, 4:09:25; Jackie Minge, Anchorage, 4:14:26; Edward Wickham, Anchorage, 4:16:52; Thomas Thompson, Petersburg, 4:27:07; Buffy Kuiper, Fairbanks, 4:28:27; Jerry Jenkins, Anchorage, 4:28:41; Lael Oldmixon, Fairbanks, 5:32:47.