Coby Marvin
Coby Marvin’s dream of breaking Bill Spencer’s 50-year-old junior boys record on Mount Marathon did not become reality Tuesday morning in Seward – rain and wind conspired for difficult conditions – but he seized a sweet consolation prize: Repeat victory.
Marvin, 16, of Palmer, clocked 26 minutes, 39 seconds, for the march halfway up the 3,022-foot peak overlooking Resurrection Bay and the high-speed descent to top runner-up, and race rookie, Vebjorn Flagstad by 90 seconds.
On the girls side, the top two finishers from 2022 experienced role reversal – Tania Boonstra, 15, of Kenai, beat defending champion Rose Conway of Anchorage a year after Conway beat Boonstra.
Marvin’s time of 25:27 last year was the second-fastest junior time in history and the closest threat to the legendary time Spencer, who went on to win the men’s senior race a record eight times, delivered in 1973. Marvin’s prospects of removing Spencer from the record book looked possible last month when he won the Government Peak race near Palmer and became the first teenager to win an Alaska Mountain Runners Grand Prix event since that circuit was established in 2000.
Tania Boonstra
Marvin, like Flagstad and Boonstra, comes from Mount Marathon royalty. Coby Marvin’s mother is Christy, a two-time women’s champion who entering Tuesday had never finished worse than third in nine senior races. Coby’s dad, Ben, is a six-time top-10 finisher on the men’s side. Vebjorn Flagstad’s father is Trond, a two-time men’s champion. And Tania Boonstra is the daughter of four-time men’s champion Todd Boonstra. Tania’s mom, Kelli Jo, is a former women’s runner-up and a three-time top-3 finisher.
Marvin built a seemingly insurmountable lead of nearly two minutes on the climb Tuesday, rounding the pole halfway up the mountain in 17:05 to Flagstad’s 18:54.
Blake Hanley, 16, of Anchorage, finished third among boys in 28:43, moving up one place from 2022. Raven Spangler, 14, of Palmer, improved three places from last year to earn fourth in 28:58. Spangler’s downhill time of 9:03 was the fastest in the field. Blaze Rubeo, 13, of Palmer, moved up four spots from a year ago to take fifth in 30:29.
Tania Boonstra last year led Conway by 66 seconds on the ascent, but Conway passed her on the downhill to win by 22 seconds. Tuesday, Boonstra didn’t leave anything to chance – she trounced the field, beating Conway by 2:22 and third-place finisher Wren Spangler of Palmer by 3:51. Spangler is one to watch in future races – she’s just 11.
Olive Jordan, 13, of Seward, moving up one spot from a year ago to grab fourth place in 38:22. Hannah Bodkin of Eagle River finished fifth in 38:29.