Anchorage’s Rhodes defends women’s Mount Marathon crown

[mouakter13]

With Seward stuffed with people for 97th running of the Mount Marathon Race on Friday, Anchorage’s Klaire Rhodes, 27, got a little unexpected alone time.

Rhodes defended her title in the race up and down the 3,022-foot race point on the mountain by building an unexpected and comfortable lead on the uphill, then running a controlled downhill.

Her time of 50 minutes, 31 seconds, is the seventh fastest in race history. It’s also only a second off the famous 50:30 of Nancy Pease, which set the course record in 1990 and stood all the way until 2015.

Rhodes, who last year became one of four to go under c level contact list 50 minutes in the race, was expecting a stiff challenge on the uphill from Kendall Kramer and Rosie Fordham, a pair of 23-year-olds fresh off decorated endurance careers for the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Last year, Kramer led Rhodes at the top by running the third fastest uphill time since 2006. Rhodes then won on the downhill.

Kramer also defeated Rhodes this year in the uphill only Robert Spurr Memorial Hill Climb at Bird Ridge on June 15.

“I expected it to play out similar to last year, with Kendall and maybe Rosie being right with each other,” Rhodes said. “I expected to work together all the way to the top and then get a gap on the downhill.

“I was surprised to find myself alone for a lot of it.”

Rhodes was first to the top in 36:59, 32 seconds off her time from last year as the sun got out from behind the clouds during the climb and set temperatures into the low 60s. Kramer didn’t summit until 38:34, though, giving Rhodes control of the race.