Alaska: Resurrection Pass 100 Miler 2008

I have some friends who claim that August 8th, 2008 is going to be a very lucky day, so if you have been looking for an ultramarathon to run, consider the Resurrection Pass 100-Miler which starts in Hope, Alaska on 8/8/08. Anyway, the course consists of 24 miles of gravel road and 76 miles of trail. It's out and back, so that's really 12 miles road + 38 miles of trail + 38 miles of the same trail + 12 miles of gravel road. It might make a difference in your planning, but then again, it might not. Some very important race details: 1) Make sure the race is still on. I'd hate to have your support crew all lined and waiting for you on the trail and have you find out there was no race, but then again, if you're up for running 50 to 100 miles, you might be the kind of person who would enjoy doing this anyway, race or no race. Meet at 2 pm at the Hope School. Here's your first glimmer of hope. According to the race information that I have, it is a 100 miler. But most years, there's a 50 miler which attracts the majority of runners. I even tried to get my cousin, Mary the Marathoner, to come up from Minnesota to run it. You know Mary, she'll run anything. She's run marathons in all 50 states but we couldn't work out the logistics.

The trail from mile 12 to mile 31.25 is rated easy in summer, but that is taking into account a one way trip time of 2-4 days. The trail from mile 31.25 to mile 50 is also rated easy, with a similar trip length.

I have never hiked this trail but I checked with Skip. He agrees with the description that the trail (not the gravel road part) is easy. It's pretty much flat and heads south through the valley, up to the pass. The most southern part, down to Cooper Landing, is the part with switchbacks that might be the hardest, especially if you have to then turn around and run back up the mountain. But again, he took several days to hike the route.

The race time is 3 pm and there is no entry fee. Let me know if you need an e-mail contact. There are aid stations at mile 12 (transition between gravel road and trail), mile 50 & 88.

Last year, there six people in the 100 miler, with race times ranging from 20:33 to 25:57, and there was also a 50 miler, with 19 entrants, and times ranging from 6:10 to 12:40.

Wildlife on the trail that you need to be concerned about includes bears--both black and brown--and moose. You may see caribou. The white dots up on the hillside could be Dall sheep or mountain goats. Bird populations include eagles, ravens, ptarmigan, and grouse. There is also the occasional peninsula wolf or coyote.

Support crew: There are Forest Service cabins on the north part of the trail at Caribou Creek, Fox Creek, and East Creek and on the south part of the trail Trout Lake, Romig, Juneau Lake, Swan Lake--check to see how close these are to where your runner will be--but the occupancy is by permit only--you can make reservations up to 180 days in advance by calling 1-877-444-6777 (518-885-3639 overseas) or via internet at http://www.recreation.gov/ .

Your support crew could also stay in Cooper Landing which has lodging from campsites to RV sites to B & Bs and hotels. Cooper Landing is a major Kenai Peninsula center for rafting the Kenai River. And if you like to fish, Cooper Landing is a great place to be. If you or your support crew decide to stay in Hope, I do have a hub about Hope, Alaska.

Have a good run and let me know how it goes!

This just in--Geoff Roes came up from Juneau and ran the 100 mile race this weekend in some 17 hours. Yep. He broke the record. Congratulations! It sounds like you were pretty self reliant and had some good support too.