I had such a unique and positive experience over the weekend at Alaskaman that I felt compelled to write up a short report on the race and experience.
My fiancé decided to do this race after crewing for a friend last year. Also having just moved to Alaska a few years ago this was now her "backyard" race so that took away a lot fo the travel logistics for us. Just a 3 hour drive on Thursday from Wasilla to Seward was all it took to get to the race site.
Race Day
We started the adventure at Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska (Home of Mount Marathon). Pre race T1 set up was very quiet as we were right next to a campsite. Each athlete could have one support member with them in transition to set up and in both transitions to prep for the switch in disciplines. Setup for a race of this magnitude was rather quick. Drop off bike, set up bike, leave everything else in a bag to stay dry. Transition opened at 2:30 and we arrive around 3:15 and at this point it was already starting to get lighter outside. Yes even though the solstice was a month ago Alaska still has plenty of daylight :).
Swim
Because of the ridiculously early swim start time (4:45) and the fact that the last bus to the swim start left at 3:45 with no supporters or spectators allowed at the swim start I decided to go back to our Airbnb to clean up and check out. I got back to the race site around 5:30am just in time to see the first swimmers nearing the second half of the swim and passing the waterfall area (water was about 45 degrees +/- at this point). Because they cannot set out buoys on the course they recommend to keep and even distance from the shorelines and to keep the 4 boats on your right at all times. This lead to an extremely wide and spread out field. Nevermind that only 150 athletes started, but this was very untraditional of any swim I have seen. The marine layer helped to produce a very unique atmosphere. Fortunately though the water was cold, it was very calm.
T1
Support crew can and is recommended to help their athlete not only get out of the water but assist in the transition to the bike. I was able to find my fiance easily and followed her to the swim exit. Upon getting out of the water is was about drying her off as much as possible while walking and lightly jogging to T1. Once at T1 it was about warming up the body, completely drying, turning on all bike lights (required) loading up food, putting on dry clothes (full body change) and turning on the phone app for tracking (required). In total it took about 10 minutes, but an extra minute too get fully dry saves your race and we took that time on Saturday. Also as each athlete departed they asked for their race number as no chips were used, it was all recorded with people writing down times just like the good old days.
Bike
We were allowed to give support from miles 31-80, anything outside of that was completely illegal for safety and traffic reasons. Course was point to point all along the highway with many pullouts for stops. We planned 3 stops to hand off fluids, calories, and drop layers as it warmed up. First stop at 35 was simple and quick. I passed my fiancé around mile 40 right as she flatted. Per Alaskaman rules I am able to help and give "outside assistance" however I could not just pull off to the side of the road, I had to be in a pullout area. Fortunately one appeared about .25 miles up the road. With a complete tear in the tire we had to do a full wheel change. But once completed she was back up and running. Nothing much else to report from the bike except one final unique portion. Each athlete had to ride out of aero and carry bear spray for the final 24 miles that were on a bike trail (A black bear was spotted at mile 91 on the trail). This was another unique twist to the race. The Alaskaman bike course is absolutely stunning and IMO is worth doing the race alone.
T2
Since T2 was an empty parking lot on race morning it was the duty of the support crew to setup T2 for each athletes arrival. T2 was simple, find a spot lay, down a towel/blanket, spread out all the gear, and wait for the athletes arrival. Found my fiancé and directed her to her area. T2 was simple and quick. However I was in charge after she left to clean up her area and remove her bike immediately from transition. They had one rack for bikes as they never had more than maybe 5 athletes in transition at any one point in time.
Run
First portion fo the run is 17 miles and you are allowed to have support run with you, we elected not to do so. The support crew can never be more than 10 meters apart from you. The run takes you on cement, gravel, trail, and you even get to ride a tram to cross a valley. I was not part of this portion of the race at all so I really cannot comment, but the general impression I got from everyone is that the Nordic Loop trail (10k out and back) was less than pleasant for many, the tram was fun, and the Winter Creek Trail? was fun.
Alyeska Mountain
By far and away one of my favorite experiences ever in this sport. The mountain portion is not a run but rather a hike up and as controlled of a descent down as you can. Whether that is a run, walk, controlled fall, etc. Then you turn around and repeat one final time. Each athlete must do this portion with a support crew and you must go to the mountain check in before resuming your race. Here they check your packs to make sure they contain the following; first aid kit, bear spray, phone, external phone charger, gloves, and a whistle. They DO NOT mess around with this race and environment with good reason, but this is what both athlete and supporter must carry with them. Once past check in you start the ascent to the top of Alyeska. It is nothing short of a steep hike at times on trails wide enough for a pick up truck and narrow enough for only a mountain bike. But it is a good 2-3 mile hike with about 3,000 feet of vert. Just before reaching the top you reach the remnants of the previous winters snow still hanging around. Finish the first climb, summit the peak and descend back down. Right at the tram station was the first and only aid station on the mountain portion. Refuel and stock up for the descent down and ride up and down again. Second time up was on the North Face which was much more narrow trail, plenty of tall grass and shrub with a switchback finish to the top.
We did get to experience a very unique moment on this mountain. At the top of the first climb when we hiked over the snow there were about 8 of us total; 4 athletes, 4 support crew. All from different countries, all in the middle of this stupid long race, and all with the desire to stop racing for a minute and have a snowball fight. It was short, but a lot of fun and another unique characteristic of this race you don't really see anywhere else for obvious reasons.
I only "participated" for 10 miles or just under 4 hours as we hiked up and ran down Alyeska twice for about 5-6,000 feet of elevation gain. That alone was enough to let me know I put in a good days work. I cannot imagine doing the full distance.
This race is a more adventure than it is "race" IMO. It goes back to the true roots of the sport. A bunch of people toeing the line all set out for the same goal...to see if it can be done. Everyone is out on their own conquest but all together to help each other along the way. There were so many characteristics that made this race feel so grassroots; carrying all your athletes gear throughout the race, setting up T2 in the middle of the race in an empty parking lot, check points with race staff in the middle of the run, calling out race numbers to record splits, no SAG, no bike aid stations. etc. This race wasn't as much about finding all the ways to cut down every second, but rather find areas to stop for a few seconds and take in the beauty of this race. The mountain portion was a convoy of people stopping at areas to check out the view, take photos with each other, soak in the area, and just enjoy being out in the wild so to speak.
Though the race was small (150 athletes) I am sure a few others from this years addition are here on ST, so feel free to give any additional feedback. I highly recommend this race to anyone that is looking for a new challenge outside of the standard ironman races, but likes the distance. This race has everything and will challenge you in ways you would never expect. But this is NOT a race for just anyone that has completed an Ironman, it takes a much different training approach and racing approach to complete this race. Congrats to all that raced and finish,
About 300 registered, 150 made it to Alaska to race and 129 finished. Winning male time was 11:30 I believe and just over 14 hours for the females.
My fiancé decided to do this race after crewing for a friend last year. Also having just moved to Alaska a few years ago this was now her "backyard" race so that took away a lot fo the travel logistics for us. Just a 3 hour drive on Thursday from Wasilla to Seward was all it took to get to the race site.
Race Day
We started the adventure at Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska (Home of Mount Marathon). Pre race T1 set up was very quiet as we were right next to a campsite. Each athlete could have one support member with them in transition to set up and in both transitions to prep for the switch in disciplines. Setup for a race of this magnitude was rather quick. Drop off bike, set up bike, leave everything else in a bag to stay dry. Transition opened at 2:30 and we arrive around 3:15 and at this point it was already starting to get lighter outside. Yes even though the solstice was a month ago Alaska still has plenty of daylight :).
Swim
Because of the ridiculously early swim start time (4:45) and the fact that the last bus to the swim start left at 3:45 with no supporters or spectators allowed at the swim start I decided to go back to our Airbnb to clean up and check out. I got back to the race site around 5:30am just in time to see the first swimmers nearing the second half of the swim and passing the waterfall area (water was about 45 degrees +/- at this point). Because they cannot set out buoys on the course they recommend to keep and even distance from the shorelines and to keep the 4 boats on your right at all times. This lead to an extremely wide and spread out field. Nevermind that only 150 athletes started, but this was very untraditional of any swim I have seen. The marine layer helped to produce a very unique atmosphere. Fortunately though the water was cold, it was very calm.
T1
Support crew can and is recommended to help their athlete not only get out of the water but assist in the transition to the bike. I was able to find my fiance easily and followed her to the swim exit. Upon getting out of the water is was about drying her off as much as possible while walking and lightly jogging to T1. Once at T1 it was about warming up the body, completely drying, turning on all bike lights (required) loading up food, putting on dry clothes (full body change) and turning on the phone app for tracking (required). In total it took about 10 minutes, but an extra minute too get fully dry saves your race and we took that time on Saturday. Also as each athlete departed they asked for their race number as no chips were used, it was all recorded with people writing down times just like the good old days.
Bike
We were allowed to give support from miles 31-80, anything outside of that was completely illegal for safety and traffic reasons. Course was point to point all along the highway with many pullouts for stops. We planned 3 stops to hand off fluids, calories, and drop layers as it warmed up. First stop at 35 was simple and quick. I passed my fiancé around mile 40 right as she flatted. Per Alaskaman rules I am able to help and give "outside assistance" however I could not just pull off to the side of the road, I had to be in a pullout area. Fortunately one appeared about .25 miles up the road. With a complete tear in the tire we had to do a full wheel change. But once completed she was back up and running. Nothing much else to report from the bike except one final unique portion. Each athlete had to ride out of aero and carry bear spray for the final 24 miles that were on a bike trail (A black bear was spotted at mile 91 on the trail). This was another unique twist to the race. The Alaskaman bike course is absolutely stunning and IMO is worth doing the race alone.
T2
Since T2 was an empty parking lot on race morning it was the duty of the support crew to setup T2 for each athletes arrival. T2 was simple, find a spot lay, down a towel/blanket, spread out all the gear, and wait for the athletes arrival. Found my fiancé and directed her to her area. T2 was simple and quick. However I was in charge after she left to clean up her area and remove her bike immediately from transition. They had one rack for bikes as they never had more than maybe 5 athletes in transition at any one point in time.
Run
First portion fo the run is 17 miles and you are allowed to have support run with you, we elected not to do so. The support crew can never be more than 10 meters apart from you. The run takes you on cement, gravel, trail, and you even get to ride a tram to cross a valley. I was not part of this portion of the race at all so I really cannot comment, but the general impression I got from everyone is that the Nordic Loop trail (10k out and back) was less than pleasant for many, the tram was fun, and the Winter Creek Trail? was fun.
Alyeska Mountain
By far and away one of my favorite experiences ever in this sport. The mountain portion is not a run but rather a hike up and as controlled of a descent down as you can. Whether that is a run, walk, controlled fall, etc. Then you turn around and repeat one final time. Each athlete must do this portion with a support crew and you must go to the mountain check in before resuming your race. Here they check your packs to make sure they contain the following; first aid kit, bear spray, phone, external phone charger, gloves, and a whistle. They DO NOT mess around with this race and environment with good reason, but this is what both athlete and supporter must carry with them. Once past check in you start the ascent to the top of Alyeska. It is nothing short of a steep hike at times on trails wide enough for a pick up truck and narrow enough for only a mountain bike. But it is a good 2-3 mile hike with about 3,000 feet of vert. Just before reaching the top you reach the remnants of the previous winters snow still hanging around. Finish the first climb, summit the peak and descend back down. Right at the tram station was the first and only aid station on the mountain portion. Refuel and stock up for the descent down and ride up and down again. Second time up was on the North Face which was much more narrow trail, plenty of tall grass and shrub with a switchback finish to the top.
We did get to experience a very unique moment on this mountain. At the top of the first climb when we hiked over the snow there were about 8 of us total; 4 athletes, 4 support crew. All from different countries, all in the middle of this stupid long race, and all with the desire to stop racing for a minute and have a snowball fight. It was short, but a lot of fun and another unique characteristic of this race you don't really see anywhere else for obvious reasons.
I only "participated" for 10 miles or just under 4 hours as we hiked up and ran down Alyeska twice for about 5-6,000 feet of elevation gain. That alone was enough to let me know I put in a good days work. I cannot imagine doing the full distance.
This race is a more adventure than it is "race" IMO. It goes back to the true roots of the sport. A bunch of people toeing the line all set out for the same goal...to see if it can be done. Everyone is out on their own conquest but all together to help each other along the way. There were so many characteristics that made this race feel so grassroots; carrying all your athletes gear throughout the race, setting up T2 in the middle of the race in an empty parking lot, check points with race staff in the middle of the run, calling out race numbers to record splits, no SAG, no bike aid stations. etc. This race wasn't as much about finding all the ways to cut down every second, but rather find areas to stop for a few seconds and take in the beauty of this race. The mountain portion was a convoy of people stopping at areas to check out the view, take photos with each other, soak in the area, and just enjoy being out in the wild so to speak.
Though the race was small (150 athletes) I am sure a few others from this years addition are here on ST, so feel free to give any additional feedback. I highly recommend this race to anyone that is looking for a new challenge outside of the standard ironman races, but likes the distance. This race has everything and will challenge you in ways you would never expect. But this is NOT a race for just anyone that has completed an Ironman, it takes a much different training approach and racing approach to complete this race. Congrats to all that raced and finish,
About 300 registered, 150 made it to Alaska to race and 129 finished. Winning male time was 11:30 I believe and just over 14 hours for the females.
