Emelie and Kilian Dominate Mount Marathon 2015

Start line, Women, 2015 Mount MarathonThose us paying attention were not surprised by the crushing performances of Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg at this year's MMR. However, to speak locally of this likely outcome leading up to the race was near heresy in this part of the world. Alaskans are proud of their athletes and are particularly possessive of this iconic race. There was plenty of grumbling about these "outsiders" coming up before hand. Alaskans love their stars and simply didn't want to see them humbled by foreigners. Not exactly xenophobic behavior but, really, just local pride. But when both winning athletes demonstrated the kind of humility, grace and astonishing athleticism they possess, well, most folks up here couldn't help but love it. 

The front of the junior race hits the foot of the climb

Typical chaos on the cliffIt was easily one of the most anticipated and thrilling editions of this celebrated event. It would be simple to say both the women's and men's races were uncontested victories but that would belie the tension and speculation in the lead up. In truth, the Alaskans seriously upped their game in the wake of the European contingent. I won't regurgitate the various statistics of this year's event that prove this but suffice it to say we are at the next level in MMR perfomances. Instead, I'll share a few anecdotes that I find the most telling.

Women's Race

The front end of the women's event was stacked this year. With Alaska's best female runner in decades stepping up for her first adult event after dominating the junior division for years, there was likley more excitement here than in the men's race. Allison Ostrander is gifted. Period. She can do it all from the steeps of Mount Marathon to national level track events all over the country. She's off to start her college career at Boise State in just a few weeks. But her first order of business was to heft the crushing weight of expectation to the top of her local hill and prove that she really is that good. The only problem was that there was a professional runner, 12 years her senior with years of international experience against the best competition in the world standing in her way.

Truth be told, Allie delivered. She broke a 25 year old standing record. She led the race for the first half of the climb. But then experience delivered. The funny thing is that Emelie Forsberg was nervous as shit prior to the event. She was aware of the hype surrounding the match up and feared she wouldn't rise to the occasion. But after matching her young competitor while charging away from the rest of the field, she quickly gained the confidence she needed to play her hand. Just below halfway, Emelie stepped out from behind Allie and started running up the steep slope. The defining moment of the 2015 women's raceThat was it. She gained about 50 seconds by the top and was nearly three minutes up at the finish. I watched her at the bottom of the scree at the beginning of the creek and she was all smiles, enjoying the moment and running in a relaxed fashion that I'd never seen in this terrain. She was flying.

Emelie Forsberg in the gutThe most enjoyable moment for her was coming off the cliff and descending to the road with a few thousand spectators roaring their approval with a goose bump-inducing din unique to MMR. If the Alaskans watching were disappointed by the arrival of the Swede, it was hard to tell by the reception she got on her way to the finish.

Allison Ostrander rising to the occasionIt wasn't the fairy tale race that many hoped for and not a small number expected but most appreciated the spectacle of the performances that day. And as one seasoned veteran pointed out to me during the race, Allie's performance was a direct result of her competition that day, something she simply never faced as a junior. The future looks bright.

Men's Race

While I was surprised by the margin with which Emelie won her race, a similar margin in the men's would not have raised my eyebrow. I've watched the Alaskan contingent for three years now and am always impressed by the talent here. My feeling going in was that someone local would match Kilian on the climb but his real colors would come out on the down. And that's what happened.

Rickey Gates led the charge after a blistering romp on the road, covering the distance in a tick over 3 minutes. The separation occured on the lower slopes and Rickey, Kilian and Jim Shine formed the lead group to the top. Multitime winner and record holder, Eric Strabel was not far off and paired up with rookie, Nick Elson of British Columbia to form a chase group of two. Kilian said in the post race interview that the speed was high and he likely could not have climbed much faster. Indeed, the ascent time of all three was well below previous bests.

Rickey Gates leading Kilian Jornet just below half way.Rickey Gate, Kilian Jornet, Jim Shine near the topBut at the turn around the rock, Kilian dropped over the edge and descended like a stone, distancing Gates and Shine with such ferocity it didn't look real. Kilian said he pushed hard for the first minute to get the gap and then, after looking back and seeing what he needed, relaxed a bit and cruised the rest. He repeatedly looked back during the descent, meting out his effort just so. He didn't want to get hurt with Hardrock 100 just a few days away. Kilian enjoying the ambience of MMRAnd when he turned onto the final stretch to the finish he smiled, waved and blew kisses to the crowd on his way to winning by a minute and setting a new course record. Rickey held off a fierce charge from Jim Shine while equalling the previous record set by Strabel in 2013. Not a bad day for Team Salomon. Eric Strabel was only 30 seconds off his best and was followed in 20 seconds later by Elson who provided a fine rookie performance, eclipsed only by Jornet's. 

Final Thoughts

There was a mixed bag of emotions following the race. On the surface, nearly everyone enjoyed the stunning performances of both new comers. It was hard not to. Emelie and Kilian won convincingly with grace and humility. What's not to love? And it's not everyday that fans get to watch the world's best at anything do their thing, especially in Alaska. But deeper down I think many were sad to see their local stars get bested in such demoralizing fashion. The balloon of hope had swelled so fully in the weeks leading up to the race that its violent deflation left most slack-jawed and gasping.

But an honest analysis of the facts could've prevented all of this. This blog is full of observations on performance and the multitude of factors that lead to the best. While it's true that the top Alaskan runners often have jobs that offer some flexibility allowing more training than others, Kilian and Emelie are professionals. Everything they do is aimed at improving their running in the summer and skiing in the winter. I think it's easy for the casual observer to underestimate the impact this has on performance. But I seriously doubt that any of the other competitors at this year's MMR regularly train 20-30 hours a week year round. For Emelie, Kilian and Rickey their down time is not spent working a "normal" job or tending to the rigors of familiy rearing but rather ensuring ideal nutrition, adequate sleep, body work when needed and general reduction of the kind of performance destroying stress that most of us deal with daily. Couple all this with incredible talent, lucky genetics and unspeakable competitive zeal and the outcome could be nothing but what we witnessed. It's just that simple.

Here are few clips of the descent featuring some of the top runners.