25th It Ain't Easy Hill Runs

5 Miles, 6 Miles, 9 Miles, 9.5 Miles, 10.8 Mles or 11 Miles

Saturday October 1, 2005

10 AM

Dog Musher's Hall, Farmers Loop Road

5 Miles of gently rolling, paved bike path

9.5 Miles of variable, muddy, very hilly trails

10.8 Miles of variable, wet & muddy very hilly trails

Race Directors: Bob Perkins; Andy Sterns

Mostly Sunny skies

35° F

Mostly calm

No frozen ground, with lt. snow cover on the north slopes

Sunrise:	Total Possible Daylight: 11 hr 18 min 33 sec Loss: 6 min 39 sec
8:00 AM
Sunset:
7:18 PM

It was a sunny, but muddy, morning

The weather was beautiful for the 24th running of the difficult It Ain't Easy run, one of Alaska's most difficult running races. The race starts at the Dog Mushers on Farmers Loop Road, then climbs steeply over the top of the ridge north, past the KUAC transmitter, then steeply down into the Goldstream Valley, a mile or so through the muskeg, made very swampy by the preceding week's rain, then up a very steep hill to Wigwam hill, then back along trails to Grenac Road and finally back to the Dog Mushers.

It's a "fun" run for many, since most of the participants ran the Equinox Marathon just two weeks ago, but there was some stiff competition towards the front of the pack. Roger Sayre won the regulation course. Course records are not reported because the course has changed over the years,but Sayre's time was very fast. The five mile race was won by Karen Nanseth.

The dogs did well, beating their owners in all cases. Several racers opted for one of the many freestyle courses, which start and end at the same place as the regular race, but allows for the runners individual proclivities, such as (Ed. note - trying to ...) staying dry or sightseeing.

Bob Perkins

5-Mile Standard Route Results

 1 Karen Nanseth & Buddy        35:57
 2 Greg Torres                    37:27
 3 Warren Taylor                  37:51
 4 Geral Son                      42:06
 5 Bob Wheeler                    43:31
 6 Nitaya Batin                   53:26

6-Mile Scenic Route Results

 1 (tie) Kristin O'Brian        1:04:26
         Lael Rogan             1:04:26

9-Mile Wet Route Results

 1 (and only) Pete Hjellen      1:33:03

9.5-Mile Dry Route Results

 1 (tie) Dorli McWayne          1:37:35
         Jane Lanford           1:37:35
         Steve Bainbridge       1:37:35
 2 (tie) Walt Tape              1:43:16
         Dave Cowee             1:43:16

10.8-Mile Standard Route Results

 1 Roger Sayre                           1:18:39
 2 Wayde Leder                           1:19:08
 3 Dan Carlson and Sky                   1:19:58
 4 Bob Pickart                           1:23:09
 5 Chris Garber-Slaght                   1:30:58
 6 Ted Wu & Ty & Lucey                   1:35:36
 7 (tie) Maria Bray                      1:41:50
         Jane LeBlond                    1:41:50
         Kristen Rozell & Molly & Chloe	 1:41:50
         Keith Pollock                   1:41:50
 8 Lisa Beattie                          1:44:55
 9 Roxane Rigo                           2:15:57

11-Mile Extra Credit Route

 1 Pat Kalen                    1:56:10

Photos and editing courtesy of JFM Videos