Girdwood Trails Marathon: A Reflection

By Brian Pautzke

TN News Contributor

Sometime in the middle of the night the rain stopped.  The race coordinators had been checking the river depth at the hand tram crossing and Plan A was still a go.  There has been Plan A and Plan B ever since the hand tram closed.  Either we get to cross the river or we run back through town.  This year Plan C was suggested the night prior when two days of rain had not shown signs of abating; the river crossing safety guide was authorized to turn racers back if the conditions were deemed too dangerous. As luck would have it, racers woke to a clear, cold morning.  Runners could be seen mozying around the neighborhood warming up their legs and encouraging their body to get its poop in a group.  

I had been awake since 5:30.  No need for an alarm.  A distance runner needs ample time to prepare mentally, physically, and with Body Glide.  I loaded my tank with coffee and set off for the race start at the Alyeska Day Lodge.  On the way to the start I listened to “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” instead of my usual Franti jam “Follow Your Heart”, what inspired the switch I cannot say.  Between the coffee and the sports hype music, I felt as ready as usual.  This would be the 9th running of the Girdwood Trail Race, and only Melanee Stiassny and I have the honor of having done it every year (as far as we know).  

The start of the Girdwood Trails Marathon Oct. 5.  (Photos by Deb Essex)

The race started 9 years ago as a Brian Burnski fever dream.  A small band of mostly Girdwoodians gathered to put Sharpied numbers on our hands and run 26ish miles around the Girdwood Valley.  There might have been 30 people in the first race, maybe fewer.  The race changed hands to Deb Essex of the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club and she has done a wonderful job of growing the race.  Over 70 participants signed up for the full marathon, and 175 signed up for the half marathon. 

The marathon racers gathered in the Day Lodge to grab bibs and snacks, and give out high-fives and handshakes. We waited for the annual description of the route and general warnings about bears, boardwalks, muddy trails, and a knee-high river crossing. Afterwards, we gathered out front behind the new Strabel Racing Services mats and bounced up and down with nervous smiles and head nods.  An unceremonious and quiet countdown was provided when there were only 10 seconds left until the starting gun.  

I may be getting older, but I am also getting slower, so I use a race strategy that served me well last year.  I start in the back and give people a head start.  This strategy gives me the chance to run alongside racers and talk about the race with first year racers.  I run with happy runners on the trails that make up my “backyard” and the feeling of pride in our community and our trails grow with their enthusiasm. 

Thanks to the new timing service I can see, in print, my accomplishment.  At the first timing station, near the Gerrish Library, I was in 34th place.  I ran and played my way through the runners to finish in 14th place.  Along the way I got to run with the 16 year old that the race committee agreed to let run.  His enthusiasm for the experience was everything a race committee member could hope for and he thanked me for my advocacy.  I also got to run with Melanie for a stretch, and see some people going the wrong way up California Creek Trail after they had missed the Abe’s trail split.  My favorite “move” was skipping the Crow Creek Road aid station and passing 4 or 5 people in a few strides. 

A beautiful race attribute is the Upper Winner Creek out and back.  The spur allows racers to see who is in front of them, and if the runner is fast enough they will get to see the eventual winner run by.  The front runners look like they are participating in a wholly different activity, so light and rapid.  The most exciting race development for me was the amount of fast and strong female runners.  Almost half of the people in front of me were women and they were flying.  They were also holding down top spots.  The ladies held court by taking 6 of the top 11 spots at the finish line.  Rosie Frankowski earned the fastest female time, 3rd overall.  4 years ago Rosie caught me on the 5k loop and we ran together.  Her positivity and enthusiasm were contagious and she coaxed me around the loop until the last hill where I had to tell her to “Go-get-em”.  

I ran in 14th position for the last half of the race.  I held on for dear life during the punishing 5k loop which is the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th mile of the race until next year when the direction will switch again and those terrible hills will be front loaded.  I did a lot of looking over my shoulder on the Chair 7 climb.  At one point I looked down at my cramping quadricep to see it balled up tight and looking like a grapefruit.  Begging it to relax and rubbing it with my palms did the trick and the cramp eased its grip in short order.  These cramps are called “exercise associated muscle cramps”. I figured there’d be a more technical term given the pain it caused.

The finish of the race was all the more special this year because the Girdwood Grizzly students who waited to adorn finishers with their medals were kids I know as my students.  This is the first year I ran as a teacher at the Girdwood k-8 after 15 years at Goldenview Middle School.  Seeing those kiddos completely revulsed by my countenance and unwilling to place the medal over my sweaty head was worth the 26ish miles.

Girdwood Trails Marathon participant Brian Pautzke crosses the finish line (right).