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The Best Race I Have Never Run



Remember the Kahtoola Agassiz Uphill Race? Last year Karl won himself an awesome pair of Microspikes! Ever since then he had been excited for this year's uphill extravaganza.  And so had I! Flagstaff puts on some great local races and you definitely don't wanna miss out on this one. Except that Karl did almost miss out in the end because I was late coming home from my one-woman triathlon. But, in the end, we made it to the start with a few minutes to spare. 


The race is simple: 
Start at the bottom of the ski resort. 
Climb (almost) to the very top either on foot or ski. 
Fly back down. 


Karl was not quite ready when the gun went off (which seems to happen regularly) but must have made  his way to the front rather quickly. He is the guy in the green shirt in the front on the left in the above picture. He has been having all sorts of niggles and issues and his training has been sub-optimal. Also, he was only one week out from his big race of the year, so he was trying not to get too sore during this one. I think he made it to the top in second place right behind Frank, swim coach and fellow triathlete. He passed Frank on the downhill but then was caught by his friend, Spencer. Or something like that. You should ask Karl if you want details. Right now he is busy driving home from this weekend's quadrathlon. He promised to write us a nice race report about that one!

Here they are coming into the finish: 

Spencer in 1st 
(Congratulations!)


Karl in 2nd!


Frank in 3rd! 


Nice job, guys! 
Evan, Karl's teammate, was not far behind. 


Evan and Karl took 3rd in the team division!


I love spectating this race for several reason: 

* it is close to home
* Karl finishes in about 30 minutes
* tons of people dress up and some (like our friends, Maggie and Will) go all out


* the kids are entertained 

I don't even have any pictures of them. Their friends, Nixon and Claire, were cheering on their parents as well and the kids just went off to play in the snow/slush/mud. A friend asked me why I was not doing the race and, while I am struggling to find a good excuse, he says: The kids? I say: Yup. The kids. Then I realize that my kids are nowhere to be seen and I admit that I may as well just have left them at the start and done the race. I am sure they would've been fine. I will keep that in mind for next year...

* the snow. not.


* the after-party in the lodge

I was mostly taking care of the boys but it still feels good to have a few nice chats with friends and to just sit there and take in the atmosphere. That is when I realize that I don't get out and socialize often enough. I mean, who else is in their pajamas both Friday and Saturday night by 6pm? This is a rhetoric question. I don't want to know the answer. 

* the view



** Pictures are (almost) all courtesy of Flagstaff Footnotes, a great resource for local and visiting runners. Check it out!




Comments

Unknown said…
Sarah, it was fun to have you at the race, along with Max and Noah! Thanks for the picture props! We had a blast-next year I'll know what to expect! I might not wear SO much of a costume and bring some poles for the uphill!

Maggie
February 19, 2012
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