Mount Marathon 2015 is finally here. For those paying attention to the mountain running scene probably know that Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg are both making an appearance at the 100th running of the event.
Matias Saari, Kilian Jornet and Emelie Forsberg in Anchorage this week.For the uninitiated, Kilian is likely the best endurance mountain athlete of his generation having won or set records on a wide variety of competitive venues and mountain challenges alike. He’s won everything at some point; from vertical kilometer running and ski ascents, 100 mile trail ultras to speed records on some of the world’s most iconic mountains. Emelie, for her part, continues to regularly win sky running races across Europe and accompanies Kilian on all sorts of mountain adventures. Their participation at this year’s MMR brings a level of international notoriety previously unseen at this uniquely Alaskan event. It also raises the competitive bar higher than ever. A nice synopsis of Kilian's sporting efforts can be found here.
Mount Marathon is the biggest race on the Alaska calendar each year and is likely the most popular Alaskan sporting event, save for the iconic Iditarod Sled Dog Race. And as the race approaches on a typical year the community collectively starts buzzing about who’s fit, who’s running and what kind of condition the mountain’s in. This year, some of the usual suspects are not running (Holly Brooks, Kikkan Randall) while Alaska’s most famous running talent in recent years, Alison Ostrander, is running her first adult race. But the big news is the participation of the above-mentioned international running celebrities and their potential impact on the race.
I could write pages about all the variables at play when local runners speculate about how Kilian and Emelie will fair on our beloved mountain. Frankly, I’m tired of the discussion and thrilled to have the day and the answers finally at hand. In less than 24 hours, all will be known.
The only anecdote I’ll share is one involving a recent Sky Running event in Chamonix where Kilian finished 7th in the vertical kilometer race. I heard many locals speculate that perhaps he wasn’t as fit as we thought or that, perhaps, he was resting up for MMR. The truth, however, is much more interesting and gives some insight into the incredible depth of fitness this man possesses. In Kilian’s own words from his Face Book post…”It has been a great june month, with lot of skiing, mountaineering and some running. And with a crazy last 3 days: wednesday 9pm start for walk-climb thru Grandes Jorasses both face for 23h, sleep 6h and go for cheering on 80km doing a short run, some meetings and go for the Vertical Km in Chamonix, straight from there to a night shooting until 2pm, 3h sleep and run up Mont Blanc, and speed down for a last interview. That’s a good cross training- long distance-sleep training”
The iconic Grandes JorassesFor those of you not familiar with famous north face climbs in the Alps, the Grandes Jorasses is a massive, steep alpine climb that would be a treasure for any alpinist to claim on his resume. While climbing it in a single push is not unprecedented in today’s realm of the super alpinist, doing so is still a remarkable accomplishment. The fact that he did it with all this other stuff on the schedule is nearly impossible to comprehend. So, to question his fitness or his performance in the vertical km is basically pointless considering his lead-up to that event. These kinds of antics give observers an idea of his truly freakish capacity.
The Salomon crew enjoying some Seward, AK hospitalityThe Salomon TV crew is tagging along this year to film Kilian, Rickey Gates and Emelie as they make their bids at the 2015 Mount Marathon Race. The episode will feature many aspects of the event but fans will have to wait until next season to see the action from that perspective. For those needing a more immediate hit, there’ll be a live feed of all the action on local Anchorage news channels. I’ll be reporting back in the next few days on my impressions of the outcome.