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Anchorage's oldest 10-kilometer run -- and one of the last races contested on city streets -- will try a new route and a new distance this year, hoping to boost its popularity.
The 24th running of the Alaska 10K Classic still will begin at Alaska Pacific University and end on the Delaney Park Strip downtown. But instead of hundreds of runners flocking city streets -- ascending a Northern Lights Boulevard hill, descending Maplewood Street and running along Ninth Avenue -- the race will largely be confined to city bike trails. A nasty hill up U Street will precede the traditional park strip finish. The 5-K will start at Elderberry Park, and there's also a two-runner relay race for children. Race director Lane Cropper said changes to the race route were necessary because downtown construction will shut off parts of Ninth Avenue on race day, Aug. 1. Employing off-duty police officers to help control traffic cost the Classic an estimated $5,000 a year, said Ole Jordan, the race's volunteer coordinator. Eliminating roadways also reduces the number of volunteers needed. By adding the 5-K, organizers aim to appeal to runners wary of the longer 10-K (6.2 miles) distance. Some 324 runners finished last year's race, up 57 from 2007 and a 70 percent increase from 2006. Race directors are aiming for 400 this year. "It's still mostly on paved trail -- and mostly a downhill course," Cropper said. "It should be enjoyable for people, especially not being in traffic as much." By spending less money on traffic control, organizers to hope contribute more to Special Olympics. Over the past three years, the Classic has contributed about $7,000 a year, Jordan said. "We kind of had no choice this year because of the construction," Jordan said. "There's no way we could finish on Ninth. Both races begin at 10 a.m., with a common Park Strip finish. Runners have long prized the Classic for its fast, downhill course. Alaska Olympian Don Clary set the race record of 28:35 in 1987, and during the mid-1980s there were a handful of sub-30-minute clockings. Anchorage's John Clark, the 1999 champion, thinks those days are over. "There was a time when the 10K Classic was 'The' race, with a capital T," Clark said. "All the best runners seemed to find each other at the end of the season." In his victory a decade ago, Clark ran a personal best 31:42. "But there was a time when that was only a good top-10 time," said Clark, who works at the Skinny Raven running gear store downtown. "Times have changed. Races are all over the board now -- 5-Ks, half marathons, mountain runs. We have our own 12-K. "Still, it's a great course ... from one end of town to the other. I hope that never changes." And, who knows, a sub-30 minute clocking could even happen this year. Last month at the end of the Mayor's Marathon, UAA track and cross country coach Michael Friess gathered several team members who had just completed the half marathon. Get ready for the 10-K Classic, Friess told them. One of you can break 30 minutes. Among the group was Marko Cheseto of Kenya, who won the 13.1-miler in 1:09:24. During the school year, Cheseto set a UAA and Great Northwest Athletic Conference record when he ran 10 kilometers in 29:08 on the track. The track is flat. The Alaska 10-K course is downhill -- even with its hill at the end. "If anybody can do it, they're probably the ones," Jordan said of the UAA runners. "Especially if they're pushed."