After skier Chet Fehrmann caught biker extraordinaire Peter Basinger near the halfway point of the Susitna 100 distance carnival on Saturday, his spirits were lifted -- and not just by Saturday's sunshine.
Despite soft snow warmed by the sun, he hoped he could hold the lead.
He did -- barely -- to notch his third consecutive victory in the grueling 100-mile backcountry ultramarathon that pits bikers against skiers and runners on the same trail.
Late Sunday as Fehrmann approached Flathorn Lake, several miles from the Point Mackenzie finish line, he caught sight of bikers Basinger and Lance Andre behind him and closing.
But sugary snow had drifted onto the trail crossing the lake, forcing Basinger and Andre to push for a spell and allowing Fehrmann to pull away.
"I knew Flathorn was bad for them," Fehrmann said by phone Sunday. "I went really hard from Flathorn the rest of the way, just hoping I could hang on.
"I didn't think I could do it three years in a row. I had to push myself more, because I knew they were ahead or close the whole race. It was a little more stressful."
Fehrmann reached the finish line in 14 hours, 26 minutes, about 45 minutes ahead of Basinger and 46 in front of Andre.
Robin Beebee paced the women skiers with a sterling 15:28 time, while Janice Tower and Kristen Wolf paced the women bikers in 16:36.
David Johnston was the top runner in 25:56 and Laura McDonough topped the women runners in 28:12. It was the 11th time McDonough has finished the 100-miler.
At least three other racers reached the landmark of 10 Susitna 100 finishes -- ultra-runner Ed Bennett, who biked this year; biker Mike Morganson and biker Super Al Mitchell. A fourth, runner Ron Nicholl was in last place Sunday night but race organiziers said they expected him to finish before 9 a.m. Monday.
"Long after the winners have showered, slept and feasted, there are finishers coming in who feel like they have truly accomplished something huge," said organizer Rita Wade. "We agree."
Fifteen racers were still on the course early Sunday night.
Susitna 100
Women Bikers -- 1) Janice Tower, 16:36; 2) Kristen Wolf, 16:36.
Men Bikers -- 1) Peter Basinger, 15:11; 2) Lance Andre, 15:12; 3) Joseph Pollock, 16:14; 4) Brij Potnis, 17:10; 5) Erik Christensen, 17:50; 6) Mark Silverman, 18:40; 7) Brian Hartman, 18:40; 8) Josh Brekken, 21:22; 9) Brian Garcia, 21:42; 10) Billy Koitzsch, 21:42; 11) C.B. Brady, 22:04; 12) Paul Millwood, 22:04; 13) Timothy Kelly, 23:04; 14) David Hart, 23:40; 15) Sven Berglund, 23:59; 16) Al Mitchell, 24:45; 17) Leonard Fancher, 25:57; 18) Kurtis Schaaf, 26:21; 19) Ed Bennett, 27:15; 20) Mike Morganson, 27:15; 21) Mark Stewart, 28:03. Bob Donaldson, 31:05;
Women Runners -- 1) Laura McDonough, 28:12.
Men Runners -- 1) David Johnston, 25:56.
Women Skiers -- 1) Robin Beebee, 15:28; 2) Chelsea Frehulfer, 22:25; 3) Lisa Beattie, 23:58.
Men Skiers -- 1) Chester Fehrmann, 14:26; 2) Kevin Postma, 15:19; 3) Jim Jager, 15:20; 4) Thomas Coolidge, 21:37; 5) Christopher Wrobel, 23:58; 6) Jim Lokken, 24:53; 7) David Frehulfer, 28:23; 8) Sean Doody, 29:07; 9) Dan Beutel, 29:15; 10) Mike Beiergrohslein, 29:32;
Little Su 50-K
Women Bikers -- 1) Julie Berberich, 4:21:39; 2) Jill Valerius, 5:02:26; 3) Jolie Mcgauley, 5:51:58; 4) Keri Koger, 7:10:08; 5) Angie Brennan, 7:41:25; 6) Susan Teel, 10:06:40; 7) Nancy Berube, 10:06:49.
Men Bikers -- 1) John Lackey, 3:25:52; 2) Tim Berntson, 3:36:55; 3) James Stull, 3:49:50; 4) Jon Douglas, 4:23:07; 5) Steve Ryan, 4:23:55; 6) Chris Restall, 4:57:06; 7) Bjarne Holm, 5:00:39; 8) Darren Hull, 5:03:02; 9) Brian Walsh, 5:04:24; 10) Scott Digert, 5:32:56; 11) Kevin Heck, 5:45:53; 12) Aaron Wells, 6:01:48; 13) Thomas Watson, 6:39:38; 14) John Maryott, 7:31:51; 15) Mark Boydston, 7:51:35; 16) Hans Brugge, 8:01:08; 17) Cameron Gilchrist, 8:24:10.
Women Runners -- 1) Heather Gaines, 7:03:50; 2) Jeanne Schaaf, 7:05:10; 3) Christen Bouffard, 7:23:11; 4) Ivy Schultz, 7:43:39; 5) Karol Fink, 7:57:10; 6) Letta Stokes, 8:02:18; 7) Yvonne Leutwyler, 8:04:30; 8) Andrea Hambach, 8:04:31; 9) Bjorg Edberg, 8:57:40; 10) Renee Rudd, 9:02:34; 11) Bernadette Martel, 9:48:58; 12) Kimberly Meck, 9:48:58; 13) Eileen Hoover, 10:24:32; 14) Tracie Harris, 11:16:41.
Men Runners -- 1) Ben Lavigueur, 5:29:13; 2) Samuel Crow, 5:56:23; 3) Thomas Burton, 6:01:15; 4) Derek Morgan, 6:12:36; 5) Adam Muhr, 6:13:23; 6) Jesse Peterson, 6:34:38; 7) James Mcdonough, 6:47:39; 8) Jared Parrish, 6:57:02; 9) M. Scott Moon, 7:10:48; 10) Michael Valiquette, 7:52:31; 11) Chad Simpson, 8:01:21; 12) Brian Stone, 8:02:00; 13) Tab Ballantine, 8:07:10; 14) Sean Mcdowell, 8:36:14; 15) John Hoppe, 8:41:00; 16) Tony Hartman, 8:41:01; 17) Rogelio Castorena, 9:42:58; 18) Tom Cubit, 10:07:16; 19) Gregory Russell, 10:22:19; 20) John Hoover, 10:24:32; 21) David Hren, 11:16:41.
Women Skiers -- 1) Amber Mcdonough, 4:34:52; 2) Aurora Agee, 4:44:09; 3) Leslie Robbins, 4:56:01; 4) Sarah Radonich, 6:12:38; 5) Ingrid Eng, 6:12:42; 6) Deanna Huff, 6:33:18; 7) Emily Binnian, 7:20:27; 8) Ruth Glenn, 8:43:14; 9) Pamela Cravez, 8:48:26; 10) Alycia Beiergrohslein, 9:33:41; 11) Valerie Tillman, 9:33:41; 12) Carlene Van Tol, 9:33:41.
Men's Skiers -- 1) Rhett Buchanan, 3:42:42; 2) Nicholas Strohmeyer, 4:19:51; 3) Jason Walsh, 4:48:49; 4) Robert Lohr, 5:05:35; 5) Anthony Berberich, 5:30:55; 6) P.J. Hill, 5:45:49; 7) Jim Hurd, 5:45:49; 8) Tyler Chapman, 5:57:23; 9) Bob Gengler, 5:59:50; 10) Robert Werner, 7:05:21; 11) Jesse Whitt, 7:12:10; 12) Chuck Paldanius, 8:28:14; 13) Kurt Bittlingmaier, 9:33:04; 14) Niles Woods, 9:59:05; 15) Charles Utermohle, 10:02:08; 16) John Trapp, 10:07:14.
By MIKE CAMPBELL
mcampbell@adn.com