Anchorage Daily News

Saturday's Heart Run is the biggest -- luring as many as 8,078 runners and walkers.

August's Matanuska Peak Challenge may be the toughest, even on a dry day -- with 9,100 feet of vertical gain over 14 miles.

July's Resurrection Pass 100-Miler is the longest -- last year Geoff Roes of Douglas took 17 hours, 13 minutes, slashing 3:20 off the course record.

The ASAP Mile is the shortest -- just four laps around the Wendler Middle School track.

And June's Alaska Run for Women is the most festive -- with booths galore and the vibrant buzz of sisterhood in the air.

But every Alaska runner has his or her favorites, races that stand out among the 200 runs, walks, climbs, triathlons, duathlons, cyclocrosses and orienteering races listed in the 2009 Alaska Runner's Calendar between Jan. 31 and Dec. 31.

Here are mine -- selected by a plodding mid-to-late pack, 55-year-old struggling like mad to get his 10-kilometer time under 50 minutes this season.

The list is undoubtedly Anchorage-o-centric -- I don't get out much -- and not very daring. One day I promise I'll try some orienteering so long as somebody will come looking for me after 36 hours afield.

In no particular order:

THE PERENNIAL: The Alaska 10K Classic has shown up on the runners calendar nearly every year since 1985, and the word "classic" couldn't be more appropriate. A serious 10-K road race, the last of that dying breed here, it bisects the city from Alaska Pacific University to the Delaney Park Strip -- a summer version of cross-country skiers' Tour of Anchorage. The mostly road course is a treat and the park strip finish feels like a celebration.

Runners who've spent more of their summer training than drinking beer may be rewarded by the downhill course if they aren't felled by a side stitch coming up that little hill on Northern Lights Boulevard, something I'm much too familiar with. And knowing that Anchorage Olympian Don Clary ran 28:35 on the course in his heyday -- a feat that may not be repeated in my lifetime -- adds to the aura.

EYE CANDY: Few runs can match Seward's Lost Lake Breath of Life Run for beauty. After grunting uphill for miles on end, runners break out into open tundra and can drink in the view of distant Resurrection Bay, sunlight dappling off Lost Lake and a sharp ravine to the right.

"This is my all-time favorite race," said marathoner Warren Hancock of Anchorage. "If I'm going to do any races in the summer, this is the one. It's such a gorgeous course. It's such a fun course -- you climb and you drop in the second half."

And when your legs are about fried, a screaming downhill over the last six miles makes even sluggish joggers feel swift and nimble. Sure, 15.75 miles is a long way -- especially for a hilly cross-country run. And sure, a $100 entry fee is steep. But focus on the beer and barbecue at the end and the fact the money couldn't be going to a better cause, the fight to end cystic fibrosis. Since starting in 1992, it's raised nearly $1 million.

MASOCHIST MARCH: In winter, you need chains or four-wheel drive to ascend Arctic Valley Road. On June 6, you can run up the dusty, rocky, washboarded road 6.3 miles to the chalet without hint of level terrain. Then turn around and get ready for your thighs to become chopped liver on a barely-under-control descent to the Arctic Valley Run finish line. Your reward: trouble walking for three days. Note the fact that the Arctic Valley Run, in its 35th year, is sponsored by Fort Richardson Sports & Fitness, and a contingent of military men and women show up each year. You'll know why they're protecting the country, not you.

PROCRASTINATOR SPECIAL: Back in March, you assured friends you planned to train like mad for a personal record this season. Suddenly, it's mid-September. Time is running out. The Octoberfest is your last chance. Typically held in early October -- it's Sept. 26 this season -- the fall chill can delay feelings of exhaustion and muscle seizure on the Anchorage Coastal Trail 5-K and 10-K courses. Sometimes, though, fall chill turns to winter freeze. Several years ago, Evan Steinhauser and I huddled on a friendly homeowner's porch 40 feet from the start line until 10 seconds before the start, trying to duck the driving sleet and snowstorm. Suffice to say, my 10-K PR, set on the Octoberfest course shortly after pterodactyls abandoned Anchorage Coastal Refuge, was not threatened.

BALLGAME-RUN DOUBLEHEADER: Celebrate the solstice June 20 by settling into your seat at Fairbanks' Growden Park at 6:30 p.m. to watch Fairbanks Goldpanners of the Alaska Baseball League take on the Lake Erie Monarchs. But don't get too comfortable -- and try to avoid beer and nachos. You've got work to do. At 10 p.m., the Fairbanks Daily News Miner Midnight Sun 10K gets going at UAF's Patty Center under plenty of daylight for a race that ends shortly before midnight. Even with the late start, Fairbanks temperatures can be well above 70 degrees in late June.

The list is limited by my experience and, hence, doesn't include such revered Alaska races as the Crow Pass Crossing, Seward's Mount Marathon, Fairbanks' Equinox Marathon or the Klondike Trail of '98 International Road Relay.

You've got to wonder what Ketchikan's Totem to Totem Half Marathon, Nome's 32nd Great Bathtub Race, or the Ester Dome Ass Kicker are like too.

Road trip?

While many Alaska races hold fond memories, not all do. Already this season I've entered a race with no bibs, no finish line and a course so poorly marked half the field took a wrong turn. Just because a race benefits a worthy cause doesn't excuse sloppiness.

And where does the Anchorage Running Club's Big Wild Life Runs (marathon, half-marathon, 5-K and a kids run) get off charging $85 for a marathon and $70 for a half marathon to procrastinators who wait until race day eve to register?

They seem to have the misguided notion that runners are so together they'll take advantage of early-bird prices that expired three months ago for an Aug. 16 race. Runners dreaming of those early-bird $60 marathon or $45 half-marathon prices can forget it.

Oddly enough, that same Anchorage Running Club stages the superbly run Trent/Waldron Glacier Half Marathon. That fee? Club membership for $20 or less.

Go figure.

Even with 200 events on the Alaska Runners Calendar to choose from, there are regrets. Looking for a cross-country race of reasonable length? Good luck.

One wonders how the Tuesday Night Race Series has come to gain such popularity while the APU Classic, a gorgeous 10-K cross-country run that included a picturesque loop around University Lake, or the Tom Besh Homestead Hill Run, which benefitted the UAA cross-country team, have perished.

Road 10-Ks are clearly an endangered species too.

But having just returned from visiting relatives in Tampa, Fla., it's clear any regrets are quibbles. Every area school track is under lock and key, and Tampa race courses run the gamut from flat to hot to flat.

It's easy to get spoiled.

This column is the opinion of Daily News reporter Mike Campbell, who can be reached at mcampbell@adn.com or by calling 257-4329.

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