Anchorage Daily News

SEWARD -- Precisely one week before staging yet another stab at seizing victory at Mount Marathon, the race he covets most, three-time runner-up Trond Flagstad joined friends Barney Griffith and Harlow Robinson for one last time trial to gauge his fitness.

The three men power-hiked the south side of Flattop Mountain in Anchorage. Flagstad reached the peak first, stopped his watch and marveled at some divine digits: 16:55.

That was 25 seconds faster than he had ever blazed the ascent, and the result filled him with hope and confidence for Mount Marathon.

"I knew I was fitter,'' he said.

And Griffith knew his friend was dialed in and capable of generating something special Friday on Mount Marathon, the 3,022-foot peak overlooking Resurrection Bay.

"I could tell he was a different Trond this year,'' Griffith said.

Exactly.

He's no longer three-time runner-up Trond Flagstad.

He's Mount Marathon champion Trond Flagstad.

Faster, stronger and fueled by a gnawing hunger to win the 81st edition of the state's most prestigious footrace, Flagstad clocked the third-fastest time in race history.

Cheered by thousands of fans as he raced off the mountain and ran alone down city streets on a cloudy, Fourth of July afternoon, Flagstad crossed the finish line in 44 minutes, 3 seconds.

At long last, after three straight second-place finishes, the last two by a mere 12 seconds each, Flagstad completed a journey of joy. And just as the field could not stick with him through the trip of nearly 31/2 miles over city streets and up and down an unforgiving mountain of dirt, scree, shale and snow, neither could Flagstad's elation be leashed.

"Yes! Yes! Finally!'' Flagstad roared. "Finally!''

The man who wore bib No. 2 was suddenly, finally, No. 1.

"Amazing,'' Flagstad said as he sat in a metal folding chair while a race volunteer removed the electronic timing chip from his shoelaces. "Everything was perfect.''

Flagstad, 38, grinned and laughed, then looked back up Fourth Avenue. No other runner was in sight.

"Where are they?'' he giggled. "It's my turn, I guess.''

Flagstad's time, 1:49 seconds faster than his previous best on Mount Marathon, sits behind only the race-record 43:23 eight-time champion Bill Spencer ran in 1981 and the 43:39 Toby Schwoerer blitzed in 2004.

The new champ also crushed the 30-39 age-group record, knocking 46 seconds of Sam Young's previous standard (44:49 in 1985).

Flagstad, the UAA ski coach, celebrated with Robinson after Robinson finished 13th.

"Thanks for helping me,'' Flagstad said as they embraced.

"I'm so happy for you,'' Robinson said.

"Amazing,'' Flagstad replied.

Sam Hill, 30, of Anchorage, employed his usual surpassing speed uphill to lead the race to the peak, where he circled Summit Rock and began his descent 50 seconds ahead of Flagstad.

But Flagstad, one of the fastest downhillers in the field, passed Hill halfway down the mountain.

Hill finished second in a personal-best 45:59. Matias Saari, 37, of Fairbanks, earned third in 46:42, a full 75 seconds better than his debut in 2007, when he finished seventh.

Six-time champion and two-time defending champion Brad Precosky, 41, claimed fourth place in 46:59 and Jens Beck, 38, grabbed fifth in a personal-best 47:04. Brent Knight, third each of the two previous years, finished sixth in 48:08.

And Griffith, 50, who four times in the previous 10 years broke the 40-49 age-group record Precosky now owns, obliterated the 50-59 age-group record to finish seventh. He clocked 48:23, which slashed 2:34 off Eddie Baxter's previous mark (50:57 in 2006).

Just as that June 27 time trial told Flagstad he was ready, other signs emerged to signal that victory could finally be his.

For one, the native of Norway, who once competed in World Cup nordic ski races, came into the race five pounds lighter than ever before. His 5-foot-11 frame carried just 165 pounds.

"I haven't bought ice cream or chips for months now,'' said Flagstad's wife, Lindsey.

Interval track workouts confirmed Flagstad was speedier than previous years. Training hikes with his infant son, Vebjorn, on his back helped build his already considerable strength and stamina.

And his resolve to win Mount Marathon, the race he calls the Super Bowl of Alaska mountain running, had not waned.

"You have to be hungry,'' Flagstad said. "I've been second three years in a row. Second is really good.

"But if you're just happy with that, you'll never win. You have to think, 'Second is first loser.' "

Flagstad also refused to let history haunt him. Those consecutive 12-second losses to Precosky were not worth replaying in his mind. As he tells his athletes at UAA: Learn from the past, focus on the future.

"All it comes down to is excuses, and ifs, and could-haves and would-haves,'' Flagstad said. "Those don't matter in sports. I learned from the mistakes I made in the past.''

That's why the strategy Flagstad employed Friday kept him close to Hill and Knight on the half-mile run to the base of the mountain. He figured he needed that faster start to cut a minute or so off his uphill time from last year. From that point, Flagstad was determined to hike at his own pace and find his rhythm.

"Then something clicked mentally,'' Flagstad said, and he began gaining ground. "And when I got tired up there, I told myself, 'I've been training with 25 pounds on my back. This is nothing. C'mon! Go! Go! Go!' "

He passed Knight about halfway up the mountain and trailed Hill by about 50 seconds at the peak. Last year, Hill reached the summit nearly two minutes ahead of Flagstad.

Flagstad knew his strong downhill would sustain him, and that part of his plan unfolded to form, too. A long block from the finish line, Flagstad raised his arms in triumph, then glanced at the race clock, realized he had a shot at breaking 44 minutes and sprinted home.

While Flagstad admitted he once told his wife he would be done with Mount Marathon if he won, he reconsidered after the race and said it's his duty as champion to give other contenders at least one shot at him.

"That's just paying respect to the race,'' Flagstad said. "I'll be training, but not like I have.''

His victory was popular among fellow runners, who congratulated him constantly after they finished and discovered his breakthrough.

"It's so amazing to see him do it,'' Precosky said. "He's put his time in, he's paid his dues. And to me it's special because he trains hard and trains specifically for this.''

As Precosky spoke in the finish area, runner after runner continued to offer congratulations to Flagstad, who was nearby.

The vibe brought to mind the T-shirt worn Friday by Flagstad's son, Vebjorn.

The shirt featured a picture of Vebjorn's dad on the front and an accompanying statement: "Fond Of Trond.''

Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.

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