Outdoors/Adventure

Photos: 2015 Junior Mount Marathon Race

SEWARD – The first time Luke Jager raced Mount Marathon, as a 10-year-old in 2010, things did not go awesome.

Jager recalls that he had only been on the mountain once before the race and didn't really pay close attention on that visit. So on race day, he momentarily got lost on the descent. And while that was terrifying at the time, Jager laughs about it now.

"I got horrifically lost, and I thought I was going to die up there,'' he said. "I made it out, and somehow I decided to do it again.''

Jager has since been on the mountain many times in training and races, and Saturday his experience, course knowledge and fitness earned him his first boys junior title.

Jager, 15, of Anchorage, clocked 27 minutes, 39 seconds on the trip halfway up the 3,022-foot peak and back to the finish downtown. That marked his personal best by 2:03, and allowed him to top the field by 84 seconds.

"Pretty sweet,'' Jager said.

Riana Boonstra, 14, of Kenai, seized her first girls title, crossing in 32:38 to slash an astounding 5:08 off her previous best and win by 82 seconds.

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Both champs come from strong Mount Marathon stock.

Boonstra's father, former Olympic Nordic skier Todd, is a four-time men's champion at Mount Marathon, and her mother, Kelli Jo, was once a women's runner-up. Jager's mom, Amy Johns, once finished fourth at Mount Marathon, and his dad, Jim, once finished 15th.

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