Trammell, Gress top Alaskans at Boston Marathon; Alaska men merit masters title

Given Chad Trammell's unorthodox build-up to Monday's 121^st Boston Marathon – just three weeks earlier, he spent eight-plus hours racing in a 50-mile obstacle-course event – his legitimate concern was whether his legs would stage a revolt in the storied 26.2-miler.

Turned out Trammell's legs protested vehemently and relayed the message via excruciating cramps.

But it also turned out Trammell's mind proved every bit as strong as his body, and the 32-year-old Anchorage dentist willed himself to the finish in 2 hours, 34 minutes, 9 seconds to lead more than four dozen Alaska runners who finished America's most famous marathon.

Trammell reported he spent the second half of the race "basically doing damage control'' after his half-marathon split of 1:13:02 was likely a touch too fast on a day when temperatures peaked at about 70 degrees. He began suffering cramps about Mile 17.

"I'd run until I started cramping, then I'd walk, then I'd run again until I started cramping, then I'd walk,'' Trammell said by cellphone.

Trammell's ability to persevere through pain and fatigue – no doubt residue from that Toughest Mudder race in California three weeks ago – left fellow runner Jerry Ross of Anchorage marveling at Trammell's toughness in finishing 81^st overall among men.

"It boggles the mind that he could do that and bonk his way to a 2:34,'' Ross said.

Marathon runners typically put in their last long run three weeks before race day. But that's usually a 20-miler at most, and usually run at a somewhat subdued pace. Trammell, though, loves to race — obstacle-course events, trail runs, mountain races — and he recovers well, so he figured he could negotiate his way Monday by monitoring his body and adjusting to its feedback.

Trammell's grit wasn't the only strong performance from an Alaskan in the race that included a field of roughly 30,000 starters.

The Alaska Endurance Project team coached by Ross and Todd List won the men's masters (40 and older) team championship by nearly five minutes over the Boston Athletic Association, which usually pockets that prize. The top three Alaska masters men ran a cumulative time of 8:20:38. Ross, 41, clocked 2:38:36; Tom Ritchie Jr., 43, of Anchorage, finished in 2:43:51; and Tom Bronga of Anchorage, 56, crossed in 2:58:11, which also placed him eighth overall in the 55-59 age group.

"We thought, 'This is an opportunity to flex some Alaska muscle and surprise some people,' '' Ross said.

The Alaska Endurance Project also finished fourth in the men's open team race, about 35 minutes behind the Boston Athletic Association. Trammell led the Alaskans to a cumulative time of 7:45:38. The other Alaska runners were Ryan Cox, 26, of Anchorage, who ran 2:35:40, and Jacob Kirk, 24, of Anchorage, who finished in 2:35:49.

Both Ross and Trammell said the team dynamic helped them get through rough patches in the race.

"There's a team incentive there that helps motivate you as opposed to just running for yourself and dwelling on your own personal hell,'' Ross said.

Juneau's Shannon Gress, 31, delivered an excellent performance – she finished 48^th among women, and led Alaskans, in 2:54:13. Gress is a two-time champion of the Frank Maier Marathon in Juneau and in 2014 set that race's women's record in 2:51:33.

Wheelchair racer Shirley Reilly, who was born in Alaska, resides in Arizona, won the 2012 Boston Marathon and is a multimedal-winning Paralympic athlete, took seventh in the women's wheelchair race in 1:37:16.

And 17 Alaska men and one woman, Gress, clocked times faster than three hours. Three Alaska women finished faster than 3:30.

Ross, who finished 25^th among men at Boston in 2007 (2:24:25) and 40^th in 2011 (2:24:32), finished 14^th Monday in the 40-44 age group. He had run the previous couple of Boston marathons in the 3:01-3:02 range. Ross said he relied on residual fitness and not hard, honest training in those races, but put in earnest training this time around.

"This year we had such a large Alaska contingent, especially guys, that I got inspired,'' Ross said. "I said, 'OK, I'm not going to dishonor the marathon. I'm going to train for this.' ''

Ross also showed savvy Monday. He started off slowly, both because he was in the sixth wave of runners to start and because of the heat. He regularly doused himself with water and often tucked ice beneath his hat. His conservative start paid dividends – Ross ran a negative split, 1:20:01 for the first 13.1 miles, 1:18:35 for the remaining 13.1.

"Jerry is such a wizard at pacing,'' Trammell said.

Anchorage's Laura Fox, 36, who finished second among Alaska women in 3:07:28, was another runner who delivered negative splits. She went out in 1:34:19 and closed in 1:33:09.

Alaska finishers at 2017 Boston Marathon

Men

Chad Trammell, 32, Anchorage, 2:34:09; Ryan Cox, 26, Anchorage, 2:35:40; Jacob Kirk, 24, Anchorage, 2:35:49; Allan Spangler, 30, Anchorage, 2:38:30; Jerry Ross, 41, Anchorage, 2:38:36; Tom Ritchie Jr., 43, Anchorage, 2:43:51; Michael Rabe, 37, Anchorage, 2:44:31; Jay Mullen, 32, Anchorage, 2:45:52; Corbyn Jahn, 26, Anchorage, 2:45:55; Ryan Beckett, 31, Anchorage, 2:49:27; Kenneth Brewer, 24, Chugiak, 2:53:04; Alec Nevalainen, 43, Juneau, 2:54:25; Christopher Clark, 35, Anchorage, 2:54:52; Christopher McGraw, 38, Sitka, 2:57:59; Tom Bronga, 56, Anchorage, 2:58:11; Franklin Dekker, 28, Anchorage, 2:58:14; Cody Priest, 28, Anchorage, 2:58:40; Daniel Folmar, 41, Anchorage, 3:00:08; Ben Ward, 42, Anchorage, 3:05:19; James Miller, 36, Anchorage, 3:05:22; Ryan Carpenter, 37, Sitka, 3:06:42; Eric Troxell, 44, Anchorage, 3:12:34; Bruce Sackinger, 46, Fairbanks, 3:14:50; Antony Scott, 54, Anchorage, 3:19:41; Andy Holland, 60, Fairbanks, 3:28:26; Ryan McLaughlin, 24, Anchorage, 3:28:35; Timothy Brower, 41, Fort Greely, 3:29:15; Brad Garland, 49, Anchorage, 3:38:43; David Johnston, 47, Willow, 3:48:34; Greg Finstad, 62, Fairbanks, 4:43:14; Jeffrey Bull, 38, Kodiak, 5:04:55.

Women

Shannon Gress, 31, Juneau, 2:54:13; Laura Fox, 36, Anchorage, 3:07:28; Samantha Longacre, 27, Anchorage, 3:25:35; Jamie Bronga, 27, Anchorage, 3:34:21; Amy Larsen, 46, Anchorage, 3:34:55; Rebecca Rolph, 28, Fairbanks, 3:37:06; Maria Whitworth, 52, Anchorage, 3:37:06; Lena Palmer, 41, Anchorage, 3:39:24; Stacey Buckalew, 38, Homer, 3:39:29; Megan Houlihan, 29, Anchorage, 3:41:57; Amie Wu, 37, Anchorage, 3:42:19; Marketa Ith, 46, Petersburg, 3:44:40; Julia Morris, 28, Wasilla, 3:47:17; Jennifer Marsh, 35, Anchorage, 3:49:36; Rebekah Butler, 24, Anchorage, 3:50:29; Jody Olsen, 51, Anchorage, 3:55:45; Mindy Hymas, 45, Anchorage, 4:10:56; Kate Clark, 38, Anchorage, 4:19:00; Susan Faulkner, 58, Anchorage, 4:30:02; Eva Hall, 53, Anchorage, 4:44:15; Ellyn Brown, 64, Anchorage, 4:58:20.