Skiers brave whiteout conditions for annual marathon
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 13, 2019
There were two different versions of Homer last Saturday: one was rainy, cloudy and relatively warm for March — the other cold, windswept and with whiteout conditions. Dozens of skiers braved the latter up in the hills above town for the annual Kachemak Nordic Ski Marathon.
More than 70 people registered for this year’s race, which marked a return to the normal course after last year’s deviation into the lands beyond the McNiel/Eveline Trails. Skiers traveled from the Lookout Mountain Trails all the way over to the Baycrest Trails. They had the option of tackling a 13 kilometer, 25k or 42k race.
The 42k course was actually shortened to 38k when a portion of the trail was lost to the blowing snow, said race coordinator Deland Anderson in an email. The 25k race ended up being 27.5k and the 13k was shortened to 9k, also due to loss of trail.
“The oldest skier had to fend off a moose charge near the end of the 42k race,” Anderson wrote.
In the longest race, Todd Boonstra finished in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 45 seconds, while Kelli Boonstra finished at 2:43:06. Homer High School’s Katia Holmes won the 25k both for the women and overall in 1:57:58, while Lael Gordon finished it in 1:58:50 as the first man across the finish line.
Full results are below:
The 13k tour is untimed. It had 13 participants and 12 finishers.
WOMEN
25 kilometers — 1. Katia Holmes, 1 hour, 57 minutes, 58 seconds; 2. Marah Gotcsik, 2:19:09; 3. Alison O’Hara, 2:25:43; 4. Anna Williams, 2:29:26; 5. Claire Neaton, 2:33:06; 6. Whitney Harness, 3:00:39; 7. Emily Lints, 3:00:44; 8. Heather Renner, 3:02:31; 9. Emile Otis, 3:02:31; 10. Gabbie Tews, 3:05:13; 11. Brie Drummond, 3:24:49; 12. Yvonne Leutwyler, 3:25:27; 13. Ruth Dickerson, 3:30:20; 14. Jen Booz, 3:37:24; 15. Nicole McKenney, 3:38:08; 16. Meghan Cavanaugh, 3:49:22; 17. Kris Holderied, 3:56:00; 18. Amy Holman, 3:56:01.
42 kilometers — 1. Kelli Boonstra, 2:43:06; 2. Sadie Oswald, 2:49:32; 3. Katie Marden, 3:11:34; 4. Melissa Smith, 3:11:41; 5. Katie Miller, 3:13:49; 6. Joanne Thomas, 3:16:49; 7. Maria Salzetti, 3:36:59.
MEN
25 kilometers — 1. Lael Gordon, 1:58:50; 2. Ryan Peterson, 1:59:37; 3. Daniel Perry, 2:27:15; 4. Brian Harrison, 2:41:00; 5. Travis Brown, 2:41:02; 6. Eric Pederson, 2:47:07; 7. Chris Russ, 3:08:17; 8. Douglas White, 3:23:47; 9. Don Pitcher, 3:29:14; 10. Larry Tews, 3:40:18; 11. Charles Boyle, 3:49:21; 12. Mikel Salzetti, 3:49:57; 13. Kevin Walker, 4:00:15.
42 kilometers — 1. Todd Boonstra, 2:26:45; 2. Jeff Kase, 2:26:51; 3. Dan Brokaw, 2:27:04; 4. Josh Mumm, 2:28:16; 5. Fred Dickerson, 2:32:24; 6. Chuck DiMarzio, 2:33:33; 7. Ari Shassny, 2:41:46; 8. Michael Mumm, 2:43:15; 9. Brad Marden, 2:45:56; 10. Jan Spurkland, 2:45:57; 11. Vance Felton, 2:52:35; 12. Kenny Daher, 2:58:17; 13. Martin Schuster, 2:59:30; 14. Matthew Byrd, 3:10:58; 15. Derek Bynagle, 4:08:13; 16. John Berryman, 4:36:09.
Reach Megan Pacer at mpacer@homernews.com.
