Runners dealt with a brutal course made more difficult by temperatures in the 80s, and the absence of the ubiquitous cool breeze usually found toward the top of the 3,022-foot peak.

The top local finisher in the men’s race was Todd Lowery, who crossed the line in 31st place.

Longtime competitor Pete McEnaney, of Eagle River, said that race conditions were difficult this year - the toughest yet in his nine tries. Even so, the local youth hockey coach and former member of the Anchorage Aces hockey team, recorded a personal best, taking nearly 2 minutes off his time, finishing 53rd in the men’s division race.

A total of 350 athletes toed the starting line at the race, with only 304 finishing the course, confirming the severity of the conditions.

McEnaney said he saw a couple elite athletes “bonk” on the course, with heat exhaustion and painful muscle cramping.

“One guy went down onto all fours right in front of me near the halfway point going up (the mountain),” he said.

The only water station on the course was at the turn-around point at the peak, said McEnaney, who considered himself fortunate to have received a water bottle from someone along the trail, which he poured over his head.

Junior boys champion Alex Babos, of Eagle River, said that he had logged the requisite training to do well.

After securing the best “downhill time” last year, Babos said he got serious about his training regimen for this year.

“Around April I started eating healthy and cut out the soda,” he said.

He also ran Eagle River’s Mount Baldy 25 or more times, or power-walked the same beaten trek with 30 pounds to 40 pounds of water on his back.

Having performed well in the senior division of the Bird Ridge race two weeks ago, Babos said he wanted to win this year’s race.

Alex said he was followed closely by eventual second-place finisher, Brett Chase, of Seward, for most of the way up to the half-way point.

“Minutes before the turn-around, he fell off the pace,” he said.

His opportunity to get a good look came at the pole, when Babos began his downward free fall.

“It usually takes a couple minutes for your legs to get used to going downhill again,” said Babos Sunday, outside his parent’s Eagle River home.

He added that he didn’t feel good until he was all the way down, emerging from the “chute” and back onto pavement for the quarter-mile sprint to the finish line.

“The crowd gets you back into it,” said Babos, who was very appreciative of the fan support throughout the race.

The event has been a yearly family affair for many, with the holiday weekend allowing opportunity for the annual pilgrimage.

The Russell clan, headed by mom Teresa, was represented well with siblings Ben and Rachel placing third in their respective races, and Hannah placing 35th, but second in her 0-11 age group.

“This was my ninth year,” said Teresa Russell, who placed 15th overall in the women’s division - her best finish by far, she said.

The Klecka family was also well represented with father, Joseph, 38th in the men’s race, mother, Donna, 205th in the women’s race, and daughters, Jackie and Jenny, 13th and 26th, respectively, in the girls junior race.

Chugiak High School graduate Natasha Liebig competed in her 13th Mount Marathon Race. After competing her undergraduate degree at Carroll College, she returned to Alaska, continuing her summer races up Seward’s famed mountain until 2005 when she went on to grad-school in Tampa, Florida.

Liebig said that she had since moved her training emphasis to longer races - namely half-marathons and marathons.

“I have my first marathon planned for September in Florida,” she said from her parent’s home in Chugiak Sunday. She left Tuesday to return to the warmer climes of the southeastern United States.

Reach the reporter at editor@alaskastar.com

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, July 9, 2009.