Were you to take the top five finishers from Saturday’s 59th annual Equinox Marathon, you’d have a phenomenal cross-country skiing team.
True to the event’s roots, when it was organized by University of Alaska Fairbanks coaches as a way for winter athletes to test their conditioning heading into the season, three of the top finishers Saturday are better recognized for their exploits on the snow than on the running course.
2022 champion Mike Ophoff, a native of Cista u Horek in the Czech Republic, completed the 26.2-mile venture in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 58 seconds. Ophoff took fifth in the 10-kilometer Classic Technique race and 18th in the 20-kilometer Free Technique event last spring at NCAA’s in Midway, Utah. Though he also runs for the Nanooks’ cross country team, he’s much more comfortable on snow than grass.
“It’s good (lung) volume workout,” Ophoff said of running. “It gives me a break from skiing for a little bit, so I don’t get tired of it and, obviously, there are times when I can’t ski.”
Ophoff said he logs about 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) of training per week at his peak conditioning cycle.
As many runners who have tackled what The Weather Channel has labeled as the ninth-most challenging marathon course in the world, the downhills from the elevation of Ester Dome left an impression on this year’s winner.
“I can’t really run the downhills,” Ophoff said, noting that in cross-country skiing downhills are often coasted in a streamlined position. “My muscles aren’t used to it, so I’m not really sure how to handle them.”
Ophoff’s UAF rival — University of Alaska Anchorage senior Magnus Noroey of Levanger, Norway — finished 40 seconds behind the Nanook in 2:56.38. Ophoff also competed at last spring’s NCAA cross-country skiing event, placing 28th and 20th.
Third place was Ophoff’s UAF skiing teammate Christopher Kalev, a junior from Tallinn, Estonia, who finished in 2:58.51. He finished fourth and 13th in last year’s NCAA cross-country skiing championships.
Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks and Lathrop High School coach Tobias Albrigtsen, the husband of UAF cross-country skiing and cross-country running coach Eliska Albrigtsen, finished fifth in 3:04.07.
On the women’s side, Meg Inokuma and Christy Marvin ran in tandem for the first 20 miles before Inokuma pulled away, taking the title in 3:15.29. The 42-year-old Palmer resident was just off her personal record from last season (3:14.35) when she finished fourth.
“My goal was my PR and I didn’t achieve it, but it feels great to win,” Inokuma said. “It was not as difficult as last year, when I didn’t even know if I was going to finish until the last two miles. This year I felt great.”
Marvin, who was seeking her seventh Equinox title, finished second in 3:21.22, with Megan Youngren, last year’s runner-up, finishing third in 3:33.23.
For the second year, the event also featured a half-marathon option. Kenneth Brewer, 30, won the men’s race in 1:22.37, while Eagle River’s Krista Schnell, 30, finished first in the women’s division in 1:40.55.
A total of 503 racers took off from the starting line, including 71-year-old Michael Fairchild of Brattleboro, Vermont. Fairchild, who was marking the 50th anniversary of his victory in the 1972 Equinox Marathon, finished the race in 5:35.49.
Contact sports editor Jeff Olsen at 907-459-7530 or jolsen@newsminer.com.
