Sven Johansson 30k Race

The Sven Johansson, the final race in the AMH Anchorage Cup, is nicknamed as "The Tour of Kincaid", because the course tackles just about every big climb in the park-- Stairway to Heaven, Hairpin, Ice Box, Elliots Climb, Burky's climb, Lekisch, you name it.

Several of the elite women got the honor of starting in the elite men's wave, which made for a more interesting and exciting race. Once the mayhem of the mass start simmered down, my APU teammates Taz Mannix, Kate Arduser, and I skied in a tight triad through the rest of the race. It was a rewarding experience cruising up and over the hills going faster together as a group. At times it felt like we were flying.

Long mass start races are pretty sweet in that there's much to be learned while racing. When skiing behind these ladies, I was able to make small adjustments with my technique and tempo and have immediate feedback on the most efficient way to ski for that particular terrain. I found that focusing on shifting my weight over each ski was far more efficient than trying to power up the hills with more upper body strength.

Similar to cycling, we worked together rotating through a pace-line and recognized the unwritten rules of racing etiquette. There was no surges when one of us was getting a feed, nor when one of us was in a vulnerable state due to an external issue. For example, Taz accidentally stepped on Kate's pole while we were hammering up Hairpin. Kate's pole completely came off so rather than using the opportunity to speed away, Taz helped Kate fetch her pole and I waited in front (and was thankfully able to catch my breath) before continuing onward. We had already made it 26k together and we were going to battle it out to the end together.

In the final 2k Taz put the stomp down, forcing me to focus on putting all my energy into the final climbs. My legs burned and my lungs screamed, but I made imaginary finish lines at the tops of the final hills to keep my motivation at it's max. I figured that if I could keep close enough contact and not let her gap me too much before the final downhill, I could muster up enough of a sprint for the finishing stretch to win the race. I felt stronger than ever, my theory worked, and I was able to pull off the win! It was a welcomed surprise and a gratifying experience after putting so much hard work into training. Taz, Katie, Kate post race (Barry Johnson photos).

Congrats to my APU teammates who took the top 6 spots in the women's race, the top 3 spots in the mens race, and the top spot in the mens 10k. It was also great to see so many citizen athletes there enjoying the day of racing, as well as Jan and Ben, my former AWS coaches, out there racing fast! The ADN article and results can be found HERE.