The hauntingly beautiful Lost Lake alpine area
OK, so I'm the first to admit I'm no longer much of a runner. But I am a glutton for good causes and always up for a challenge... and so this year when Karla and I saw the Lost Lake run for Cystic Fibrosis advertized (http://www.lostlakerun.org/), and we saw that it was possible to join the event as walkers, it seemed only logical that we would enter a 16 mile race and pay for the privilege! That was back in April and we had all summer to train for the event... plenty of time... we'll start next week...
We were ruminating about our lack of training as the bus conveyed us from the Bear Creek Fire Station to the starting line at Primrose campground at 0630 Saturday morning in a light drizzle... as we descended from the bus to join 175 other walkers, I had a sinking feeling that weather conditions would only get worse. As it turned out, that was remarkably prescient...
Lost Lake is one of those legendary alpine walks that we had managed to avoid doing for too many years and so it as with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension that we set off up the trail 2 hours ahead of the main pack of runners.
Enjoying a stroll across the alpine meadows of Lost Lake - what race?
After a long gradual ascent, it was wonderful to be above it all, walking through the Lilliputian plant meadows around Lost Lake... this truly is one of the most serene and spectacular vistas in Alaska. And it was (mostly) flat!
One of the great features of the Lost Lake Run is the regular reminder of why you are there - each half mile there is a poster reminding you of the personal challenges posed by Cystic Fibrosis and inspiring you to reflect on what you can do to help with research and treatment
Just as we passed the half way point (feeling great), two things changed. The weather quickly deteriorated (i.e. gusting sleet) and there was an increasing onslaught of runners who has started 2 hours behind us, but who now seemed to be somehow "motor powered" as the gunned their way across the moors. How else can you explain people running uphill at 10mph+? I did make a mental note that they did not stop to take any photographs...
Needless to say it was all downhill from there - old mud and new mud, getting off the trail to allow more and more of the 500+ runners to pass, and yet more rain... and yes, the lack of training was starting to become evident, with increasingly heavy legs...
But as we crossed the line back at Bear Creek to the encouragement of a great group of race supporters, it was uplifting to realize that we were now enmeshed in the fellowship of a unique event. Now in its 20th year, the Lost Lake run has become an Alaskan tradition -- inspiring, rewarding and tanatalizing --and it soon dawned on us that we now have a full 12 months to train for next years race!
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