Entrants are almost all Alaskans. Jenna Leigh Challenor (born 6 July 1981) is a South African long-distance runner.She competed in the marathon event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London, UK, finishing 59th.. Is The High Lonesome 100 The Future of Ultrarunning Equity? An old kayak missing from the yard at Miller's Landing, a resort at the end of the road, led to speculation she might have paddled off into Resurrection Bay, but she could just as easily headed down the trail to Tonsina Creek. Thats when Anchorage resident Michael LeMaitre went missing while running the race, never to be seen again. LeMaitres story attracted widespread media attention, becoming one of the most well-known in a grimly extensive list of Alaskans whove disappeared into wilderness landscapes without a trace. But theres also a trail that continues, and it would have been very easy for him to keep going on that trail. Every year on July 4th, hundreds of burly mountain runners climb a punishing 3,022 ft in under a mile to Race Point on Mount Marathon and back down into Seward. A pickup truck belonging to 35-year-old Kristin Snyder, an Anchorage environmental consultant, was found in the parking lot not far from the start of that trail in February 2003. THE STARTBibs have typically been limited to 350 men, 350 women, and 200 juniors, but this year the race was expanded to accommodate 400 in each of the mens and womens races. I guess I always thought this was a process that only happened after several years, or when concrete evidence supporting the missing person is deceased surfaced. Montana Women's Run is a proud member of the Road Runners Club of America. It was rainy, but it didnt sound like it was raining all the time. I think thats fascinating people. It's been a tough past year navigating the pandemic, and. Later in that year of 2012, he was declared legally dead through a court proceeding called a presumed death trial, which is a way for families whove lost someone in a fishing boat accident or a plane crash, where remains are not going to be recoverable to have their loved one legally declared deceased so they can move on with settling estates and insurance and things like that. Fink: After youve summited and rounded the rock, you drop into the snow, and you either sit on your feet or slide down on your butt. On July 4, 2012, an Anchorage man named Michael LeMaitre went missing as he competed in Mount Marathon, the grueling Seward footrace typically held on the Fourth of July each year. Ravens. One of the organisers of the race, Karol Fink, said that in the months before the big day, there had been unusual amounts of snow We had a little more snow than usual. disappeared during the Mount Marathon Race. It was the talk of the town: Two people falling off the waterfall. She was ranked third indoors in the U.S. at 1600m, running 4:48.10, fifth in the mile at 4:45.12, and 5th at 1500m at 4:26.77. New rules were instituted, including one that says runners now must sign a pledge saying theyve completed the roughly 3-mile race course at least once prior to race day. In February, she finished 4th in the Millrose Games indoor mile, setting a state indoor record at 15-years-old. He was apparently fit and healthy, having been a regular visitor to the gym and had finished a 12K event a month earlier, but despite the warning, he had never visited the course and he chose to continue. A Reno trail runner who went missing over the weekend in Yosemite has been found dead. THE SETTINGMount Marathon in the Kenai Mountain range in southern Alaska looms over town of Seward, an active fishing port, with a population of about 3,000. An Alaska Air National Guard Pave Hawk helicopter participates in the search Thursday, July 5, 2012, for Michael LeMaitre on Mount Marathon. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Iraq war veteran and Blackhawk pilot Penny Assman slid over a cliff, lacerating her liver and breaking several ribs; an Alaskan runner named Matthew Kenney fell at the same spot and suffered broken legs and brain damage. LeMaitre: I had a tough time thinking about when to leave. If he did turn 180 degrees in the wrong direction, he would then need to descend extremely steep and rough terrain on the south side of Mount Marathon, cross Lowell Creek, make a difficult climb up the Bear Mountain ridge, drop off it into the Spruce Creek drainage, climb yet another high ridge, and then drop into the Tonsina drainage. For the first few minutes, its a very steep grade up a rock facequite technical. LeMaitre: I just dont know if theres a chance of finding him. [3][4] Hutchins is an accomplished violinist and has volunteered locally as a youth running coach and at the Johnson City Public Library. There was an extensive search, his bereaved family also continued to search. By the end of the day, two were in the hospital with serious injuries and one had vanished. LeMaitre never came down. An extensive search turned up nothing. His wife Peggy claimed negligence by race officials. He's on Mount Marathon somewhere.". Michelle Theriault Boots is a longtime reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. Mount Marathon is the superbowl of Alaskan mountain running, the ultimate 4th of July celebration, one of my first experiences with competitive running, and . Lingit Aani Kaa Kei Nas.ax Haa Yoo Xatangi, the Anchorage Daily News Curious Alaska column, https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/8-Michelle-Theriault-int.mp3. Jenna Mulhern Drops 12th Fastest 5K In High School History. Missing on Mount Marathon Michael LeMaitre. She was never found and remains among the missing in the area. At this point, the area was getting foggy and cold but Walsh saw no reason to be concerned about the condition of the runner. I know its fascinating to me, the overwhelming scale and power of the wilderness and how close we live to it and how close we all tried that line. Michael LeMaitre could have taken just a few wrong turns, and then very quickly was in the thousands and thousands of impenetrable, mountainous wilderness in the Kenai mountains. But according to OutsideOnline, it's tough: 'The race, which has been run as an organized event since 1915, is a beast, with a 3,022-foot vertical gain and loss over icy and treacherous mountain terrain, where runners pick their own way upand downthe average 38-degree slope.'. Though declared legally dead for about nine years, LeMaitre is still considered a missing person by Alaska State Troopers. If my dad had fallen in one of those chutes and a snow bridge had collapsed over him, the infrared helicopters wouldnt have been able to find him. Michael was said to be adventurous and believed he had won the lottery by getting entry into the Mount Marathon race. Primate sightings in the Alaskan woods have the team puzzled, since experts say that monkeys have never lived in Alaska. She says, If youre not very capable and/or very familiar with the route, the cliff area and the scree can be dangerous.. The biggest factor was the record snowthe trail conditions were unlike anything they had seen beforeice underneath. [9], In January, she won both the mile and two-mile runs at the Virginia Showcase in Lynchburg. Photo by Carol Grisswold. More about series. Following Michaels disappearance, officials made changes to the race. Casey Grove:And you took these questions back to the authorities. Race organisers take no responsibility for Michaels disappearance: Race volunteers spoke with Mr. LeMaitre as he was approaching the turnaround point and let him know the race was over, the statement said. Firefighters and police, state troopers, National Guard helicopter crews armed with infrared technology, mountaineering experts and search dogs scoured the mountain for days in torrential rain, but found no sign of Michael. By 2 am, an Alaska State Troopers helicopter equipped with infrared radar was scanning the mountain. [8], Before injury shortened her season, Jenna posted nation-leading times in the 1600 (4:44.13) and 3200 meters (9:52.33) and lowered her own Science High 800 meter record to 2:13.65. And even though the race was short and the trail packed with people, there was a disappearance. At 11 a.m., nearly 350 women gathered behind the start line. We had a little more snow than usual. A big mistake with the benefit of hindsight. If my dad had fallen in one of those chutes and a snow bridge had collapsed over him, the infrared helicopters wouldnt have been able to find him. Theriault Boots: They searched, they didnt find anything. He didnt make it up Mount Everest, but he tried it, Crom said. At around 5.45 pm on the day of the race, Tom Walsh, a race steward, saw Michael ascending to the turnaround point with about 200 feet to go. As of August 2019, no trace of Michael has been found. The mens race was also foggy, but the trail had dried some. The 2012 race saw broken bones and lacerations for some competitors. Missing 411: The Missing Man on Mount Marathon | Paul LeMaitre The Lore Lodge 162K subscribers Join Subscribe 3.9K 76K views 4 months ago Missing 411 On July 4th, 2012, Paul LeMaitre. Its a bad idea to come down that way, but people do it. The junior race, for runners ages 7 to 17, had already taken placethe kids went only halfway up the broad, triangular mountain that . And finally, I decided that I needed to go on the mountain by myself, because thats how he did the race. Then participants go downhill over snowfields and rock fields,waterfalls and crags until they reach the finish line, back on the streets of Seward. Let us know in the form at the bottom of the story. There are now sweepers that follow the Red Lantern, the last runner down the mountain, to ensure every person has gotten off the mountain. A world-renowned endurance athlete who went missing in California's Yosemite National Park has been found dead. What do you want to know or want us to investigate about life in Alaska, stories behind the news or why things are the way they are? It rained the night before the 2012 race and the trail was slick and muddy. His disappearance was especially striking because he had been participating in an event that each year draws tens of thousands of spectators to Seward, and hundreds of runners onto the mountain itself. The community is pretty heartbroken about it, and so many have reminded me that people are going to keep looking. Michaels daughter, MaryAnne said My dadhe has always had an adventurous spirit: He did the Iditaski several times; he had a lot of exciting adventures on the water. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org. Alyse Bondi, Jenna's close friend from Cornell, said Jenna loves to run. And potential participants should practice [the course]., Womens winner Holly Brooks, also of Anchorage, contends that the risk involved is simply a part of the race. Throughout my running, I have maintained a passion for travel & climbing, and combine them all whenever I have a chance, Zalokar, who had visited 137 countries, wrote on his website. Zalokar is survived by his wife, Deb, and their son, Ian, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. I chose to come down the cliffs in a crabwalk its so steephand, hand, foot, foot.. But what happened in the 2012 Mount Marathon Race really stands out in Alaska lore. But crews found no sign of LeMaitre. You know, a lot of people kept saying, you need some sort of closure. Then theres a dirt trail with a 60 percent grade. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Competitors must now meet specified time milestones or they will be forced to drop out, a rule designed to avoid risks to stragglers. So hes been legally dead for almost nine years now. The trail is slippery, almost straight up in places, and treacherous at best. Disappearance on Mount Marathon On July 4, 2012, runners gathered in Seward, Alaska, for a three-mile trail race up the mountain that looms 3,000 feet over Resurrection Bay. The Mount Marathon Race in Seward took place Wednesday, after a year off due to the pandemic, without reports of any major trouble. Download the app. There is hope that it might eventually be matched to the dental records of one of the missing people, but so far troopers haven't even been able to conclude who it isn't. And theres just never been a trace of him found. I know its fascinating to me, the overwhelming scale and power of the wilderness and how close we live to it and how close we all tried that line. The following transcript was lightly edited for clarity. A team of up to 60 searchers scoured the mountain, looking everywhere, even the other side, away from the race course. LeMaitre: The parts that were most dangerous, he had already gone up them. He won the lottery for getting into the race, and that was it. Trailing behind the other runners, LeMaitre was last seen near the summit by a race official. It was about 8 p.m. local time on July 4 when Seward, Alaskas Fire Department received word that 66-year-old Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage, was missing. Mount Marathon towers over the community of Seward at the head of Resurrection Bay about 125 miles south of Anchorage. That means one of every 161 people goes missing in the . The red lantern in the race from downtown Seward to Race Point high up on Mount Marathon and then back, LeMaitre was last seen just a few hundred feet below the point in 2012. Fink: Distance in this race isnt as critical as vertical. Mount Marathon runner Penny Assman takes a brutal on-course fall, breaking her ribs. Matthew Kenney, 41, of Anchorage, continues to make a slow recovery after a fall from a cliff ledge on the course left him in a coma and with a compound leg fracture. An accomplished runner and mountain climber was found dead in Yosemite National Park days after he went missing, officials said. The 93rd Mount Marathon race will be held Wednesday in Seward after a year off because of the pandemic. The. Michael LeMaitre (66) disappeared on his way up the mountain and remains missing to this day. Footlocker national cross country championship race, Jenna Hutchins Talks One Last Race, XC And The Maze Runner, SCIENCE HILL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE TENNESSEE GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR, Science Hill distance star Jenna Hutchins NET female athlete of the year, Science Hills Hutchins leaves larger-than-life mark on area running, 20192020 TENNESSEE GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PLAYER OF THE YEAR, A run of success: victories, records and awards piling up for Hutchins, Jenna Hutchins Emerges As The Fastest HS 5000 Runner Ever, Jenna Hutchins Adds to Her Record Collection, Breaking the U20 5K Record, Hutchins, Moore earn USATF Athlete of the Week honors, Video Jenna Hutchins BREAKS the Girl's Highschool and U20 5k record + Interview 15:34.47, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jenna_Hutchins&oldid=1091711455, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 June 2022, at 22:16. The crowd cheered when Matt Novakovich won the 3.5-mile race in less than 45 minutes . I have spent a lot of time on the mountain; I know my route very clearly. A few minutes down, theres Denali Falls; it has a 10-foot drop. This was an extreme event and he was last seen on July 4, 2012 about 200 feet from the top of Mount Marathon, a 3022 feet high peak. He left the ADN in 2015. The mountain is so close to townyou can hear the announcer all the way up. Casey Grove: And you took these questions back to the authorities. Since 1982, our main focus has been to promote health and fitness among women, especially women who would not otherwise exercise. The biggest factor was the record snowthe trail conditions were unlike anything they had seen beforeice underneath. Its dangerous, so youre not only competing against other people on the mountain, but youre competing to get across the finish line healthy and safe. Thats one of my fears, that if Im not looking, no ones looking. 2023 Anchorage Daily News. He wasnt carrying any water. Clock says the race organizers might consider incorporating cutoff times, but that ultimately, racers assume a certain risk when they run up and down a mountain. He was definitely physically fit. South Africa at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics In July 2013, LeMaitres widow sued the Seward Chamber of Commerce, who organizes the race, for $5 million and eventually settled in October 2014 for $20,000. Everyone involved in the Marathon Mountain event asks the question, how does someone disappear during a three-mile race and be lost forever, without a trace? The junior trail is probably the safest of the threebut its dangerous as well, just cut into the side of the mountain, very steep and narrowtrees, roots to negotiate, and it gets very slick. Join Outside+ to get access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Clock says LeMaitre was last spotted race day by on-course volunteers around 6 p.m. A partial human jawbone was found near Tonsina Point, a few mountainous miles away, in 2014. But his disappearance prompted lasting safety changes to the way the race is run. Alaska's Mutant Monkeys. I wonder how his wife managed to have him declared dead barely 3 months after he went missing. Theriault Boots:They searched, they didnt find anything. Despite speculation about whether the remains might belong to LeMaitre, DNA testing found they instead belonged to a 39-year-old man whose last address was in Arkansas, troopers said. Weve never had anything this severe. Missing from the field were Jessica Yeaton, the defending champion, and Rosie Frankowski, who was the first runner to the top last year en route to seventh place. The Troopers announced that they identified the remains of Ronald Oquilluk using DNA from his sister. Marathon. Youre going on this trail in the trees and the brush. [4], Hutchins was named the 20192020 Tennessee Girls Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year, winning the Footlocker South Regional Cross Country Championships in 16:54,[5] She was ranked 9th in the nation at the mile, with a time of 4:43.33, and fifth at two miles, in 10:25.01. Matthew Kenney and Penny Assman both fell over the same section of trail, known as the waterfall.. Crom, meanwhile, told the newspaper its unclear whether he summited Mount Clark prior to his death, but said park rangers would likely check a log book near the peak. [14] Hutchins was selected as Athlete of the Week by USA Track & Field as a result. I want to inspire people to dream big and go out there and make it happen!. Several years since Michael disappeared, not one piece of physical evidence has surfaced. The Mount Marathon Race doesnt look like much on paper: its short (just three miles long) and starts at sea level. While he was still heading up the mountain, the officials at checkpoints along the way were packing up. There was no one there to give him any direction. The mountain is always there. The Mount Marathon Race in Seward took place Wednesday, after a year off due to the pandemic, without reports of any major trouble. 65-year-old Michael LeMaitre was competing in the Mount Marathon race in Seward, Alaska, which is south of the city of Anchorage. Its a course that poses a danger for race rookies like LeMaitre, according to Cindy Clock, Executive Director of the Seward Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the race. But I think theres a lot of people who still very much want to know what happened to Michael LeMaitre. The race is short, only three miles long. Theres no substitute for actually walking the course, for checking out the chute area and seeing whats best for you, he says. Correction: The photo caption on this story has been updated to correct the year Michael LeMaitre went missing to 2012. They moved to Pflugerville, Texas when she was ten years old, staying a few years, after her father got a work promotion. The Half Marathon has been selected by RRCA as the Montana State Championship Race. No trail, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said at the time. Queen Bee Montana Marathon - new name - Same Fast Courses! The race, which is notorious for its extreme nature, covers approximately 3 miles of difficult terrain up and back down the Mount. And theres just never been a trace of him found. We walked the streams. We looked at eagle activity, bear activity. Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. Vanished: Heidi Broussard (33) and Margot Carey (2wks). Peggy originally asked for $5 million in a settlement but both parties agreed to a $20,000 payout. Michelle Theriault Boots: During that race, it was terrible weather. Alaska Public Media is our partner station in Anchorage. Then you pop out back out and have to decide whether to take the junior trail, the cliffs, or the waterfall, which is 20 feet out, 70 feet down. Since all the snow hadnt melted out from the creek bed, there were some snow bridges that you had to cross that were really creepy. Mount Marathon runner Penny Assman takes a brutal on-course fall, breaking her ribs. No trace. Michaels eyesight was failing but he thought he was capable enough to finish the race. 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I have a friend from Seward. Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage, the Anchorages Daily News Curious Alaska column, Bronson wont consider former Alaska Club building for Anchorage homeless shelter. So that I think is discouraging of people who are going to be taking four or five, six hours much longer to complete the race. Update the categories youd like to receive notifications about. After troopers stopped their search, family continued. Its just on the minds of everybody. AFTER THE RACEOn July 5th, MaryAnne LeMaitre boarded a plane in Salt Lake City and went to Seward to look for her dad. By 9 p.m. a search was in full force. At press time, LeMaitre had still not been found and was presumed dead. It has been sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office for further examination. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more.
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