Erik Skye Travel Blog

7 Aug 2011

Here’s the map: Google Maps (Click "Satellite" or "Earth" at upper-right for terrain detail.)

My 8-pound head had decoupled from its body and was floating along magically, peacefully through the pine forest. Air rushing in and out, in and out, incessantly, with the sound one hears while breathing air underwater using SCUBA. It was surreal. My head would say to its autonomous self: ‘Look, I’m rising up over this hill now; there’s a pretty view; I hear a squirrel in the distance; oh yeah, the body is sending me hurt signals again… ’ Yes, the body was there. But it was this ever-present machine below, contributing rhythmically from some distance. There – that’s runners high, and probably what I was feeling most during the middle third of the race. Before that, I hadn’t gotten high yet. After that, my body's pain signals took over, disturbing the tranquility.

Ingredients for success: Eat a lot for five days prior; drink five beers night before (plus high carb solid food); breakfast of Maca (Google that one) and chia seeds bound in Greek strained yogurt +banana + whole grain bread + highly-concentrated fruit juice puree; two or three energy gels (including one with high caffeine for last third of event) + aid station fluids along the way. That’s what I did and got a 3h24:36 in the Yukon River Trail Marathon – my best time ever! It was good enough for third place in my age bracket and sixth place overall.

I jumped in the Yukon River right after: Video of plunge

A marathon is always 26.2 miles/42.2 kilometers in length. But not all marathons are created equal. They say you can knock half an hour off your time if you want to equate the Equinox or Yukon River Trail Marathons to flat-land marathons.

Later in the day, as we drove out of town, I watched the muscles in my legs twitch and spasm under a network of prominent, bulging veins. The tiniest muscle fibers would roll and wiggle between random contortions of larger muscles. They were dancing. It reminded me of what a complex miracle our bodies are.

Unfortunately, Mike injured his knee at mile 18 or so and had to quit the event. He still joined in the post-race festivities though – including his customary dip in the frigid Yukon River. For some reason, Mike seems to find rocks when I point the camera at him. This time, he looked down and exclaimed with the excitement of a little boy “oh look, it’s a red one!”

There was a strong Alaska presence at the race, including two of the hottest runners around (Matias Saari and Mike Kramer, whom I finished third behind in our age bracket). Matias actually shattered the course record with a time 2h45:47 (he’s got national-level running ability). We cheered each other on at the awards presentation, chatted like old school mates, and posed for this great group photo.

Ironically, Mike got only a couple hours of sleep last night, even though we moved to a location with no noise. The reason? – He didn’t have ear-plugs. Apparently he’s conditioned to the feel of earplugs instead of to the actual presence of sound.

After the race, we travelled 25 km west to Takhini Hotsprings – an outdoor pool heated by a natural up-welling of geo-thermally heated mineral water. It was okay, but lacked the excitement of travel and adventure. So, after setting-up camp and eating dinner, we took a road trip north. We came upon a lake made famous by tales from the great Yukon Gold Rush era of the 1890’s, not the least of which was by this well-loved poem from Robert W. Service called The Cremation of Sam McGee:

There are strange things done in the midnight sun, by the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee.

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