UPDATE: On Your Mark, Get Set, Crow!

Runners set out near the Crow Pass Trailhead on a 22.6 mile race to Eagle River. (Photos courtesy of Soren Wuerth)

More Than 100 Runners Tackle Girdwood-Eagle River Wilderness Race

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

Around 108 runners stampeded off a bridge Saturday's rainy morning on their way to Eagle River, 22.6 miles away.

Confronting them was a three-mile, 2,000-foot climb to the top of Crow Pass, a 10-mile descent through an overgrown trail to eventually cross thigh or waist-high Eagle River, then another nearly 10-mile slog to the Eagle River Nature Center.

Prior to the start, runners had received a warning: it's going to be a cold one. A steady drizzle made the 50-degree morning feel downright chilly.

And with a capacity for 150 racers, only 108 bibs were picked up. 

This year the 41st-annual race is going to be a little "longer and slower", Race Director Matias Saari said as he packed up gear below a tent at the start.

Later he sent a text:  "two come from behind wins".

Crossing the finish line three hours and 33 minutes later, Allan Spangler had a five minute lead over 18-year-old Zan Griffis. Spangler "caught and passed" Griffis with three miles to go, Saari said, and Christy Marvin "chased down" Shauna Severson to be the first woman to cross the tape. The two took 8th and 9th overall.

A new trail section adds nearly a half mile to the run. The time limit for completion was increased to seven hours.

This year's event had 71 rookies and 15 runners come from out-of-state. Saari said the Crow Pass Crossing doesn't get too many regulars. Many runners just do it once to "bucket list it". 

That said, Palmer's Lance Kopsack, 61, holds the record for most crossings at 38.

A man approached his table, a "sweeper" who will check for stray runners up to the pass. Saari gave him a list of big numbers and asked that he text numbers. 

Thirteen volunteers from Alaska Mountain Rescue Group help to pull off the event. 

The race record, set in 2021, belongs to Scott Patterson, who crossed the wilderness trek in two hours, 50 minutes. 

This article was updated from an earlier version. For full race results, click here. 

Matias Saari gives last minute race instructions as runners prep for the Crow Pass Crossing,