Summery conditions arrived in time for the Alpine Adventure Run, and many familiar faces, as well as a large crowd of runners from out of town, gathered Saturday for Sitka's traditional mountain race.
At the head of the pack again was Chris Brenk, formerly of Sitka, who took first place by a wide margin, crossing the line at the Harbor Mountain picnic shelter in 1:05:04, fully six minutes ahead of Ian Curtis of Missoula, Montana, who placed second at 1:11:10.
The race course starts on Lincoln Street, and after a stretch on the gravel Cross Trail transitions to the steep wooden stairs of the Gavan Hill Trail. At the top, the course follows the ridgeline to the finish line atop Harbor Mountain.
In all, 122 athletes ran the 7-mile course, which climbs 3,300 vertical feet, going from the initial ascent to the rolling ridgeline terrain atop Gavan.
“We had the highest number of runners from outside of Sitka I've ever had," said race organizer Chris Horan. "I counted them – there were 40." Some came from as far away as South Africa and New Zealand.
Saturday marked the 32nd running of the event, which began as an Eagle Scout project by Chris and Charles Horan’s son, Josh, in 1994. In a reprieve from this year's extraordinarily wet spring, the weather Saturday was dry and warm but not too hot for a race.
“It went perfect,” Horan said. “And the weather was a great, big thing to me after what we've been dealing with, this quote, ‘summer’ and so I think it could have been completely different if we had a downpour like we've been having, but people, they all seemed very happy. And I believe all of those people would still have come, but they would not have stayed and had a fun conversation time with each other.”
The view from the ridgeline was a sweeping vista of mountains seen through broken clouds. The course was overcast for much of the time runners were on the mountain, providing relief from direct sunshine that can be harsh in the high country.
For Chris Brenk, who lived in Sitka between 2021 and 2024 and now lives in Utah, the win was his third since his back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. He took second place in 2024.
This was "the best weather of the four years I've run it,” Brenk told the Sentinel a few minutes after crossing the finish line.
“Partly sunny to start, sun when you get past the Stairmaster, clouds rolling in at the top of the rock bench, and then sunny at the scree field… Not too hot either, like two years ago. So I was so happy with the weather. You could see the view, you could see the mountains and the interior of the island; I could see the ocean; it was perfect.”
Brenk plans to keep returning for the Alpine Adventure Run as long as he can, largely because of the tight-knit community of mountain runners that coalesces around the event.
“First and foremost, I know most people here, and it's just too easy to come back to Sitka to race." he said. "I was thinking about this on the run – I just read 'Desert Solitaire,' by Edward Abbey, classic Utah culture. The opening line is, ‘This is the most beautiful place on earth. There are many places like it.’ But then it goes into why Utah is the best. And today I came to the rock bench section of the race (a highpoint on the ridge), and I looked at the mountains that had clouds, but the peaks were visible in the interior. And then I looked at the ocean, and I literally thought like, ‘Oh my goodness, to me, this is the most beautiful place on earth.’ Why would I not come back to this? Why would I not only be a part of the community… but just be somewhere that makes me feel so passionate and grateful to be alive.”
Sitka has long had a cadre of St. Olaf College graduates, and Brenk was a runner at the NCAA Division III school. Coming in at second place this year was another St. Olaf grad, Ian Curtis.,
Two local runners were next across the line, Sam Scotchmer at 1:14:01, and David Wilcox, at 1:14:03.
Recent Sitka High graduate Connor Hitchcock, a star runner for the Wolves, placed seventh in 1:15:58. In the fall he will be off to St. Olaf's, where he plans to keep running.
Hitchcock said he worked to pace himself carefully from the start line. "I feel like everyone usually goes out pretty fast. And I was just trying to contain myself and not go with people when they pass me, even though I was tempted to," he told the Sentinel at the finish line.
"I was just telling myself to just run my own race… Got on the ridge and felt pretty good. And then I think the ridge went pretty well. I was feeling pretty exhausted by the kind of the spur that goes to the peak. But it was super fun, great day,” he said.
Anna Prussian, another Sitka High graduate, put up a solid performance Saturday and was the first woman to finish, crossing the line in 1:29:28 in 20th place overall. She finished in first place in the women's division last year, her first year in the Alpine Run.
"Being able to move in and out of the clouds and in and out of the shade, the hot weather or the sun felt really good, especially because we haven't seen much of it this year," she said at the finish line. "I feel like it was nice. And it always makes it better when it's sunny.”
Prussian is a rising junior at Seattle Pacific University, where she studies history and sociology, and will soon leave for an archaeological dig in Rome. She runs cross country and track in college, and specializes in the 5k and 10k. Her 17:49 in the 5k this year was her personal best.
After such a wet summer, Prussian was glad the weather was dry in the lead-up to the race, as the boardwalks and wooden steps were less treacherous than usual.
“It was pretty good this year, it wasn't too slippery. The rocks were dry, which was nice. And then splashing through the puddles was kind of good because it cooled you off a little bit,” she said.
Charles Horan celebrated his 75th birthday on the run, finishing in 2:08:00 and 93rd overall. He said he has run the race more than 20 times, and sees it as an honor to be able to continue participating.
“I feel privileged to be part of a community that really fostered this in me and allowed me to do it. I mean, I never ran in high school,” he said.
After a knee injury in his 60s he thought his running career was over, but with the help of friends who kept running as they aged, he got back into the sport.
“By the grace of God, we're running machines," Horan said. "I'm convinced – I know I'm crazy – that we were built to run, and it's such a joy coming down those slopes. I'm a downhill runner.”
Among those who came to the race from out of town was Trina Nation from Klawock, who used to live in Sitka.
“I have a draw to come back and relive, whatever, 20 years ago when I moved here, just kind of kick around and see what's changed and see what hasn't, and visit friends,” Nation said. She ran in the 2023 race and was 76th this year in 1:56:10.
“I don’t know how you wouldn’t want to do this,” she said.
The large number of non-runners who were on the course to support the athletes also impressed her.
“The vibe is always high," she said. "It's cool to be popping along and have somebody just there in the scree field or at the checkpoints, but the places that you don't expect to see people and they're all cheering at the top of their lungs for you.”
Also in the race was Tonya Busse, a friend of Nation who lived on Prince of Wales but has since moved to Jamaica. This was Busse’s first time in the Alpine Adventure Run.
“Once I was up to that ridge, then it was just awesome… I was so happy. I was shocked how many people were up there cheering. That was really cool,” Busse said.
“You could run up there forever. I mean, you really could. It's just too beautiful. I will be back. I'll complain the whole time again, but I'll do it again.”
She described the event as packed with “good Southeast camaraderie.”
Also in the competition for the first time was Alyse Dyck, a flight attendant living in Anchorage who flew to Sitka for her first ever race.
“I fly into Sitka a lot for work, and I just love Sitka so much, and so I kind of just wanted an excuse to come here,” Dyck said. “And I was looking at a bunch of mountain races because my friends back in Anchorage were trying to get me to sign up for one.”
She found the Sitka event on the Alaska Mountain Runners website, and went from there.
“It was my first mountain race, first race ever, actually. So I didn't really know. It was definitely a little bit tougher than I was expecting, especially because I've never done the full trail, but it was a lot of fun, and once you get up to the top, just the views make it all worth it,” she said.
She finished the course in 2:00:21 for 86th place overall. Dyck said she “100 percent” plans to run the race in 2026.
Chris Horan called the day a success, and thanked the dozens of volunteers, from the fire department's search and rescue team to the people who prepared snacks at the finish line.
The race course is situated largely on U.S. Forest Service land, and the Alpine Run operates under a USFS special use permit, as well as with cooperation from the agency on the day of the race. The race is set for July 18, 2026.
Full results are below.
1 1:05:04 Brenk, Chris/Salt Lake City, Utah
2 1:11:10 Ian Curtis/Missoula, Montana
3 1:14:01 Scotchmer, Sam
4 1:14:03 Wilcox, David
5 1:15:11 Calvin, Devon
6 1:15:16 Wheeler, Ferguson/Juneau, Alaska
7 1:15:58 Hitchcock, Connor
8 1:16:11 Bickley, Garrett/Piedmont/Oklahoma
9 1:17:56 Dow, Asa
10 1:21:41 Kennedy, Garland
11 1:21:55 Derauf, Ian
12 1:22:06 Stone, Parker
13 1:23:22 Thompson, Drew
14 1:24:07 Chevalier, Josh
15 1:24:12 Novak, Ian/Juneau, Alaska
16 1:24:48 Toney, Blake/Douglas, Alaska
17 1:24:49 Hughey, Ben
18 1:28:58 Vu, Peter
19 1:28:59 Grutter, Ivan
20 1:29:28 Prussian, Anna
21 1:31:13 Shep, Mike/Ketchikan, Alaska
22 1:32:14 Laffrey, Anna
23 1:33:32 Walsh, Bryce
24 1:34:01 Metzger, Jacob
25 1:34:23 Obrien, Ben/Katikati, New Zealand
26 1:34:37 Catterson, Matt/Douglas, Alaska
27 1:35:15 Harden, Cooper
28 1:35:21 Schinke, Mike
29 1:37:37 Bagley, Ian
30 1:37:54 Tanguay, Jordan
31 1:38:03 Brantman, Jesse/Jacksonville, Florida
32 1:38:30 Papoi, Chatham
33 1:38:31 Ralphs, Drew/Cape Town, South Africa
34 1:39:01 Ferguson, Jeremia
35 1:39:04 Merryman, Raymond
36 1:39:11 Weiland, Peter
37 1:39:23 Prussian, Aaron
38 1:39:35 Matula, Sarah/Douglas, Alaska
39 1:39:38 Schroeder, Jayme
40 1:40:02 Vargas, Kevin
41 1:40:31 Edwards, Brent
42 1:41:04 Edwards, Phineas
43 1:41:27 Paustian, Kari
44 1:42:28 Weese, Dakota
45 1:41:39 Johnson, Nate
46 1:43:06 Busse, Tonya/Klawock, Alaska
47 1:43:25 Allely, Joshua/Anchorage, Alaska
48 1:43:36 Merculief, Aliyah
49 1:44:06 Remund, Joli
50 1:44:17 Baciocco, John
51 1:45:22 Edwards, Cindy Bea
52 1:46:06 Bailey, Mateo
53 1:46:21 Tomczuk, Sara
54 1:46:45 Groshek, Mariah
55 1:47:20 Dunn, Daniel
56 1:47:34 Damron, Haleigh/Douglas, Alaska
57 1:47:46 Scotchmer, Kristen
58 1:48:03 Duclos, Nicole
59 1:48:10 Everson, Theodore
60 1:48:12 Harris, Hannah/Craig, Alaska
61 1:48:41 Pearlmutter, Jacquelyn
62 1:49:01 Bagley, Justin
63 1:49:16 McCarrel, Alexandra
64 1:49:57 O’Hanlon, Kevan/Minneapolis, Minnesota
65 1:50:17 Holland, Jessica
66 1:50:53 Bethune, Stephen
67 1:50:57 Lubin, Ella
68 1:51:08 Lenhart, Maggie/Juneau, Alaska
69 1:51:48 Vieira, Mike
70 1:52:26 Cowles, Sadie
71 1:53:22 Wilcox, Olivia
72 1:54:09 Hitchcock, Bridget
73 1:54:22 Groshek, Matthew
74 1:55:00 Priest, Justin
75 1:55:06 Wilcox, Brett
76 1:56:10 Nation, Trina/Klawock, Alaska
77 1:57:01 Miracle, Julia/Juneau, Alska
78 1:57:06 Skjeret, Jennifer/Fergus Falls, Minnesota
79 1:57:07 Malter, Natalie/Seattle, Washington
80 1:58:12 Fluharty, Grace/Juneau, Alaska
81 1:58:39 Fowler, Katrina/Freeport/Maine
82 1:59:25 Blakely, Chris/Corvallis, Oregon
83 2:00:12 Niedermeyer, Katie
84 2:00:17 Yang, Vivian/San Francisco, California
85 2:00:21 Devine, Allison/Chugiak, Alaska
86 2:00:21 Dyck, Alyse/Anchorage, Alaska
87 2:03:47 Youngberg, Erika
88 2:03:48 Garner, Eric
89 2:05:23 Johansen, Tracy
90 2:05:27 Wilson, Ryan
91 2:06:21 Virnig, Sarah/Anchorage, Alaska
92 2:07:08 Antonio, Lisa
93 2:08:00 Horan, Charles
94 2:08:29 Nelson, Jill/Fergus Falls, Minnesota
95 2:10:06 Frazier, Amanda/Palmer, Alaska
96 2:10:33 Stroud, Jesse/Beryl, Utah
97 2:10:52 Magbanua, Glenn
98 2:10:52 Scherer, Sofia/Catonsville, Maryland
99 2:11:23 Yang, Haleigh/Santa Cruz/ California
100 2:12:18 Langley, Clint/McMurray, Pennsylvania
101 2:12:18 Langley, Juliette
102 2:14:21 Joyce, Mariana
103 2:14:37 Prokosch, Allie
104 2:14:39 Colliver, Michael
105 2:15:15 Priest, Connor/Anchorage, Alaska
106 2:15:28 Klejka, Jessica/Wasilla, Alaska
107 2:15:32 Roy, Anna
108 2:20:18 Turner, Chris
109 2:20:29 Brandt Ferguson, Susan
110 2:22:04 Wilcox, Kris
111 2:22:57 Sheehan, Mary
112 2:30:11 Corrales, Tess/Dallas, Texas
113 2:30:54 Sirowich, Kolby
114 2:31:10 Beck, Maria
115 2:32:10 Foster, Erica
116 2:34:27 Rinella, Hailey
117 2:36:51 Gage, Penny
118 2:39:39 Kelly, Tim
119 2:45:30 Seavey, Jamie
120 2:57:25 Aitken, Sherry/Juneau, Alaska
121 2:58:32 Weber, Claire
122 2:58:44 Seavey, Mark
