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55 Minute Challenge
| Juneau | Distance: your own, between 1 and 11 miles
Location: the UAJ Auke Lake campus parking lot, out and back along the Back Loop Road
Start Time: 2:00 PM, registration from 1:00 PM
Registration Fee: 7 dollars, with a T-shirt for the first 200
Contact: Juneau Parks and Recreation
A race against the clock rather than against each other, put on by the Alaska State Troopers to raise money for Special Olympics - a warm-up for the troopers' annual SOME Run, the cross-country relay that benefits the same cause. Entrants picked a distance between one mile and eleven and had to be back inside 55 minutes; anyone who was went into a hopper, and the prizes were drawn at random at the end.
Water and split times were laid on at marked turn-around points along the Back Loop Road. Serious runners could turn at the Mendenhall Glacier visitor center, which needed a five minute mile; weekend joggers could turn at one, two or three.
"It is a personal challenge," said Sgt. Bill Farber. "We just want you to be back in 55 minutes. You do not have to run. You can skip, pogo stick or push a baby carriage. Whatever. I think this could turn into a lot of fun, and we would like to make it an annual event."
About 190 turned out on a cool, rainy afternoon, from Taku Striders and Juneau-Douglas high school cross country and track runners to families on an outing and special olympians, and 1,400 dollars was raised.
Glenn Frick, Tom Satre and Jerry Buckley set the highest goal of the day at nine miles. Frick, 47, was back in 51:27, a shade under a five and three quarter minute mile; Buckley, 43, cut it closest of anyone at 54:34.
Thirty prizes were given out. Jon Weed took a return ticket to Seattle from Western Airlines, Ben Haight a Temsco helicopter glacier tour for two, and Agnes Secrist a morning jog and continental breakfast with Governor Bill Sheffield. | DefaultRaceDirector Unassigned | 1986-06-08 14:00:00 | no | yes | yes | Registration Form |