Novakovich Wins Arduous Mount Marathon Race
- By Duncan Larkin
- Published Jul. 6, 2012
He took no shortcuts to prepare for the race.
Matt Novakovich trained like a madman for the grueling Mount Marathon Race in Alaska.
It paid off.
The Anchorage native was the first person to cross the finish line after climbing to the top of Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska and returning back down.
His winning time for the 3.5-mile race was 44 minutes, 7 seconds. Apparently, Novakovich trained for the race using a treadmill cranked at 40% elevation.
It was the fourth-fastest win at Mt. Marathon in the race’s 85-year history.
Trond Flagstad, who has won the race twice in the past, finished second in 44:26. Third place went to Matias Saari.
“I spent the whole winter on the trainer in my garage,” Novakovich commented before the race started. “There’s no BS; it’s completely training I want to go out pretty hard. I think I can put time on those guys early in the climb and maybe get a big lead. But I’ve never been where I’m pushing myself to my absolute limit in first place.”
For More: Alaska Dispatch
FILED UNDER: News TAGS: elevation training / Matt Novakovich / Mount Marathon race / mountain running / treadmill elevation
Duncan Larkin
Duncan Larkin is the news editor at Competitor.com and a freelance journalist who’s been covering the sport of running for over five years. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. His first running book, RUN SIMPLE, was released last July.