3 hours 49 minutes 53 seconds

On Saturday I ran my first marathon -- the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon -- and it went fantabulously. My goal was to run it in four hours or less, and I clocked in with 10 minutes to spare. I placed 36th out of 713 women finishers. And I enjoyed nearly every moment of it (mile 24.5 to mile 25.5, when I could see the finish line but had to circle a big lake, were pretty grueling).

The day was perfectly overcast and the course followed a great route through Anchorage -- part bike trail, part hiking trail, part urban enviornment, part mountain environment. As I passed within a stone's throw from my house, I thought, "wow, I do live in a cool place."

Now I'm qualified for the Crow Pass race. A 24-mile mountain race I've had my sights set on for a while. One of the "qualifiers" for the Crow Pass race is to have run a marathon in four hours or less -- bodaboom, bodabang! That will be next summer. In the meantime, I turn my attention to the Matanuska Peak Challenge -- a 14-mile ascent and descent of two mountains that covers 9,000 feet of elevation gain and loss. Yousers! Just finishing that one will be an accomplishment.

Star articles

Here's the links to some of the articles I've written recently. All were published in the Alaska Star -- the paper that, as the editor, I pour my energy and inspiration into every week.

High-tech treasure hunting in the Chugach mountains
This is my latest Outside the Ordinary column. It's about geocaching.

http://alaskastar.com/stories/061208/new_20080612008.shtml


Blaze destroys home
This story ran on the cover of the paper. It's about a family whose home burned to the ground. The family has seven children -- four biological children and three foster children -- and the dad is in the military.

http://alaskastar.com/stories/061908/saf_20080619009.shtml


Recalling history: Alaska veterans share their war stories
This is about a local lady who is interviewing veterans and putting together an oral history project. Eventually she wants to see her work lead to a veterans museum.

http://alaskastar.com/stories/061208/mil_20080612017.shtml


Back with family after tour in Iraq
An interview with two local Alaska guardsmen who recently returned from deployments to Iraq.

http://alaskastar.com/stories/052908/new_20080529001.shtml

First editorial

Here's the link the first editorial I've ever written about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's "lousy" plan to give Alaskans $100 per month spend on energy consumption (fuel, utilities, etc.). If you want my opinion, just click on the link ; )

http://alaskastar.com/stories/052908/edi_20080529013.shtml