Runners brave rain and mud at Juneau’s Spring Tide Scramble

Nearly 100 runners took advantage of the extreme low tide at Saturday’s Spring Tide Scramble organized by the Juneau Trail and Road Runners. Participants pushed through sporadic bursts of rain while wading through mud, algae and swarms of mosquitoes to cross Gastineau Channel at the minus-1.4-feet tide point.

The four-mile and seven-mile routes both started at the Fish Creek Bridge parking lot and ventured into the Mendenhall wetlands to the end of the Airport Dike Trail across the channel. The seven-mile run included a run through the Fish Creek Trail, entering the wetlands at Ninemile Creek Road.

Jason Norat, 29, the top seven-mile finisher, hung out with his young Labrador, Franklin, after the race. He said it was cool to see planes over the wetlands during the race and to cross the channel on foot.

“I doubt there’s a race out there like that,” he said. “It’s definitely very Juneau.”

Lindsey McCulloch, 28, was the first female participant and first overall to finish the four-mile race, with a time of 39:08. She was followed by Benjamin Hetherington, 24, the top male participant, with a time of 39:22.

There were also a few under-18 participants in the four-mile race, with Oliver Albrecht, 12, placing third overall closely followed by Finn Taintor, 8, in fourth. The top female under-18 participant, Eleanor Peterson, 14, placed 33rd overall. Peterson was followed by Isla Taintor, 7, the second under-18 female participant, in 40th overall.

For the seven-mile race, the top male finisher and top overall was Norat with a 1:03:26 time. The top female finisher, and sixth overall finisher, was Therese Pokorney, 26, at 1:17:59.

JTRR Co-Race Director Becky Bohrer said this race is the beginning of the organization’s busy summer season. JTRR has been hosting races periodically since February, but the frequency of events will increase in the coming months.

“It’s just kind of a quirky, unusual race that tons of people enjoy, and we had a really great turnout,” Bohrer said.

• Ellie Ruel can be contacted at editor@juneauempire.com.