Naturipe is proud to sponsor Brandon Lott, an Endurance and Ultra Marathoner AND one of our blueberry growers(!), who is participating in the 2013 Iditarod Trail Invitational. Brandon is in Alaska right now racing; his wife, Marilyn, has been relaying updates and information about the race. Read on below for part 1 of this exciting adventure!
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Hello friends and family,
This is the start of updating you all on Brandon‘s adventure in Alaska. He has been dreaming of running this 350 mile race since 2009 and this is only possible because of his generous sponsors Naturipe and Wilbur Ellis. A big thanks goes to them for supporting Brandon in this journey!
The Iditarod Trail Invitational (ITI) is a 350 Mile Winter Endurance run which starts at Flathorn Lake, near Anchorage, and ends in McGrath, Alaska. There are both runners and bikers who ride mountain bikes equipped with fat tires. It’s a grueling event that takes anywhere from 5-10 days depending on skill and weather conditions. Brandon’s goal is to finish in 6-7 days, so we are hoping to get the finish phone call from him on Saturday or Sunday.
I dropped Brandon off in Seattle on Thursday to catch his flight to Alaska and he was pumped and ready to start this journey. Decked out in his Naturipe gear, I bid him farewell. He had a lot of prep work to do getting his gear organized and in order and also got to know some of the runners at pre-race meetings. Here he is with some runners who traveled from Italy to run/bike the race.
The running division of the race requires participants to pull a sled full of their food, water, clothing, winter gear, sleeping bag, etc. Brandon‘s sled totaled 50+ pounds when all was said and done. This is all the gear that he stuffed into his sled duffel.
You might notice in that picture that there is a satellite phone. He didn’t feel it was necessary but I sure did. I’m hoping to hear from him tonight. He had regular cell coverage through most of last night and that was awesome because he was able to send me pictures of the start and the trail.
At six hours in, mile 24, he said he was feeling good and was hanging about middle of the pack. Temperature was about 20 degrees and he said the snow was soft and had to run in. The racers prefer colder temperatures so that the snow is packed down and hard, otherwise they compare it to running in mashed potatoes. He said he wasn’t using his snowshoes, but his micro spikes instead.
At 9 hours in, he texted me again and said that the trail goes over the frozen lakes and is very flat in those places, but the rest is very hilly. Some pictures almost look like ski moguls. He also was enjoying the very full moon last night and said it was so bright it felt like someone was following him with a flashlight. He said by 11:00pm, the temperature was down to 16 degrees. Pretty mild so far.
He texted again at 1:00am and by then he was to mile 42 and was about 20 miles away from the checkpoint. Not sure which one. There are 7 checkpoints along the way where food and lodging are available for purchase, otherwise he is completely self supporting.
The race leaderboard shows that he reached the 60 mile checkpoint called Yentna at 9:00 this morning and stayed there to rest and refuel for 3.5 hours. I am really hoping to hear something from him tonight. I will happily update you all again, when I have more information.
He feels that he receives so much strength and encouragement from those of us cheering him on at home and I know it means so much to him that you are keeping him in your thoughts and prayers. Please pray for his, and all of the participants, safety.
If you have any specific questions you would like me to address, please let me know.
Lots of love,
Marilyn Lott