Klaire Rhodes Pre Mount Marathon Interview

Mount Marathon is the kind of race that makes no sense on paper and perfect sense the moment you watch it. It is short, steep, chaotic, and deeply tied to Seward, Alaska and the local mountain running community, yet it keeps attracting bigger names and deeper competition every year. We sit down with Klaire Rhodes just before July 4 to hear how she is feeling heading into race week after a packed, travel heavy June, and why she still shows up even when it is not the main goal on her calendar.

We talk about what Mount Marathon means when you do not come from a traditional running background, and how Klaire’s competitive journey started with an auction entry back in 2018. From there, we get into the athlete side of the puzzle: how she maintains top end speed and sharpness while building toward longer trail races, why being well rounded matters, and how short mountain efforts can support big objectives like CCC at UTMB. Klaire also reflects on the legends she noticed first in Alaska, the strange feeling of becoming part of the race’s history, and the relief and hunger that can both show up after a win.

Conditions matter at Mount Marathon, and this year’s talk includes a snowless descent, potential rain, and what that could mean for times, tactics, and the chances of chasing a personal best versus a course record. We also look ahead to her summer plans, including Speedgoat 50K and a focused push to nail a mountainous 100K at CCC.

If you love trail running, mountain racing, and the stories that only iconic local events can produce, hit play, subscribe, and share this with a friend who needs a new race obsession. After you listen, what do you think decides Mount Marathon more: the climb or the descent?

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Transcript

Cold Open And Sponsor Message

SPEAKER_00 0:05

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Claire Rhodes Pre Race Check In

SPEAKER_00 0:55

All right, Claire Rhodes, welcome to the Steep Stuff Podcast. How's it going?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Things are going great. It's a beautiful day in Alaska.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Yeah, very cool. Well, I'm so excited to have you on. Obviously, it's an honor and a privilege to chat pre-Mount Marathon. I mean, first question off the bat is uh, how's everything going pre-race? How are you feeling? Uh kind of heading into heading into July 4th.

SPEAKER_01 1:20

Yeah. Um, admittedly, this uh I've had a pretty chaotic month of June with uh travel weddings being at Western States Week, all the things. So uh I knew I was gonna get to this week and feel a little uh deer in headlights about Mount Marathon coming up so soon. Um, so race week is here. I'm feeling excited, normal amount of nerves, but pretty pumped to get down to Seward and see what this year has in store.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

Absolutely. Um first big question I gotta ask you, especially as an Alaskan, what does this race mean to you?

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Yeah, this race is really uh it marks what was the beginning of my competitive running journey. I don't come from a high school or cross-country or high school or college cross-country or track background. I uh auctioned into Mount Marathon in 2018 uh after I started working at our local running store here and just um I grew up seeing Mount Marathon on TV, but I didn't even go to Seward on the fourth growing up. Um, so I just started being around the running community enough and realizing how cool Mount Marathon was and decided I wanted to do it. So I showed up in Seward in 2018, auctioned in for 600 bucks the night the night before. Um, and I've been doing it every year since. So it really does mean a lot to me, even if it's not like the the A goal on my calendar every year. I always say that like I don't have a good enough reason to not come back yet. So I still keep making it happen, even if it doesn't make perfect sense with the rest of my year. It's an event that's worth making happen every year.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Let's talk about that because you're you you are such a talented short trail athlete, but you've been progressing into getting better and better at the long trail stuff, especially, you know, obviously racing at worlds last year in the long trail and just longer races. How do you find the balance to be able to train for something like this as well as for some of the other bigger A

Staying Sharp While Training Longer

SPEAKER_00 3:15

objectives that you have on the calendar?

SPEAKER_01 3:17

Yeah, I got that question a lot, especially from people here who I think are surprised that I come back to Mount Marathon or even I still jump in our other short mountain races as well, like Bird Ridge. Um, I mean, I think that training for those things and doing those things is great training for the longer stuff as well. I think it's important to maintain your um kind of top-end speed, top-end effort, and it's fun. Um so yeah, I I think one of my goals in my career is to be a pretty well-rounded athlete. I don't want to shy away from the shorter stuff, even if I keep going longer in distance in other races. Um, so that's something I'm consciously trying to prioritize is being well-rounded and to keep showing up, even if, yeah, it's not the A-goal in my calendar or like I haven't perfectly prepared for it. Um, I don't spend all of June training on the mountain. I just can't make it work with training for other longer races. So um, it's worked out decently for me the past two years. So I'm just trying to remind myself of that this year as well.

A Deeper Field And Race Wildcards

SPEAKER_00 4:19

Uh on that topic, is it is how does it feel just looking at this field? I mean, this is gonna be, especially now with Arctaryx as the presenting sponsor, they're bringing a few of their athletes like Emica Clark and others. Allie Ostrander's coming back. When you start to look at the start list, like this is an amazing field of women that you're gonna be competing against. What does that mean to you, especially to perform well, if not win again on you know, in in one of the deepest fields, maybe since 2015?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Totally. Yeah. I think it makes it way more exciting. And um having a deeper level of competition there is always gonna pull the most out of ourselves. I mean, my fastest time was not last year, but two years ago, my first win when Kendall Kramer was literally on my heels the entire climb. Um, that just completely got the best out of me on that climb in particular. So I hope it's like that. I hope we're close and that we can get the most out of each other. Um, you know, conditions always play a really big role in times, but um, if we can be close and really pushing each other, then that's a great day in my book. So I'm I'm super pumped. Um, I also think that this race is so unique, so odd in the best ways that like it's really a toss-up of who is going to perform well or not. We've had history of, you know, outside pros coming in and getting a lot of hype and then maybe not living up to that, or the opposite, you know, unheard of people coming and totally smashing it. So I think it's always interesting to see who excels, who's willing to really throw down on the descent, especially. I think that is a big question mark always. So it's a really unique race in that way. And um, that's why I also try to get other pros to come up and do it, is like, hey, it's kind of a weird thing. Like, it's okay if you don't, you know, get on the podium like you normally do. Like it's just a fun experience and um it's completely different than any other race you'll ever do. So it's what makes it cool.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

I'm so excited that it's like really starting to catch more of the zeitgeist. I mean, I feel like 2015 McKillion's year, you know, obviously was really big for the it on the international scene for people to learn more about it. But I feel like now, especially this year, that's one of the reasons why I just wanted to cover it because one of my teammates, Jackson Cole, will be at the race, and you know, he's a favorite in the men's field to do very well. And it just seems like there's a lot of really solid and strong men and women in in the field that are really starting to show up over the last few years. So I don't know. I love to see that it's growing and getting more just captured into the zeitgeist, which is cool because it it also you know shows off the Alaskan mountain running community, which I think is kind of very unique uh amongst the running communities in general.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

It's super unique, yeah. And Mount Marathon, the race itself, does I think a really good job of balancing the two. I mean, I think it's really important to the race to preserve the uh historical and kind of grassroots aspect of the raced race, but um while still welcoming in pros and leaning into the um the hype around it. I know we're gonna have um, I think a jumbotron at the base of the mountain and the finish line projecting the live stream. The live stream is arguably one of the best live streams in trail running right now. It's pretty incredible. Yeah, yeah. So um that's that's so awesome that people you

Mount Marathon History And Early Influences

SPEAKER_01 7:25

know outside of Seward 2 can enjoy the race. And and it's only you know an hour-ish long, so you don't have to spend your whole day like Western States, even though that's also exciting.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah, yeah. It's exciting in a different way. It's just a different uh it's this one. I was talking to Denali Strabel and Eric Strable yesterday. We did like this really cool history episode of uh kind of the different eras in the sport, and you know, Christy Marvin and all these different Nina Kempel and all these different athletes that have you know made their name on the sport. And uh one of the things we we just talked about was just like the not just the growth, but you know, just the people in general. So it was very interesting. I gotta ask you this. You you said, you know, not coming from a traditional running background, not actually even going, you know, going to watch the race when you were young. Who were the first kind of athletes maybe that you learned about kind of in the Alaskan scene that, you know, came to this race, like maybe Nina or Christy or athletes like that that you learned about that maybe you kind of like looked up to as you kind of came into your own in the sport?

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Yeah, totally. Um, I would say probably Christy, Christy Marvin for sure, I think was um, you know, in my mind, I feel like it was her in the paper the next day on the front of the paper uh every year, like that she had won or podiumed or something like that. So um I think probably Christy for sure. I remember hearing about Killian and Emily coming up, but I really just it wasn't in my uh my sphere of reality at the time, really, like these runners or the trail running world world in general. So I think I was a little bit naive coming into it at first, and I started to be more familiar with the characters after. Um, so I mean, since then it's crazy how you know more ingrained in the community I've I've become. But uh yeah, looking back, I was I was pretty naive.

Start Times And The Weight Of Winning

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Uh you got your first win in 2024, obviously. That was the late start for the women, and then obviously you did just as well with an early start as well last year. Do you prefer 11 a.m. versus 2 p.m.? What what do you prefer as a as an athlete?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

I definitely prefer 11 a.m. Um, it's a little tough to wait around till two. Um, but yeah, I guess I hadn't even thought about that. It was a late start in uh in 2024. But um, yeah, but the day honestly flies by. You know, you wake up and it feels like suddenly the junior's race starts at nine. And so I always like to go, you know, cheer them on at the on the road. Um, and then I'll probably watch some of their men's race at 11, and then before I know it, it'll be time to, you know, start warming up and getting dressed. So the day does go by fast, even though it it the day before it feels like waiting around till two is gonna be tough. Um, yeah, I'll make it work either way.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Um as far as history goes, you you've already kind of cemented your place in history, like in this race, and you continue to. Is that a weird feeling? Because like it it is so ingrained in the mountain running community in Alaska that everybody knows who you are now. And then on top of that, with more wins and more additions to what you do in this race, you the lore of who you are only grows. I find that kind of interesting and neat. Like it's it's unique in that aspect of our sport.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah, I think I probably, you know, four years ago, I would have said, like, oh, I would love to win Mount Marathon one day, but who knows? That could be, you know, five, 10, 15 years down the road. Um, and then, you know, maybe when I win, I'll take a break or something. And I had that feeling of relief, I think, after 2024, like, okay, maybe I maybe I don't need to come back next year. Like, because once you win, one of the great, the best things about it is that you can come back any future year you want as a prior champion. So I had that sense of relief, but then you know, registration time comes around the next year, and I'm like, well, I don't have any other plans on July 4th, so I guess I'm going back. Um, so it's kind of been that way since. Um, and you know, I think as an athlete, like you never feel totally satisfied. Like you always want to see, well, can I, if I win it once, can I win it again, or can I go a little faster? So I think I'm just like any other athlete, and I'm drawn by seeing what else I can do, drawn by seeing what else I can do. Uh so yeah, I guess like I I feel like there's maybe more I could do at this race, or maybe not, but right now I don't have a good enough reason to not go back. So I'll be

Snowless Descent And Record Talk

SPEAKER_01 11:30

there.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Do you think obviously the down the descent is gonna be a little bit different this year? I've heard rumblings that there's not gonna be as much snow, if any snow, kind of on the descent. Maybe I'm wrong there. I'm not super sure, but obviously that creates a little bit slower of a descent. But do you think there's a possibility? You know, I mean, has that entered your mind of like maybe chasing the course record, especially with the players kind of in the race this year, that like maybe you you guys will be pushed to something like that because of who will be racing in this race?

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Yeah. Yeah, there's no snow on the descent, or not really. There's a little bit off to the side, but you'd kind of have to go out of your way to get to it. And then um, it's pretty short. So yeah, it's not gonna be the fastest descent. Um, if it is going to be rainy on Saturday, then um the uphill might be slick, which could slow down the uphill time a little bit, especially on the lower half of the mountain. Um so yeah, faster time, it would be great. Uh, course record, oof. Uh Allie's record is uh Allie Max record is pretty insane. Um, so I'm definitely not gonna call any shots there. Um, but you know, when I ran under 50 minutes two years ago, I completely shocked myself there. So who knows? Never say never, but uh uh I think a personal PR would be just as fulfilling for me right now.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

I love that. Uh what else are you gonna be racing

Summer Racing Plans And Farewell

SPEAKER_00 12:44

this summer?

SPEAKER_01 12:45

Yeah, um after Mount Marathon, I'm going to not right after, but later in the month, I'm gonna do speed go at 50K in Utah and then uh jumping up in distance to CCC in August.

unknown 12:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Cool. Would you say CCC is the probably the A goal for the year overall?

SPEAKER_01 13:01

Yeah, I would say so. I yeah, I would love to um uh kind of nail a mountainous hundred K. I have feel like I've kind of had yet to do that. So that'll be yeah, the focus of the year, I think.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

Very cool. Yeah, it's Shemini is a I mean, obviously in you know, uh August, September, it's the place to be. So it's it's it's Mecca. It's a fun place. So it's kind of hard. We get to get the duality of Seward, which is a completely different scene, you know, and then Shaalini, which is might as well be a different planet, which is kind of cool.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Yes, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Cool. Well, Claire, I don't want to keep too much of your time. Thank you so much for this conversation. I'm wishing you the absolute best of luck on Saturday, and I hope you have an amazing day and continue to uh write history in this race. And thank you for your time.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Cool. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Yeah, I appreciate it.