Halloween Half & 5K features mass scare of participants
- Klas Stolpe
- 5 days ago
- 15 min read
Record number of outlandishly costumed and others run
By Klas Stolpe
Juneau Independent
The zombie apocalypse did not come to pass in Saturday’s Halloween Half and 5K, but an abundance of ghouls, goblins and things that go bump in the night — or mid-morning, in this case — wore their most creative costumes in the annual race that starts in front of the Pioneer Road parking lot and flows toward False Outer Point for the shorter distance and Fish Creek Road for the half marathon.
“We had a record number of runners,” black raven-costumed race director Holly Handler said. “Our biggest crowd yet —133 runners.”
Representing the “Unkindness of Ravens” and not the “Murder of Crows,” Handler oversaw a scare of imaginative Oct. 31-themed outfits that stalked the North Douglas Highway.
“I am a tiger,” half marathon winner Jason Norat, 29, said. “My partner Kristen (Strom) wore it last year for this race. She couldn’t race today so I figured I would don it. And it fits, and it works.”
Norat hit 1:20:34 over the 13.1 miles while his partner, clad in a Batman outfit, and their black lab, Franklin, supported. Strom ran 1:48:29 last year.
“I almost wore the Batman onesie,” Norat said. “But that would have been too hot. I am coming up on my one year living in Juneau full-time so this is special. I’ve never done this race. Kristen was talking about it a lot last year, so I needed to come out and they do such a good job with the community, the trail running group here, it’s pretty awesome. It’s a pretty special place.”
Top female half marathon finisher, and fourth overall in 1:36:46, was ghost-themed runner Therese Pokorney, 26, who made last-minute preparations with partner Tim Mikluski, 26, who placed 13th in 1:48:29.
“Tim and I didn’t have a costume so we cut up old white T-shirts in the morning,” she said. “It was very last-minute. I like to think it was aerodynamic...I love every event JTRR does and try to support it the best I can. What I love about JTRR is that it brings out the best kind of community spirit — spectators, runners, volunteers…Everyone's very excited to be there. It’s competitive, but also not that serious. There’s people gunning for PRs alongside folks in amazing full inflatable costumes. There’s something so special about a local event where you can see familiar faces and everyone’s having fun.”
The top 5K finisher Yasmine Saboui, 39, clad in the running wear of a Whitehorse visitor, hit 18:14.
“My partner lives in Juneau, I live in Whitehorse,” she said. “I came to visit him and thought, this is really nice. I had a tempo run scheduled for today, or a threshold, and thought, ‘Well, misery loves company, so let’s do this with a group of people.’ I’m getting back into shorter distances. I was an ultra runner, so this was part of my training plan. There are great races here, same for us in Whitehorse, too. I look forward to doing more races out here. It was really well set up, an enjoyable event. I didn’t have time to plan a costume, I just left home yesterday, slept in my car last night and couldn’t really sleep very much. But I’m here, right?”
Her partner Brian Bilbo, 37, ran the half marathon, placing sixth in 1:45:01, also in an outfit resembling a Whitehorse visitor sprinting to the finish.
Top 5K male finisher, and second overall, went to Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé junior cross country runner Zach Bos, 16, who hit 18:35.
“I was trying to be a ninja,” Bos said. It should be noted his black attire also featured the trademark insignia of Italian professional soccer club Juventus.
Sister Dezerae Bos, 14, said, “I am not dressed up as anything. I am just ready to run.”
She wanted to give her state cross-country runner brother a run for his money, but ran her first half marathon instead, in a time of 2:13:34.
“Next time,” she said.
The best costume award went to 5K runners Charlotte Moore, 23, Brooke Kerleg, 26, Christian Gomez, 25, and Joshua Quinto, 25, dressed as Paris international jewel thieves.
“We are the Louve jewel heist, because it is super culturally relevant,” Gomez said. “Times are tough, you do what you have got to do in this economy.”
Moore had the idea because, “It is just so crazy. It’s timely, it happened last week. No one knows who did it. We are still trying to stay undercover a little bit…I guess we are ready to tell everyone that it was us.”
The heisters finished in 45 minutes.
Added Kelley, “We may be slow, but don’t get it twisted.”
Said Moore, “It just goes to show that to get the job done you don’t always need to be the fastest, as long as you’re together.”
Also in consideration were team Tide Pool.
"So we have outfits with tide pool creatures,” Quinn Tracy, 45, said.
Describing the hand-crafted scenes on their costumes, wife Heather Parker, 39, said, “We have starfish, barnacles, crabs, seaweed, sea urchins, sea grass and some sea anemones...It’s just kind of fun.”
Joining team Tide Pool were Hannah Bailey, 30, and Barbara Thurston, 59, dotted in starfish, Becky Bohrer, 47, with a light-up octopus, Danielle Dunivin, 35, in a blue costume depicting a sea otter riding the waves, and Christy Gentemann, 36, as a red rock lobster.
“I thought a rock lobster would be perfect for Halloween,” Gentemann said. “It was comfortable for the first half of the 5K, but then I had to use my claws to keep my antennas upright, which made running uphill quite interesting.”
Tracy would hit 1:47:52 in the half marathon and Bohrer 1:58:52. Bailey, Dunivin and Gentemann finished in 24:10 in the 5K with Parker and Thurston crossing in 29:13.
Also with a sea theme was Kassie Haywood, 26. “I’m a seahorse,” she said.
When asked why, she replied, “I didn’t think of that. I wasn’t expecting this question. I just saw this costume and thought it would be really fun. I don’t know how practical it is, but we are going to have a good time for sure.”
Running partner Jason Nicholls, 36, ran in a large orange costume that resembled a pumpkin.
“Because it was free,” he said. “Somebody left it at their apartment and they moved back home, so I grabbed it and heard this race was a costume race.”
Said Haywood, “It is actually a carrot…because he is a carrot top.”
Added Nicholls, “Yeah, I’m a ginger, I had to be a carrot top. It was free and aligned perfectly for me. It makes me feel like I have got to keep it moving. It’s a fun event and she forced me into it and I love it every time.”
Their running friend Daniel Phelps, 26, was wearing a heavy, black faux fur for his 5K time of 25:35. “I’m a black bear and I see these just about every day outside my apartment, and I also wanted to be warm on this run,” he said.
Ian Novak, 24, ran the half dressed as a trash bear supported by 5K runners Michelle Eng, 25, and Grace Fluharty, 24, who were also trash bears, wearing boxes they rummaged through.
“Our friend John Moreland came up with that and he couldn’t be here today, so we went with it,” Novak said.
The trio agreed that they “took the idea and ran…The theme is very Juneau. We heard them outside our apartments last night, the trash bears.”
There were mermaid sightings on the course, too, including Ariel (Sarah Zaglifa, 50) and her love interest Prince Eric (Nathan Rumsey, 46), who finished in matching 5K times of 37:53.
“We run as a part of our normal fitness routine,” Rumsey said. “We have done this race in the past. We enjoy dressing up and taking part in the festivities. I will say Sarah came up with her idea for being Ariel and my part of it came together pretty last minute, and thankfully I had stuff to wear in order to pull it off.”
Added Zaglifa, “I was kind of thinking of easy costumes to run in, honestly. I saw the fish leggings and I was like, ‘Oh, I could do something with that.’ Pull on a wig and call it a day.”
Daughter Grace Rumsey, 13, crossed earlier in 36:20 wearing a full-length pink pig costume. Grace likes to run with her mother and they do lots of trail runs.
“I don’t know why I picked this,” she said. “It’s one of my favorite animals. I think Halloween is fun to get candy and stuff… I think running is just fun.”
Naomi Staley, 33, opted for a more refined flying pig attire with matching pig snout headpiece and finished in 22:26.
“It hindered breathing a little bit,” she said. “It was dripping sweat.”
Melissa Anderson, 49, and Suzanne Morris, 41, finished the Halloween Half in 2:05:57 in shimmering outfits.
“I think we were inspired because we saw a post on Instagram of two little old ladies, probably in their 80s, but they were dressed in goldfish costumes and they were the cutest things,” Anderson said. “We thought that was our inspiration, but couldn’t find any goldfish so we shifted to mermaids and found a bunch of stuff.”
Said Morris, “The scales and the colors, we like pretty festive stuff that flows.”
Anderson noted, “We have a reputation, some pressure to perform when we show up in costume because we know people want to know what we decided to pick.”
Eluding evil doers were Peter Pan and Tinkerbell.
“Tinkerbell over here, my wife, picked out my outfit,” Kasen Spickler, 40, said. “And this is our first half marathon…I think we will use a little pixie dust, whatever it takes to get there I guess.”
He said his costume input consisted of, “My wife just called me and told me what she got for me.”
Wife Amanda Spickler, 37, said Peter Pan was not her favorite movie or story.
“I just went to Night Moods and looked for something we could run in,” she said. “And I found Peter Pan first and I put together this (her costume), it is actually a child’s. But I have all of my modifications and my wings so I am sure I am going to be super fast…Hopefully we have trained enough.”
Running friend Karen Brooks, 36, said, “I am not dressed up, but I am ready to run. I have not been training, so…the first training run was last week with this one…Halloween, well, it means dress up and trick-or-treating and time with friends, candy, yeah, and running. This is great. A new thing for Halloween, I like it.”
The Spicklers and Brooks finished in 2:24:55.
“I am going into outer space and finding a coffee shop on Mars,” Guy Crockroft, 65, said of his caffeine astronaut outfit. “And I am running with my 9-year-old granddaughter Maddie (Sullivan), who is doing her second 5K this year.”
Wearing bib number 1960— the year Crockroft was born — and dressed as Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series, Sullivan said of Halloween, “I don’t know. I just like running, running faster than grandpa.”
Sullivan would hit 39:34 and Crockroft 39:45.
Youth frighteners showed their style as well.
Ranger Filardi, 6, hit 36:47 dressed as Rumi.
“From Kpop Demon Hunters,” she said. When asked if she found any demons, Ranger replied, “No…I don’t really like anything about running on Halloween.”
She reminded father Eric Filardi, 40, the principal of Mendenhall River Community School dressed in self-described warlock attire that, “You are a solid witch…not a warlock.”
Finn Taintor, 8, sprinted to the 5K finish ahead of father Luke Taintor, 38, to place seventh overall in 23:23.
“It was painful,” Finn Taintor said. “I just like exercise, I think.”
Added Luke Taintor, “It is an amazing experience to be able to do this with my son. We are lucky to have this in Juneau and it is just great to run with the family together. My wife and other son are running too.”
The elder Taintor was dressed as The Best Dad Ever and said, “I let him win today, but maybe not next time.”
Natalie Fortier, 9, ran the 5K in 50:06 dressed as a hot dog.
“It was fun,” she said. “Everyone was cheering me on and I was kind of slow and walking because my side hurt. They were like, ‘Go, hot dog.’ A hot dog is funny.”
Sister Jinx Fortier, 12, ran alongside in a time of 50:05.
“I ran as an unfinished costume,” she said. “Half of me is going to a party, and I ran out of time, so the other half is pajama pants and hurrying out the door. I thought of it probably because I was late in real time, too.”
Christofer Taylor, 45, ran the 5K in 33:49 dressed as Winnie the Pooh pal Eeyore and son Sebastian ran his first-ever race in 33:48 dressed as a construction worker, complete with Rice Krispies treats in his tool belt.
“I just turned eight,” the younger Taylor said. “I like the candy and the costumes… and the awards at the end of running. I like cross-country...I want my dad to wear his costume again this Halloween.”
The elder Taylor said, “I wore this costume once a few years ago and had to break it out today.”
Belle Thompson, 39, said she was wearing the 5K costume of “a former level 10 gymnast…from Wasilla…many years ago, though.”
She and running partner Susie Norvell, 65, finished in 36:54.
Said Norvell, clad in orange with a single horn headpiece, “And I am just a unicorn today in an orange shirt…I donated blood and they gave me this Dracula shirt — he scares me, but it is for a good cause…That was two weeks ago and I hit the gallon mark...gave blood at the blood center in the Jordan Creek Mall.”
Wearing T-shirts that said “It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything is fine,” red lantern racers Lacey Sanders, 42, and Heidi Teshner, 45, took an early start and spent extra time on the course wreaking havoc on the local township as they crossed the finish making sure no witnesses had been left unterrorized along the route.
Originally, 142 runners had signed up, but eight were no shows…Many believe they were consumed before the race as the “Scare” clustered in a feeding frenzy at the starting line.
Past races have shown an increased infection of wit and whimsy and shivering imagination spreading as the 2024 race featured 109 runners, 2023 had 68, 2022 a mere 37, 2021 a minor outbreak of 20 and in 2020 the first sign of a possible contamination event saw 18 lost souls participating in a race some say was created by a mad scientist who, out of spite, pieced together a creature to defeat a rival in the Nugget Outfitters Cup.
Race director Handler thanked, “Heritage coffee for a much-needed and fully-consumed urn of hot coffee…Tyler Rental for timely porta potty delivery…the Juneau ski club for working around us…Registration gurus Becky Bohrer and Kristin McTague and Kym Mauseth, timers Shawn Miller and Brian McTague, sound specialist Eric Antrim, aid station attendant Daniel Wiersma, Paul Desloover for set up and David Epstein for permits. Races don't happen without those things.”
Half Marathon Results (name, age, sex, time):
Jason Norat, 29, M, 1:20:34; Jon Smith, 28, M, 1:33:14; Abe Kanter, 31, M, 1:34:16; Therese Pokorney, 26, F, 1:36:46; Ian Novak, 24, M, 1:39:06; Brian Bilbo, 37, M, 1:45:01; Andy Bullick, 46, M, 1:45:21; Brent Tingey, 47, M, 1:45:46; Daniel Kohuth, 45, M, 1:46:41; Anna Blanford, 35, F, 1:47:15; Caleb Taylor, 32, M, 1:47:33; Quinn Tracy, 45, M, 1:47:52; Tim Mikulski, 26, M, 1:48:29; Christina Bak, 34, F, 1:49:09; Elizabeth Ramseth, 26, F, 1:51:36; Jeremy Beiler, 33, M, 1:54:42; Mary Beth Beiler, 34, F, 1:54:42; Maggie Lenhart, 24, F, 1:55:28; Eric Antrim, 52, M, 1:55:53; Gregory Tingey, 42, M, 1:56:53; Clay Robidoux, 51, M, 1:57:06; Becky Bohrer, 47, F, 1:58:52; Bradelle Paden, 41, F, 1:59:43; Christine Woll, 40, F, 2:01:19; Micah Nelson, 15, M, 2:02:06; Elizabeth Siddon, 47, F, 2:02:08; Julia Gibler, 26, F, 2:03:32; Cody Russell, 38, M, 2:03:53; Michelle Morris, 47, F, 2:04:59; Mindy Shaw, 44, F, 2:04:59; Melissa Anderson, 49, F, 2:05:57; Suzanne Morris, 41, F, 2:05:57; Cecile Elliott, 60, F, 2:08:26; Jonathan Perry, 41, M, 2:10:18; Paul Kraft, 68, M, 2:11:38; Dezerae Bos, 14, F, 2:13:34; Sean Maguire, 36, M, 2:14:50; Ben Blanford, 36, M, 2:15:19; Kasen Spickler, 40, M, 2:24:55; Amanda Spickler, 37, F, 2:24:55; Karen Brooks, 36, F, 2:24:55; Margaret Katzeek, 36, F, 2:27:05; Suzanne Sauertieg, 55, F, 2:27:06; Dominique Johnson, 35, M, 2:28:27; Jacqueline Tingey, 41, F, 2:29:34; John Eldridge, 74, M, 2:35:56; Suzette Nelson, 39, F, 2:45:52; Lacey Sanders, 42, F, 3:12:46; Heidi Teshner, 45, F, 3:12:46; Lindsay Clark, 33, F, dns; Jenevieve Clauss, 33, F, dns; Esme Crossett, 27, F, dns; Katelyn Schultz, 25, F, dns; Caitlin Stern, 40, F, dns.
5K Results (name, age, sex, time):
Yasmine Saboui, 39, F, 18:14; Zach Bos, 16, M, 18:35; Harley Taylor, 24, F, 19:00; John King, 36, M, 20:03; Naomi Staley, 33, F, 22:26; Katelyn Schultz, 25, F, 22:50; Finn Taintor, 8, M, 23:23; Luke Taintor, 38, M, 23:24; Peyton Russell, 27, M, 23:32; Mary Commins, 28, F, 24:01; Danielle Dunivin, 35, F, 24:10; Hannah Bailey, 29, F, 24:10; Christy Gentemann, 36, F, 24:10; Daniel Phelps, 26, M, 25:35; Melody Millard, 63, F, 26:28; Kellen Kraft, 39, M, 27:41; Calder Taintor, 6, M, 27:59; Grace Fluharty, 24, F, 28:01; Christina Schulte-Pereyra, 34, F, 28:16; Katie Russell, 27, F, 28:22; Michelle Eng, 25, F, 28:23; Rachel Smith, 35, F, 28:33; Stephanie DuBois, 34, F, 28:36; Erin Coenen, 31, F, 28:46; Heather Parker, 39, F, 29:13; Barbara Thurston, 59, F, 29:13; Alex Valentine, 34, M, 29:39; Keegan Jackson, 42, F, 29:39; Alondra Echiverri, 26, F, 29:40; Syneva Runyan, 33, F, 30:07; Noah Anstett, 23, M, 30:11; Ken Duffy, 43, M, 30:15; Andrew Duffy, 13, M, 30:15; Kristin McTague, 53, F, 30:32; Karinne Wiebold, 47, F, 30:33; Finn Peterson, 3, M, 30:48; April Rezendes, 40, F, 30:49; Mae Peterson, 1, F, 30:49; Randy Peterson, 39, M, 30:49; Danielle Meeker, 35, F, 31:26; Laura Talpey-Herrington, 30, F, 31:27; Conrad Hendrickson, 7, M, 31:48; Jenna Wiersma, 39, F, 31:48; Marsha Squires, 63, F, 31:56; Courtney Beringer, 28, F, 32:00; Moira Meek, 30, F, 32:01; Megan Hendrickson, 35, F, 32:02; Lewis Waters, 26, M, 32:03; Bonnie Shanley, 45, F, 32:20; Paula Casperson, 52, F, 32:21; Marella Gungob, 29, F, 33:01; Sebastian Taylor-Manning, 7, M, 33:48; Christofer Taylor, 45, M, 33:49; Aspen Olson, 20, F, 33:53; Richard Olson, 51, M, 33:54; Tana O'Leary, 45, F, 34:33; Jason Nicholls, 36, M, 34:41; Kassie Haywood, 26, F, 34:41; Addi Johnson, 7, F, 35:30; Elliott Peters, 11, M, 36:11; Karie Olson, 49, F, 36:17; Grace Rumsey, 13, F, 36:20; Ranger Filardi, 6, F, 36:47; Eric Filardi, 40, M, 36:47; Susan Norvell, 65, F, 36:54; Belle Thompson, 39, F, 36:54; Sarah Zaglifa, 50, F, 37:53; Nathan Rumsey, 46, M, 37:53; Maddie Sullivan, 9, F, 39:34; Guy Crockroft, 65, M, 39:45; Isla Stekoll, 10, F, 41:00; Sara Stekoll, 46, F, 41:00; River Olson, 11, M, 41:49; Khrystl Brouillette, 28, F, 42:14; Sam Martinez, 28, F, 42:18; Christian Gomez, 25, M, 45:00; Charlotte Moore, 23, F, 45:00; Joshua Quinto, 25, M, 45:00; Brooke Kerley, 26, F, 45:00; Christine Johnson, 33, F, 45:25; Susie McKee, 32, F, 48:02; Jinx Fortier, 12, F, 50:05; Natalie Fortier, 9, F, 50:06; Luke Fortier, 42, M, 50:53; Betty Christian, 47, F, dns; Trevor DiLoreto, 38, M, dns; Clifford Moore, 64, M, dns; Jona Perl, 22, F, dns.
• Contact Klas Stolpe at klas.stolpe@gmail.com.
