Juneau’s Logan Fellman places eighth at Mount Marathon

Incoming JDHS senior finished his fourth junior race in 30 minutes and 44 seconds

Juneau's Logan Fellman, age 17 (the 14 of his bib number 214 showing), checks his watch as the Mount Marathon boys junior race is about to start in Seward on Saturday, July 4, 2026. (Mount Marathon Facebook photo)

By Klas Stolpe  

Juneau Independent

Incoming Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Logan Fellman, 17, ran his fourth consecutive Mount Marathon juniors race in Seward on Saturday, placing eighth out of 139 runners.

“For me, no race that I have done so far matches the excitement of Mount Marathon,” Fellman said. “The whole vibe around the race is just awesome, and the course is so unique and challenging. It is definitely my favorite race.”

Fellman ran 30 minutes and 44 seconds, his fastest time yet and the last time he can race as a junior runner. Willow’s Thale Randall, 15, won the junior boys race in 27:28. The junior race is roughly 1.7 miles, with runners turning around halfway up the 3,000-foot Mount Marathon; the adult race summits. Both races start on Seward’s 4th Avenue and reach the mountain’s base in a half mile.

“Every year I have competed has been different,” Fellman said. “My first year, I was super excited but did not handle my nerves well, causing me to get very little sleep, which hurt my race. The second year, I tried to focus on staying calm and keeping my nerves under control. I felt more confident in my abilities, and that ended up paying off.”

Fellman placed 29th in 2023 with 37:17; 11th in 2024 with 30:37; and 20th last year with 32:36.

“Going into my third year, I was in a good mental state and felt good about my fitness,” Fellman said. “Unfortunately, I got pretty sick a couple of weeks before the race, which completely drained my energy. I had to accept the fact that the result would not be what I was originally hoping for, but since I enjoy this race so much, I decided to still run it without worrying about the outcome.”

This year’s race started in fog and light rain and did not improve much during the competition.

“This year I felt like I had my mental side under control, got good sleep, stayed healthy and managed my nerves well,” Fellman said. “My overall time was not exactly what I was looking for, but I was definitely happier with my performance on the downhill section of the course this year. This race has taught me that there are always aspects you can improve on. Also, sometimes things happen that are just out of your control and you have to just roll with it. It has also taught me to recognize the things that went well versus only focusing on what did not.” 

In the standings, Willow’s Randall was followed by Fort Wainwright’s Nathan Vanderlugt, 17, in 28:11, Anchorage’s Ethan Elliott, 15, in 28:26, Palmer’s Raven Spangler, 17, in 29:30, Anchorage’s Aksel Flagstad, 15, in 29:33, Anchorage’s Easton Roads, 17, in 29:50, Eagle River’s Jagger Price, 14, in 30:35, Fellman 30:44, Anchorage’s Elias Williams, 16, in 30:56 and rounding out the boys’ top 10 was Wasilla’s Theodore Stamoolis, 17, in 30:58.

Fellman will age up to the 3.1-mile adult race going forward. That means more vertical climbing, more rocky scree, mud and snow, and more competition.

“Getting to do the adult race next year is going to be awesome,” he said. “This year, I went up to train on the mountain a few weeks before the race and was able to run the whole thing. It is a very cool and super fun mountain so I am definitely excited and looking forward to it.”

The girls junior race top 10 (out of 128 runners) were Palmer’s Wren Spangler, 14, in 31:09, Anchorage’s Calista Zuber, 15, in 33:10, Seward’s Juniper Ingalls, 17, in 33:16, Eagle River’s Rylee Ruggles, 15, in 34:13, Eagle River’s Claire Shaha, 14, in 35:07, Eagle River’s C. Shaha, 12, in 35:19, Fairbanks’ Ellie Abrahamson, 17, in 35:19, Eagle River’s Pascale Kirby, 13, in 35:22, Anchorage’s Alise Elliott, 17, in 35:33, and Kodiak’s Audrey Mortenson, 13, in 35:34. Juneau’s Shandiin Frommherz, 16, placed 76th in 49:35.

Anchorage’s Klaire Rhodes, 28, won the women’s race in 49:55 among 330 runners. This was her third straight Mount Marathon win. Rounding out the women’s top 10 were Christy Marvin, 45, Palmer, AK, in 50:51; Shauna Severson, 39, Eagle River, AK, 51:22; Denali Strabel, 36, Palmer, AK, in 51:44; Emma Cook-Clarke, 32, Canmore, Canada, in 52:25; Meg Inokuma, 46, Palmer, AK, in 52:32, Kendall Kramer, 24, Fairbanks, AK, in 52:53, Rosie Fordham, 24, Leichhardt, Australia, in 53:09, Katey Houser, 22, Palmer, AK, in 53:56, and April McAnly, 44, Eagle River, AK in 54:41.

Severson, the 2026 Juneau Ridge Race winner, had the fastest women’s downhill leg with 12:22. Sitka’s Tziporah Lax, 28, placed 74th in the women’s race in 1:07:56, Juneau’s Naomi Staley, 35, placed 154th in 1:16:37 and Juneau’s Cecile Elliott, 61, placed 225th in 1:26:45.

David Norris, 35, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, won the men’s race, his fourth in a row, in 43:08. Norris, originally from Fairbanks, has run seven Mount Marathons (2016, 2018, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026) and won each time entered. He holds four of the fastest Mount Marathon times.

Rounding out the top 10 among the 364 runners were Jessie McAuley, 26, Squamish, British Columbia, in 43:54; Bayden Menton, 22, Gunnison, Colorado, in 44:02; Jackson Cole, 30, Missoula, Montana, in 44:16; David Kennedy, 27, Boulder, Colorado, in 44:43; Ali Papillon, 21, South Lake Tahoe, California, in 45:10; William McGovern, 28, Anchorage, AK, in 45:13; Lyon Kopsack, 30, Palmer, AK, in 45:54; Griffin Briley, 20, Park City, Utah, in 46:09; and Michael Earnhart, 23, Eagle River, AK, in 46:35. Juneau’s Finn Morley, 23, placed 39th in 53:44 and Juneau’s Brian Bilbo, 38, in 1:16:01.

In the 2023 Mount Marathon, Juneau’s Zack Bursell, then 30, placed 10th in the men’s race with a time of 48:59, and last year Bursell clocked 50:56 for 26th place. In 2022, Juneau’s Abby Jahn, then 29, placed 15th in the women’s race with 59:36 and in 2024 Juneau’s Christy Gentemann, then 35, placed 186th in 1:28:22. Last year Gentemann placed 237th with 1:31:54 and Amber Frommherz, then 44, placed 318th in 2:15:08.

Before Fellman ages into the men’s division, he will have a high school season of Crimson Bears cross-country and track and field to prepare for.

“Honestly, right now I am still focused on my summer mountain running,” Fellman said. “So I have not really shifted over to thinking about my final cross-country season just yet. But I think my current training will definitely benefit me when high school season starts.”

According to the Mount Marathon website and folklore, the race began with two sourdoughs debating the possibility of someone climbing and descending the mountain in less than an hour. The more optimistic of the two lost the bet as the winning racer took one hour and two minutes.

The first organized race was in 1915, the first women’s race in 1963 and first junior race in 1964. Many milestones have been reached since, including this year, when a race from the base of the mountain back to the starting line was created for 7-10 year olds.

• Contact Klas Stolpe at sports@juneauindependent.com