Racers' spirits win Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run segments

Klas Stolpe
6 hours ago
7 min read

Many enter the 30th annual trail run to remember soul of races namesake

Finn Taintor, age 9, sprints past the Ben Blackgoat memorial bench on Perseverance Trail during the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run on Saturday, June 27, 2026. Taintor won the four-mile distance. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

By Klas Stolpe

Juneau Independent

All make and manner of distances, and runners of every fitness, took to Perseverance Trail for the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run on Saturday across lengths of one kilometer, or two, four or seven miles.

“I run here a lot just for fun,” seven-mile race winner Christopher Shum, age 41, said. “Most of the time I just do it alone so it was fun to do it with other people. My friends organized the race. I am family friends with Breea (Mearig), who was high school friends with Ben Blackgoat, so it is nice to be here to support them. The hardest part of the race is that steep section right by the waterfall, with the rocks.”

The race honors former Juneau-Douglas High School runner Ben Blackgoat, who died in a running accident on Perseverance Trail on Thanksgiving eve of 1996. He slipped on an icy patch near that steep section, falling 300 feet off the trail into alder bushes next to Gold Creek. The Crimson Bears’ junior was just 17 and had transferred to JDHS from Palmer’s Colony High School prior to that season.

Christopher Shum, age 41, sprints down Perseverance Trail during the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run on Saturday, June 27, 2026. Shum won the seven-mile distance in 50 minutes and 27 seconds. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

Paul DeSloover has been race director since it began in 1997.

“It shows our community continues to honor and celebrate the spirit of Ben,” DeSloover said. “He was an exemplary young man. Personally, the race inspired me to begin running at age 50.”

DeSloover’s daughter, Breea Mearig, was a freshman teammate with Blackgoat on the JDHS cross country team when that fatal accident shocked the community.

“I ran with Ben,” Mearig said. “I wanted to say that even though it was almost 30 years ago, Ben’s spirit and his soul and his memory live on. And I want to say, if anybody reading this is a runner, or wants to be a runner, then I dare you to come out to this race next year. Even if you are doing the ridge race (Juneau Ridge Race) you can come here and if you are an extra animal you can run both.”

Mearig noted that Ben Blackgoat was, “A really inclusive teammate. Everybody felt like he was their best friend. Previous to him, there was kind of some divisiveness for some reason because we were high schoolers, but he came and he unified us. And he made us all feel like we were part of something. And he really did that deliberately. He would come and he would cheer for every single one of us because he always placed first, so it was easy to always come back and cheer and he was sincere.”

Racers start the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run from Basin Road up Perseverance Trail, on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

The race begins at the end of Basin Road and briefly backtracks to the Perseverance Trail entrance and never seems to not go uphill. Except for the 1K portion, all the race lengths involve moving up the trail, and tired legs then can be shaken loose on the return portions.

The two-mile racers turned back at the double benches overlook. Four-milers at the double steel bridges and the seven-milers turned where Perseverance ends at the broken bridge in Lurvey Creek.

All racers finished by passing a tribute of newspaper clippings to Ben Blackgoat.

“Probably the first half of the race is the hardest part,” seven-mile racer Quinn Tracy said. “I am definitely not trained up for hills.”

Four-mile winner Finn Taintor wore a huge smile as he sprinted down Perseverance Trail past the Ben Blackgoat Memorial Bench and heard a cheer of ‘Good Job!’

“Thanks,” Taintor said. “I am having fun.”

Calder Taintor (106), age 7, leads Christine Woll, Peter Flynn, Luke Taintor and Jenna Schlener up Perseverance Trail during the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

Ben Blackgoat’s niece, Piper Blackgoat-Diehl, was joined in the race by her recently graduated 2026 Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé classmates Miranda Stichert, Koby Yturbe - who ran - and Della Mearig - a race volunteer.

“I am really grateful for my friends, it means community,” Piper Blackgoat-Diehl said. “It means showing up and remembering who has always been there for you. Whenever I go on this race I see how happy it makes my family and how happy it makes the Mearig family. It just really means community. To keep the running community present and to always remember parts of the running community, which includes my uncle.”

Piper Blackgoat-Diehl races up Perseverance Trail during the 30th Annual Ben Blackgoat Memorial Run on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent)

Said Stichert, “I was brought by Piper. I had never done the race before, but she was telling us she was going to go run it and we should come. I am also friends with Della. They have done the race for years and I finally showed up. It was kind of hard, but it was fun to just get out and be here. Even though it was a small group, everyone was super lively and happy to be here.”

Yturbe said, “I did the race because I am like the Blackgoat’s fourth child. And I know this race means a lot to them, so I wanted to be here for the family and run it with my friends.”

They all agreed the gathering inspires them to continue in future community events.

“I think it shows that we are not alone,” Blackgoat-Diehl said. “And it is a lot of fun doing it.”

As the final racers finished the day, Ben Blackgoat’s sister commented on his spirit.

“My brother loved life,” Amanda Blackgoat said. “One time at church, the group was talking about what they are grateful for. I remember he said, “My feet. I don’t really like how my feet look, but they get me everywhere. They get me to and from places. I really depend on them.” So he would always come up with some things that you just never thought about. He was just always conscientious in a lot of ways that I wasn’t.”

Breea Mearig, a high school teammate of Ben Blackgoat, and Amanda Blackgoat, the race namesake's sister, pose next to newspaper clippings of Ben Blackgoat during the 30th annual race in his honor on Saturday, June 27, 2026. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Independent).

She said her biggest regret was not seeing a meet he raced in.

“I had seen him run when he was younger,” she said. “But I was in college when he was in high school. We would talk on the phone and I didn’t realize he was as big of a deal as he was. He was just, ‘Oh yeah I was running.’ He talked about his teammates and his friends. He always played it down. That was kind of his thing. I wished I had seen him run then. Maybe we should make sure we think about those things, now, when we talk with our friends and family.”

Her nephew, Ben Gannon-Blackgoat, an incoming JDHS sophomore, also runs and volunteered at the race.

“I think the race means just being fit,” he said. “And realizing family. Even though you don’t really know him, you get to know more about him. It is impactful seeing the community come here for Benjamin, and read about his running and about his passing.”

Added Amanda Blackgoat, “I always teach my kids to pay attention to the environment, and I wish he had done that on that day. That he had paid attention to his environment and maybe thought, ‘OK, this isn’t the safest and I need to turn around.’ It is a brave decision to turn around. I think sometimes you have to listen to the weather and turn around and that is OK.”