The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903 FAIRBANKS — Melanie Redington drove 320 miles for a 24-minute running race.
So she made sure not to get short-changed. After once again driving from Wasilla to Fairbanks on Friday, Redington arrived at the Birch Hill Recreation Area around 8 a.m. Saturday for the Interior Invitational, a series of seven cross country races that spanned the gamut from youth as young as 3 years old to high schoolers, university runners and adults in their 70s. More than four hours later — after the Alaska Nanooks had swept Central Washington amid fog and prep runners experienced the energy of a throng of spectators — Redington finally toed the line for her 5-kilometer event at the Jim Whisenhant Trails. “It’s just a great community of runners here in Alaska. You wouldn’t know until you start running,†said Redington, part of a family made famous not for running themselves, but huskies (her husband, Joee, is a grandson of the late Joe Redington, the “Father of the Iditarodâ€). Redington started running four years ago as an “alternative habit†after she quit smoking. This is her first season of competition, and she set a goal of completing all eight races in the Flint Hills Cup, in part because she lived in Manley Hot Springs for 13 years and used to come to Fairbanks to shop for groceries. After Saturday’s Golden Heart Trail Run, she’s almost there, with only the Equinox Marathon on Sept. 19 remaining.
“They’re so welcoming to new runners, which is why I’m progressing the way I am,†Redington said. “ … These runners up here are willing to give advice and give help. It’s been a great experience.â€