Presentation of the Colors

by Greg Lincoln

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a good 4th of July weekend. We are happy to see the festivities back once again in Bethel after these past couple of years. Quyana to the City of Bethel for sponsoring the parade and fairground activities and thank you to all the folks for coming to celebrate Independence Day. It looks like the rain did not dampen your 4th of July celebration!

This year also saw the coming back of another great event. The race organizers for the Seward Mt. Marathon race made the call for the 94th running. After skipping 2020 and 2021 we were able to participate and I was able to finish in under 2 hours, which was a goal achieved. Thank you Lord for this blessing.

We enjoy coming to Seward each year to visit our dear family members and to take part in this event. The training is hard but keeps us fit and in good shape and I am thankful that we are given yet another year. Hard because you have to find time in your busy schedule and hard because you have to do it even though you don’t feel like it. Next year, if all goes well, will be my 20th year. We wish for the years that we missed (2020 and 2021), but have to keep moving forward.

This year’s race occurred in three waves for the men. There tends to be a buildup of runners at the base of the mountain so the waves help alleviate the choke points. The race is a distance of 1.5 miles going uphill with an elevation gain of 3,000 feet and 1.5 miles going back down, so about 3.1 miles altogether. Going uphill is grueling and takes about an hour and a half, going downhill is faster but by then the legs are like jello, the knees take a beating. There are spots that are steep on the uphill and there is nowhere to go but up.

The feeling of finishing is like no other, the crowd cheering, knowing Kelly is waiting for me at the finish line, and socializing with the other guys while we catch our breath. Thank you to all the volunteers for keeping us safe, crowd controlling, the spotters and sweepers who make sure everyone gets off the mountain safely. I hope to see you again next year.