Records fall at the Frick Mile

Zach Bursell and Beth Gollin finished their Fourth of July $100 richer.

The duo set new race records in the Glenn Frick Memorial Mile, which awards record setters with the cash prize.

The race took off around 10:30 a.m. near the Douglas Bridge — roughly a half hour before the parade floats — and finished in front of the Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel. Just over 100 people ran in the race, which featured sunny skies, 70-degree weather and hundreds of sunglasses-clad spectators.

Bursell broke the old men’s course record by one second, finishing the race in 4 minutes, 35 seconds, holding off a hard-charging Allan Spangler.

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“I was injured last year, I had a big hip surgery and when I started realizing I was able to come back and do workouts, I wanted to set a goal and I chose this race,” Bursell said.

Gollin bounded past the finish line less than 40 seconds later. Her time of 5:11 smashed the old women’s course record by seven seconds.

“It’s a good workout,” Gollin said of running the shorter distance.

A mad dash of runners crossed the finish line in between Bursell and Gollin, including 44-year-old Alec Nevalainen, last year’s men’s and overall winner. Sporting a backward black baseball cap, Nevalainen improved on last year’s mark (4:46) by seven seconds, setting a new lifetime-best in the race with his time of 4:39.

“You don’t care about race plans, you just sprint and go, so I like that,” Nevalainen, a marathoner, said. “I’m still chasing faster times. Today was my lifetime (personal record), so I’m pretty happy about that.”

Juneau Trail and Road Runner president John Kern tore through Egan Drive, Main Street and Front Street with a shiny U.S. flag-patterned T-shirt. Kern knew Frick, who passed away in 2014, from his involvement in the Juneau running community.

“Glenn Frick was always coaching you, always telling you you could go faster, do this to your technique. He came across so low key,” said Kern, adding: “This is pretty formal, you know having a measured mile, but it’s something Glenn would’ve liked.”

Glenn Frick Memorial Mile

Top-25 Results

1. Zach Bursell, 4:35

2. Allan Spangler, 4:37

3. Alec Nevalainen, 4:39

4. Franklin Dekker, 4:47

5. Rob Swanson, 4:53

6. Hiram Henry, 4:57

7. Jake Haas, 4:58

8. Andre Bunton, 4:58

9. Jesse Stringer, 4:59

10. Beth Gollin, 5:11