Sullivan Honors Chad Resari as “Alaskan of the Week”
WASHINGTON—On the floor of the U.S. Senate on Thursday, Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) recognized 85-year-old Chad Resari, of Anchorage, Alaska, the oldest person to ever finish Seward, Alaska’s daunting Mount Marathon race. The race, which dates back to 1915, was called “the toughest 5K on the planet” by Outside magazine. Sen. Sullivan recognized Resari, a long-time physical education teacher in Alaska, as part of his series, “Alaskan of the Week.”
TRIBUTE TO CHAD RESARI
Mr. President, it is Thursday. It is that time of week that I like to come down to the Senate floor and recognize someone special, someone we call our Alaskan of the Week. And it is--well, it is part of my, like I said, favorite time during the week.
I think some of our press like it because it signifies that most people are leaving. When we had pages, they loved it. But the reason is because you get to learn a little bit about Alaska, some great stories, some great individuals who are usually doing something really great for their community, their State, sometimes the country, sometimes the world. A lot of times, it is people who maybe don't want any recognition but deserve it. So I am going to talk about our Alaskan of the week, who is 85-year-old Chad Resari. And it is a real amazing story.
First, I want to talk a little about what is going on in Alaska right now. In Anchorage, where our Alaskan of the week lives, the sun rose at 5:08 a.m. and will set tonight at 11:01 p.m. Now, that is a lot of sunlight, a lot of energy, even though we lost 4 minutes and 41 seconds since yesterday. So we are losing a lot of daylight, but we still have a lot.
So my message to everybody is: You still have time to come up to Alaska, bask in the midnight sun--or at least midnight twilight, depending on where you are. And if you have to wait until next year, we would love to have you.
I would tell you, if you come to Alaska next year, one of the many things you should try to see, or even participate in if you are brave enough, is the annual Mount Marathon Race on July 4 in Seward, AK. It is a race that Chad Resari has run 25 times. At 85 years old this year, he was officially the oldest person to have ever finished this race.
So competing and finishing any race at the age of 85 is impressive.
But let me tell you why finishing this race at that age is truly extraordinary, an inspiration to everybody who is watching--and trust me, he has inspired tens of thousands of Alaskans for his feat.
First, the history: The race dates back to 1915 when legend has it two of what we call “sourdoughs” were in a bar in Seward. By the way, a lot of legends begin in bars in Alaska.
So they were wagering how long it would take to get up and down the 3,022-foot peak in Seward, AK--by the way, a very steep mountain. One insisted that it could be done in less than an hour. The other said, in effect, “No way.” The loser was to buy the house a round of drinks. Somewhere in there, some entrepreneur decided to make it a real race, to make it on the Fourth of July. And so every year, the Mount Marathon Race has happened for over 100 years now.
The fastest runner in that first race--the race where there was a challenge in the bar, in 1915--did it in over an hour; the legend is one hour and 2 minutes. So he lost the bet. He had to buy rounds. But the race has lived on.
Now, the record holder is David Norris--he is from Anchorage--who ran the 2016 Mount Marathon in 41 minutes and 26 seconds.
David has since won the race two more times.
Now, here is the important thing about the race itself. It is more than a mile, and half of it is straight up a mountain and then back down a mountain, which is more precarious, 1\1/2\ miles.
Outside magazine calls it “the toughest 5K on the planet” Earth. Others use less polite words to describe it. But everyone who knows about the race will agree that anyone who takes to the mountain and completes it is a rock star. This, again, is from Outside magazine.
If you are watching or you are interested, Google Mount Marathon race in Seward, AK. You will get a sense from the pictures.
Here is what Outside magazine said--just a taste of what this race is like. I am quoting here:
“That descent from Mount Marathon is sort of a controlled dive . . . a hectic sliding rush along loose, soft rock—." Oftentimes there is still snow up there—". . . it's part running, part skiing, part falling, and it often leaves finishers dripping with blood or with gravel shrapnel embedded in their butts and legs. And knees. This is the most pure mountain race I can think of. It's straight up and straight down--no messing around.”
One of this year's runners, who is one of the few professional runners who come from all over the world to run this race, he said: “Alaska doesn't mess around.”
So that is the race. That is the race 85-year-old Chad Resari ran 3 weeks ago. Thousands of people come out to watch it. It is a huge event in Seward. Runners from around the world and our 85-year-old Alaskan just completed it.
Who is this tough, now-fabled person in my State?
Chad was born in Hawaii. His parents are Filipino. He spent most of his younger years with his parents on a sugar plantation in Maui. He was an active kid. He ran with his high school running team and, on his off time, sometimes ran up mountains. Good training for Mount Marathon later in his life.
After high school, he spent 7 years in the seminary. He is a deeply religious man. At the end of his time, he and his mentor decided that he should serve God, not as a priest, but as a layperson. And as a longtime member of our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Anchorage, he has stayed faithful to his mission since. In fact, my team was talking to him yesterday and he was on his way to Mass, which he does very, very, very regularly.
After the seminary, Chad was open to a new experience. Someone told him that the wages in Alaska were high, $2.50 an hour at the time compared to about 90 cents an hour where he was.
Also, he had a brother in the Army stationed in Anchorage, so he said it “might be a good idea. Who knows, I might even be able to find some gold”--in Alaska—"too.”
Also, he read in Reader's Digest he could grow strawberries in Alaska, which is true. So he was intrigued.
He arrived in Anchorage on March 12, 1962. It was 15 degrees below zero. Chad said: “The weather was cool. I'll probably like it here.”
He didn't really like the heat and humidity in Hawaii.
He initially worked as a custodian at Catholic Junior High, then began to get interested in coaching students. As a pastor at the school took note of his interest in teaching, he helped send him to then Alaska Methodist University, now Alaska Pacific University, to get his teaching degree.
Until 1966, when Chad retired, he taught PE, first at Central Junior High, then at Mears Junior High. He taught basketball, hockey, soccer, softball, track and field--you name it. Great coach, and he loved working with students and teachers and the other coaches.
Throughout those years, and obviously later, he practiced what he preached. Not only did he continue running, he lifted weights, winning first place in his weight class in a power-lifting competition in 1973.
Although he continued to run and stay in shape, he ran the fabled Mount Marathon race just twice, in 1963 and in 1964, but then he took a long break because the training for the race is very rigorous and time-consuming. He was married then to Edna--49 years now--teaching, coaching, raising three daughters. He just didn't have time to train for this race.
But in 1996, after he retired, he started to train and run Mount Marathon again. He began in earnest from that time. He has only missed this race twice. Once when smoke from forest fires made it too dangerous and again last year, when the race was canceled due to COVID. So he really hasn't missed it at all.
What is his secret?
“I'm not sure I have any secret,” he said. “My wife is a nurse and she makes sure I have my fruits and vegetables,” and like a lot of Alaskans, “I eat a lot of fish,” he said.
They go to Mass daily. They always say their evening and morning prayers. When they travel, they pray for their own safety and the safety for everybody on the road or on the airplane with them.
“That's what the Lord would want us to do: keep others in mind.”
You can see Chad is a good man, a spiritual man. He credits God for giving him the strength and stamina to do what he just did, make it up a 3,000-foot mountain, 1\1/2\ miles straight up.
This race, when he was officially the oldest person to ever have run it and complete it, was very challenging. But it was also particularly special for him. All across the trail, the people watching--and when you go to Seward, you will see thousands of people--the people running the race, the officials, everybody in Alaska seemed like they were cheering Chad on, 85-year-old Chad running one of the toughest 5Ks on the planet Earth.
One of his former students, now in his 70s, was also there cheering him on. This year, his youngest daughter Trina also ran the race. Tough family. When the finish line was in sight, he could see her and his other daughters, Joanna, Sheila, and their children, who all ran up to urge him to finish strong, get to the finish line. His wife, his niece and her husband, his friends were all there cheering for him when he crossed the finish line of Mount Marathon; 2 hours, 29 minutes, 23 seconds up and down a steep mountain in Alaska at the tender age of 85 years old.
It was challenging, he said. And after, he was definitely tired. But here is the thing. He plans to do it next year and the year after that and the year after that. He says, as long as he can do it, he is going to continue to do it. “For some reason, I just enjoy running that race,” he said.
So Chad, thank you for being such a great inspiration. Thank you for praying for everybody, keeping your fellow Alaskans and Americans in your prayers.
Congratulations on being the oldest person ever to run the fabled Mount Marathon race. And, importantly, congratulations for being our Alaskan of the Week.
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